If you have lived in Walla Walla for any length of time, you have heard the distant horn of diesel locomotives as they go about their switching chores. The sound usually echoes off the buildings and greets the early risers. But…did you know that engines have been making that sound with whistles, horns, and bells for the past 149 years? The stretch of railroad from Walla Walla to Wallula is the oldest point-to-point rail operation in the State of Washington.

William Tye is a fictional character who is a composite of persons we know about who were connected with the WW&CR RR. As portrayed by Lentz he worked on the railroad in 1878, coming from a rich background as a stean enginner aboard various watercraft. This presentation will feature views of the railroad’s growth from two small engines and a few locally built cars to what it is today.

Tye operated the first two engines on the WW&CR RR, the WALLA WALLA and the WALLULA. Each day the small engines would carry men, supplies, and fuel to the worksites as they made their way through the sagebrush and sand on the east end of the line. Later, when the line was completed he was in charge of the train. He would attend to passenger’s and insure they paid their fares, made sure the cargo was secure and delivered to the right place, pick up and set out cars along the way, and do the paperwork that determined the success of the railroad. He also would help fire the engine, perform some maintenance along the way, make sure the engine had the wood and water it needed, and look after the rest of the four-man crew.

Fort Walla Walla Museum is in the process of restoring one of the original engines on the WW&CR. The fourth of six engines owned by the railroad, the BLUE MOUNTAIN, is currently on display.

Learn why Doctor Dorsey Baker’s WW&CR Railroad was nicknamed “The Rawhide Railroad”, why “snakeheads” were a threat to passengers, and why the fledgling railroad was boycotted in it’s early years by the same people it promised to serve.

Please join us for this fascinating look into a subject often taken for granted but so important to us and those who settled the area a century and a half ago. All Abooooard!

This month’s free Museum After-Hours program will feature the incredible Gary Lentz.