Peep-peep! Downtown Snoqualmie will be rolling with railroad enthusiasts of every age this weekend, for the start of the 2008 Day Out with Thomas event at the Northwest Railway Museum.

Tickets are sold out for the train event, centered on children’s story character Thomas the Tank Engine, which typically draws nearly 20,000 people to the Valley during its two-week run.

The second Thomas weekend is July 18 to 20.

During the Day Out With Thomas 2008: Great Discovery Tour, families can take a ride with a 25-ton replica of Thomas. The 20-minute train ride departs every 45 minutes between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Families can also take part in volunteer-run, Thomas-themed activities including storytelling, arts and crafts, stamps and temporary tattoos.

Families arriving for Day Out With Thomas are asked to park at Snoqualmie Middle School and take a shuttle to the train station. Shuttles leave every 20 minutes.

The annual Thomas event helps raise funds to run the museum, keep the trains running and spur development of its new Railway History Center.

Celebrating its 118th year, the museum’s Snoqualmie Depot is the oldest continuously operating train station in Washington state. The museum’s collection includes more than 70 examples of steam locomotives, passenger and freight cars, and specialized railway equipment.

For more information, call (425) 888-3030.