From 2003 to 2020, the Bellingham Railway Museum wowed Whatcom County with model trains, railroading artifacts, and exhibits with photos and information on our local railway history. The museum closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its memory lives on in the community and the remnants of its exhibits and programming.
In January 2020, I wrote an article on the Bellingham Railway Museum during its operation. William Rink and Karl Kleeman, two founding members, have since covered local history in “The Early Railroads of Whatcom County and Washington Territory” and a second volume, “The Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad,” available at Village Books.
“I was at the local model train club, and we had developed a large-scale model railroad,” says Kleeman. “I got the idea that we should develop a railroad museum. There was discussion back and forth about how to do that, and I ended up working with some members of the club, and we initially set it up at what was the radio museum back there. Then they allowed us to have space to set up a large-scale train layout and start collecting materials and pictures, and start setting up a museum at their location.”
When space became available, the museum’s home moved to 1320 Commercial Street, where it attracted more visitors than other museums in town, Kleeman says. Upon dissolution, the collection of model trains and artifacts was to go to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie and North Bend.
“We had a lot of local found artifacts from around the BB and BC: the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad, which was the main local railroad here in Bellingham,” says Rink. “We also had operating toy trains for the kids.”
The museum’s Facebook page remained active for years after closing, and the website now reads, “In loving memory of the museum, the website will be kept alive for posterity and saved as a piece of internet history.”
Remembering Bellingham Railway Museum
Walking into the museum once invited visitors to watch the centerpiece G Gauge model trains recreating Whatcom County railways, as depicted in photos displayed on the walls.
“Over the years, people would come in and donate train stuff,” says Rink. “We had just a bunch of different people’s lanterns that we brought in and had on display.”
The exhibits documented how railroads facilitated the earliest industries in Whatcom County, such as logging, mining, fishing, and farming.
“We put up displays and did a lot of work with Jeff Jewell at Whatcom Museum, helping us to find pictures and so on,” says Kleeman. “In addition, we collected things like railroad china.”
Children had a corner to enjoy train sets and books, and many visited on school trips.
“What you tended to see is a family would come in, and the kids would be all over the trains and the adults would walk around and look at artifacts and read some of the historical information,” says Rink. “We did kids’ birthday parties, and we also had some historical presentations.”
Restoring Rails to Trails
Kleeman got a grant, and he and Rink wrote and published the museum’s “Rail Trail Walking Guide,” which has since gone out of print. This self-guided tour described the former routes that have since become walking trails. Signage remains in locations around town, such as Boulevard Park and the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, pointing to informational pages on the old website via QR codes.
“We’ve pretty much shared the history and have gone and given talks,” says Kleeman. “I gave a talk at the Senior Center. We gave talks at the Whatcom Historical Society, at Village Books and other locations.”
The two have pitched the idea of recreating this walking tour in a digital format. Sadly, progress has stalled, but they continue to seek new outlets to educate the public about the history.
“It’s in limbo and up in the air right now,” says Rink. “It’s an interesting thing because some of the signs are on port property, some of the signs are on city of Bellingham property, and some of the signs are on private businesses. So it’s been a challenge trying to resurrect this thing and get it back up to speed.”
Chugging Along to the Future
Founders, staff, and visitors will always fondly remember Bellingham Railway Museum for the joy it brought to children and families.
“I think the most rewarding thing to me was having a lot of young people come in,” says Kleeman. “And of course, they were fascinated to see big model trains running around. But at the same time, we had an opportunity to introduce them to the history of railroads of Whatcom County, which is great.”
Railfans and other enthusiasts can discover local history through these authors, the Whatcom Museum’s Photo Archives, and the Whatcom Skagit Model Railway Club, which shared founding members with the museum. With such curiosity, through books and, the museum’s spirit of adventure is back on track.
