PSMRE General Exhibit Photos for Year 1997

This photo, taken from neat the left end of the exhibit, gives a good look at the size of the effort. From left to right: along the back wall, you can see the tracks up the valley to Auburn. Yes, there are two tree lines on the backdrop. The second (upper) one is for the line to Stampede pass, which is not built yet. In the middle, there is the bare plywood of Bayhead Yard and the Milwaukee depot. To the right (front of the display), the Tacoma waterfront is partly built.

Here is a picture from the opposite end (actually 2/3 of the way to the right end). At the right of the picture, the grassy area in the foreground will eventually be the NP roundhouse and service area. Along the front of the display, various Tacoma landmarks are in various stages of completion. Note the high-quality railings, glass partitions, and the step for smaller visitors. Local architect Paul Rising painted the background for the layout.

Here is a close-up of the Tacoma Union Station mockup, which will eventually be replaced with a more detailed model. Directly in front of the Union Station model is the button which visitors can use to start the trains when no operators are present. Four trains run automatically.

This is a picture of Tacoma Union Station as it is today. It is adjacent to the Washington State History Museum, which is the home of the PSMRE train layout. The layout can be found on the 5^th floor of the museum. The station's rotunda is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM. The station and museum are next to each other. Today, all passenger trains stop at the Amtrak station about one mile away. In our exhibit, the dusty locals and shining famous-name trains of the 50s still arrive at Union Station.

The photo to the left is of the helix at the right hand end of the exhibit. A helix is a spiral of track that allows trains to go up or down in a small area. In this case the helix allows trains to move between the visible tracks, and the staging yards beneath the main tracks. These staging yards are used to hold trains that are "out of the visible area" such as a train heading from Seattle or trains heading from Portland. Eventually the track and scenery of the Stampede Pass line will also cover this two-track helix. The other end of the staging yard, representing Portland, is accessed by a long grade down from the track that enters the Nelson Bennett tunnel at Asarco.

The May 1999 photo to the right shows the same areas covered with hard shell and track. The visible track in the picture is a two level spiral that goes from the main level to the upper level Stampede Pass line. The Helix, which goes from the main level to the Seattle staging yard, is completely covered by scenery.