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Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania entrance.JPG
Entrance to the museum
Established 1975
Location Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Type Railroad museum

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission with the active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (FRM).

The museum's collection has more than 100 historic locomotives and railroad cars that chronicle American railroad history. Visitors can climb aboard various locomotives and cars, inspect a 62-ton locomotive from underneath, view restoration activities via closed-circuit television, enjoy interactive educational programs, and more.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was created to provide a historical account of railroading in Pennsylvania by preserving rolling stock, artifacts, and archives of railroad companies of the Commonwealth. However, the museum has branched out over the years, acquiring some pieces that are not directly related to Pennsylvania, but are important to the history of railroading.

In addition to full-size rolling stock pieces, a smaller exhibit gallery is on the second floor. The museum offers a number of other attractions, including several model railroad layouts, a hands-on educational center, and a library and archives.

Building and grounds

Today, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania covers 18 acres. This includes Rolling Stock Hall, a second-floor changing-exhibit gallery, an observation bridge, a hands-on education center called Stewart Junction, an extensive library and archives, a restoration and paint shop, and an outdoor storage and display yard. Rolling Stock Hall and the second floor are both handicapped accessible. The yard is subject to weather closure.

The initial display building opened in 1975 as the first building constructed to be a railroad museum and featured an operating turntable from the Reading Company. The original building was roughly 45,000 square feet in size and included an observation bridge leading across Rolling Stock Hall, allowing visitors to see the trains from above. In June 1995, Rolling Stock Hall was enlarged to 100,000 square feet.

A newly designed entrance and gift shop were opened in June 2007. Some larger or more-modern engines and cars are displayed outdoors, and a new roundhouse to store some of the larger locomotives is to be built in the near future.

The National Toy Train Museum and Choo Choo Barn are located nearby, and the Strasburg Rail Road is across the street from the museum.

History

PRR1223
PRR engine #1223 in operation on the Strasburg Rail Road (1989)

For the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the Pennsylvania Railroad displayed a number of historic locomotives and cars it had collected over the years. After the fair had ended, the PRR decided to preserve the equipment that had been displayed, along with various other locomotives and rolling stock. All were moved to a roundhouse in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and looked after by employees.

With the state looking to establish a railroad museum and PRR successor Penn Central looking to rid itself of the collection, in the late 1960s it was decided that a museum was to be built adjacent to the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The engines were moved to the Strasburg Rail Road, where they were stored while the museum was under construction. A large number of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Historic Collection were sent to Strasburg coupled together, forming the "Train of Trains."

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was officially opened to the public April 1, 1975. As the museum acquired more equipment, they required more space, so in 1995, Rolling Stock Hall was expanded by 55,000 square feet. Today, the museum covers 18 acres of land, including 100,000 square feet indoors. A roundhouse for the larger locomotives that are currently stored outside was planned for 2018 but had not broken ground as-of January 2019. In all, the museum holds roughly 100 pieces of rolling stock, some nearing 200 years old.

Collection

Locomotives

The collection is made up of more than a hundred historic locomotives and cars, many of which are part of the historical collection of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Following the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the PRR placed many of their historic rolling stock aside for preservation. The collection was stored in a roundhouse in Northumberland. In 1969, the collection was relocated to Strasburg, for storage at the Strasburg Rail Road until the museum's completion in 1975.

Some of these engines had operated on the Strasburg Rail Road for a number of years before being put back on display: PRR 1223, famous for its use in the 1969 film Hello, Dolly!, and PRR 7002 (originally #8063), a re-creation of the famous original PRR #7002, which set an unofficial land speed record in 1905 by traveling at 127.1 miles per hour. Both had been leased to the Strasburg Rail Road and retired permanently in 1989.

Other historic locomotives are featured at the museum, including the famous "Lindbergh Engine", PRR 460, which completed a 6-year cosmetic restoration in November 2016, and the oldest PRR locomotive #1187, built in 1888. The 1187 is placed over a pit, so visitors may go underneath and see the locomotive's underside. In 1895 #1187 suffered an accident but was barely damaged: however, the smoke box had to be rebuilt and it remained on the locomotive to this day. The official steam locomotive of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PRR 3750, famous for pulling President Warren Harding's funeral train, is on display outside of the museum. Two replicas are also included in the Pennsylvania Historic Collection, the John Bull (built 1831) and the John Stevens (built 1825). In August 2023 the 185-year-old Rocket was removed from its prior home, the Franklin Institute, to be renovated for display at the museum.

STEEL PASSENGER COACH NO. 1650, LANCASTER COUNTY, PA
Steel Passenger Coach No. 1650

Locomotives in the collection include the Tahoe, a 2-6-0 built in 1875 for use on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, and two fireless steam locomotives: (Bethlehem Steel #111 and Pennsylvania Power & Light #4094-D). Not to be missed are examples of the three most common geared locomotives: the Shay (Leetonia Railway #1), the Heisler (Chicago Mill & Lumber Company #4), and the Climax (W. H. Mason Company #1).

Electric locomotives include two PRR GG1 locomotives: the original prototype PRR 4800 and Amtrak E60 #603 (formerly PRR #4935). EMD AEM-7 #915 was donated by Amtrak in 2015.

