On the edge of the old town area of Snoqualmie, there is a train museum, which is basically a bunch of old trains on a spur.  My cousin and I are both borderline "foamers", as my friend Rob (who is an engineer for UP) refers to folks who are "interested" in trains, so on the way home, we stopped for a bit to check them out.

We stopped at the placards set up to explain the various types of engines and cars, and checked out the various types of engines with their very different boilers and piston and drive mechanisms.

The old cars really showed the diversity that came about through solving different problems - each of the engines on display were built for different tasks.

The steam powered crane was pretty impressive.  Powered by a two piston engine fed by a vertical boiler, it was a "smaller" crane, designed to lift up to 75 tons.

It had outriggers built into the car, allowing the crane to rotate and lift in a full 360 degree arc.

We got to the end of the line almost too quickly!  It was very interesting, and we were both glad we had stopped.

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