See 125 years of rail history on display at the Columba Pacific Heritage Museum

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, May 28, 2013

ILWACO, Wash. On July 19, 1888 the Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Company held a grand celebration commemorating the completion of its line from Ilwaco, Wash., to Long Beach, Wash. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Clamshell Railroad, the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum has organized the exhibition From the Water to the Woods: 125 Years of Rail. There will be an opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 31.

The exhibition, on view from May 31 to Sept. 1, will explore the many ways railroads helped to develop this region. The IR&N is well known for its quirks. It kept an irregular schedule because it ran according to the tides in order to pick up travelers from steamships. It also had informal and accommodating service; it would sometimes stop so passengers could see a whale that had washed ashore or a lifesaving drill on the beach. But the narrow gauge IR&N was not the only railroad in the area.

Logging railroads moved into the woods as trees were cleared in order to take timber men into camp and bring logs out to the rivers. The jetties that now define the mouth of the Columbia River were built with specially designed railroads that could haul and drop the huge rocks that were necessary to direct the waters. Sand Island had its own railroad as did Fort Columbia, and there were even small railroads that moved people and supplies through the cranberry bogs.

Utilizing photographs, artifacts and scale models, the exhibition From the Water to the Woods: 125 Years of Rail will give viewers a look at how important railroads were to life at the turn of the century.

In addition to the exhibition, the museum will co-host a First Run Celebration at the Long Beach Depot on July 19 to kick off the annual Clamshell Railroad Days Festival July 20 and 21.

The Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum is located at 115 Lake St. in Ilwaco. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission on Thursday is free, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco. For more information call 360-642-3446 or visit columbiapacificheriatgemuseum.org