Solari-Board
Solari Board from 30th Street Station awaiting installation

Cars

The museum also has a large collection of rail cars. Many of these are examples of cars seen on the Pennsylvania Railroad, including a P70 passenger car, a B60 Baggage car, and an N5c caboose. On display also are several wood-bodied freight and passenger cars, and one of the first all-steel passenger cars, PRR 1651.

Other

The Solari board that displayed train departure times in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is in the museum's collection. The board, created by Solari di Udine, was the last such one at an Amtrak station. It was replaced with a digital board on January 26, 2019, and has been on static display at the museum since July 2019.

A book available in the gift shop, The Haunted Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, reveals that apparitions may be associated with some older items of equipment.

List of locomotives

See also (related category): Collection of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Operator Number Type or class Manufacturer Builder's No. Year Wheel arrangement Image
Pennsylvania Railroad 1187 H3 PRR, Altoona 1235 1888 2-8-0 0412 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 1223 D16sb PRR, Juniata 1399 1905 4-4-0 RRMOP 1223.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 460 E6s PRR, Juniata 2860 1914 4-4-2 RRMOP 460.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 3750 K4s PRR, Juniata 3703 1920 4-6-2 PRR 3750 4.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 7002 E7s PRR, Altoona 1902 4-4-2 RR79.40.13A No. 7002 Side.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 94 A5s PRR, Juniata 3191 1917 0-4-0 RRMOP 94.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 2846 H6sb Baldwin Locomotive Works 26744 1905 2-8-0 RRMOP 2846.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 5741 G5s PRR, Juniata 3966 1924 4-6-0 RRMOP 5741.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 520 L1s Baldwin Locomotive Works 44565 1916 2-8-2 RRMOP 520.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 7688 H10s PRR, Juniata 5063 1915 2-8-0 PRR 7688.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 1670 B6sb PRR, Juniata 3042 1916 0-6-0 RRMOP 1670.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 6755 M1b PRR, Altoona 4225 1930 4-8-2 RR79.40.12A No. 6755 Side.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 3936 & 3937 DD1 PRR, Altoona 1911 2-B+B-2 RRMOP 3936.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 4800 GG1 General Electric 11848 1934 2-C+C-2 RR2000.20 GG1 PRR 4800.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 4935 GG1 PRR, Altoona 4434 1943 2-C+C-2 RR83.30 No. 4935 Front Side 2.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 4465 E44 General Electric 1963 C-C RR91.6 No. 4465 Front Side.JPG
Pennsylvania Railroad 5690 B1 PRR 1934 C 0380 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 5901 PRR EP20
(EMD E7)
Electro-Motive Division 1945 A1A-A1A RR76.37 No. 5901 Front Side.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 7006 EMD GP9 Electro-Motive Division 1955 B-B PRR 7006, at RMP.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad 860 Budd Metroliner Budd Company 1968 B-B Amtrak 860 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, September 2006.jpg
Pennsylvania Railroad John Stevens
(replica)
PRR, Altoona 1939 0-4-0VB John Stevens Carriage.JPG
Amtrak 603 E60MA General Electric 1976 C-C 0387 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Baldwin Locomotive Works 1200 S-12 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1951 B-B RR92.2 No. 1200 Side.JPG
Bethlehem Steel 111 Fireless Heisler Locomotive Works 1941 0-4-0F 0374 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Camden and Amboy Railroad John Bull
(replica)
PRR, Altoona 1940 2-4-0 0377 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Chicago Mill & Lumber Company 4 2-truck Heisler Heisler Locomotive Works 1375 1918 B-B Heisler 4.JPG
Conrail 2233 EMD GP30 Electro-Motive Division 1963 B-B 0378 Strasburg - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Leetonia Railway 1 Class C Shay Lima Locomotive Works 1799 1906 B-B-B RR72.24.1 Leetonia Shay No. 1 Front Side.JPG
Lone Star Cement Company 5-ton Brookville 1951
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 81 EMD NW2 Electro-Motive Division 1946 B-B Ma n Pa 81.JPG
W. H. Mason Co. 4 Class B Climax Climax Locomotive Works 1913 B-B RR92.15 No. 4 Front Side.JPG
Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701 C415 Alco 1968 B-B MCRR 701, at RMP.jpg
Pennsylvania Power & Light D Fireless Heisler Locomotive Works 1940 0-8-0F RR72.20.1A - PP&L Fireless No. 4094-D Side.jpg
Pennsylvania Power & Light 18-ton Plymouth 1949
Reading Company 1251 B4-a Reading Company Shops 2306 1918 0-6-0ST Reading 1251.JPG
Virginia and Truckee Railroad 20 Tahoe Baldwin Locomotive Works 3687 1875 2-6-0 RRM Strasburg PA Tahoe 1875.JPG
Vulcan Iron Works 1 Vulcan Iron Works 1930 Vulcan Iron Works No. 1.jpg
Amtrak 915 EMD AEM-7 Electro-Motive Division 1980 B-B Amtrak 915 1.JPG

See also

  • List of heritage railroads in the United States
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