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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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23 results for: Railroad

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Image of Oil portrait of Florence Aurelia Henry by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1904

Oil portrait of Florence Aurelia Henry by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1904

Florence Aurelia Henry (1886-1904) was born in Minnesota to Susan and Horace Henry. Horace brought his family to Seattle to build the Northern Pacific Railroad and he soon became a wealthy man. Tragically, Florence became deathly ill while attending school in Massachusetts and died of appendicitis. Horace, being one of the original Seattle Golf and County Club members, was able…
ID Number:1967.4235.8
Date:1904
Image of Air blower for a forge, ca. 1890

Air blower for a forge, ca. 1890

Norwegian immigrant Lars O. Brekke used this forge air blower in his Seattle home in the 1890s and in his blacksmith shop which he opened in Ballard in 1900. He worked as a shipsmith for machine work shops on the Seattle waterfront and as a railroad smith for the Columbia and Puget Sound Railway. Lars' son and grandson took over…
ID Number:1968.4350
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Railroad lantern, ca. 1895

Railroad lantern, ca. 1895

This railroad lantern belonged to Herman Dehnhoff (1862-1935) who was born in Germany and arrived in Snohomish in 1890 to work on the Northern Pacific Railroad. The lantern is from the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, often abbreviated as C.M. & St.P. Ry.
ID Number:1975.6182
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Hand puppet

Hand puppet "Crazy Donkey" from the "Brakeman Bill Show," ca. 1960-1980

Brakeman Bill, featuring ex-DJ and sports announcer Bill McLain, was a popular weekday children's show on KTNT-TV (later KSTW-TV) in the Pacific Northwest market from 1955 to 1975. The television show was performed live and un-scripted; McLain dressed as a railroad brakeman, and drew pictures, ran elaborate model trains, showed cartoons, and interacted with puppet side-kick the Crazy Donkey, whose…
ID Number:1992.CrazyDonkey
Date:Circa 1960-1980
Image of Great Northern Railway sign, ca. 1936

Great Northern Railway sign, ca. 1936

The Great Northern Railway (reporting mark GN) ran from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad. It was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the United States. No federal subsidies were used during its construction, making it the only privately funded, and successfully built, transcontinental railroad in US history.
ID Number:2003.33.1
Date:Circa 1936
Image of Brakeman Bill

Brakeman Bill "Big Mac" bib overalls, cap, and jacket, ca. 1955-1975

Brakeman Bill, featuring ex-DJ and sports announcer Bill McLain, was a popular weekday children's show on KTNT-TV (later KSTW-TV) in the Pacific Northwest market from 1955 to 1975. The television show was performed live and un-scripted; McLain dressed as a railroad brakeman, and drew pictures, ran elaborate model trains, showed cartoons, and interacted with puppet side-kick the Crazy Donkey, whose…
ID Number:2003.66.23REF.ONLINE
Date:Circa 1955-1975
Image of Painting by Lockwood Dennis,

Painting by Lockwood Dennis, "Railroad Yard, Ship Canal," 1977

Lockwood "Woody" Dennis (1937-2012) was born in Portland, Oregon, but lived in Port Townsend, Washington, for 37 years. He was inclined to paint both natural and industrial scenes from the Northwest, California, Colorado, Africa, and Japan. In this work, featuring a railroad yard located on the Seattle Ship Canal from Lake Union to Puget Sound, one can see Lockwood's influences…
ID Number:2013.56.7
Date:1977
Image of Painting by Lockwood Dennis,

Painting by Lockwood Dennis, "Pier 70," 1978

Lockwood "Woody" Dennis (1937-2012) was born in Portland, Oregon, but lived in Port Townsend, Washington, for 37 years. He was inclined to paint both natural and industrial scenes from the Northwest, California, Colorado, Africa, and Japan. In this work, featuring Pier 70 in Elliott Bay with railroad tracks in the foreground and maritime vessels in the background, one can see…
ID Number:2013.56.8
Date:1978
Image of Set of surveying tools used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

Set of surveying tools used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

James Casey Embree (1881-1940) was an early Seattle civil engineer. He was responsible for surveying various Seattle neighborhoods and, from 1906-1924, he worked on the Alaskan Engineering Commission that would provide railroads to parts of Alaska following the Gold Rush of 1897.
ID Number:2018.54.1
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Protractor measuring tool used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

Protractor measuring tool used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

James Casey Embree (1881-1940) was an early Seattle civil engineer. He was responsible for surveying various Seattle neighborhoods and, from 1906-1924, he worked on the Alaskan Engineering Commission that would provide railroads to parts of Alaska following the Gold Rush of 1897.
ID Number:2018.54.2
Date:1877
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