I've Been Working on the Railroad... and Then It Closed Down, So Now There's Just a Museum of Memories

Rain days allow for more exploration of the towns we're sent to for survey projects. The most common rain day activity for archaeology and history enthusiasts (second to sleeping in) -- museums! Unlike the Museum of Woodcarving, the Railroad Memories Museum is much more of a museum and less of a shrine. It's run by retired railroad employees, and our tour guide, Bob, was a hoot. He sure knew his stuff and enjoyed filling us in on many of the commonly overlooked details of the museum, as well as telling us stories from his post-WWII stint with the railroad. The museum was filled to the brim in 12 rooms worth of stuff, ranging from tools and machinery to stoves to tickets and memorabilia, to old telegraph equipment and a video room with Thomas the Train video cassettes to watch. Most of my photos are of the rail yard since taking photos inside wasn't allowed. I snuck one though, but I only feel a little bit bad.

 

 

 

Downtown Spooner is full of other little gems, including a Northwind Book & Fiber, Spooner Outlet (an outdoor surplus/outlet store full of any and all Spooner-embroidered gear you can think of), and a fabulously tasty and cheap bakery. I bought a 6-pack of rosettes for $2.20 and threw in a molasses cookie and macaroon for a grand total of $2.87.

Now go away rain, I want to ride my bike.