Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania facts for kids
Entrance to the museum
|
|
| Established | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Location | Strasburg, Pennsylvania |
| Type | Railroad museum |
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a cool place to explore the history of trains! It's a railroad museum located in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
You can find the museum on the east side of Strasburg, right along Pennsylvania Route 741. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission runs it, with lots of help from the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (FRM).
The museum has over 100 amazing historic locomotives and railroad cars. These trains tell the story of American railroad history. Visitors can even climb inside some of the locomotives and cars. You can also look underneath a huge 62-ton locomotive! The museum also shows how old trains are restored. Plus, there are fun, interactive learning programs.
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was created to save and share the history of railroading in Pennsylvania. It collects old trains, artifacts, and records from railroad companies. Over the years, the museum has also added trains that aren't just from Pennsylvania. These trains are important to the overall history of railroads.
Besides the huge trains, there's a smaller exhibit area upstairs. The museum also has other cool things to see. These include several model train layouts. There's also a hands-on learning center. You can also find a library and archives there.
Contents
Exploring the Museum Grounds
Today, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania covers 18 acres. This huge space includes the Rolling Stock Hall. This is where many of the big trains are kept. There's also a changing exhibit gallery upstairs. You can get a great view of the trains from an observation bridge.
The museum also has a hands-on education center called Stewart Junction. There's a large library and archives too. For keeping the trains in shape, there's a restoration and paint shop. Outside, you'll find an outdoor storage and display yard. The Rolling Stock Hall and the second floor are easy to access for everyone. Just remember, the outdoor yard might close if the weather is bad.
The first display building opened in 1975. It was the first building ever built specifically to be a railroad museum. It even had a working turntable from the Reading Company. This first building was about 45,000 square feet. It had a bridge where visitors could see the trains from above. In June 1995, the Rolling Stock Hall got much bigger. It expanded to 100,000 square feet!
A new entrance and gift shop opened in June 2007. Some of the bigger or newer trains are displayed outside. A new roundhouse is planned for the future. This will help store some of the largest locomotives.
Close by, you can find the National Toy Train Museum and Choo Choo Barn. The Strasburg Rail Road is also right across the street from the museum.
How the Museum Started
For the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the Pennsylvania Railroad showed off many old trains. These were trains they had collected over the years. After the fair, the railroad decided to keep these special trains. They also saved other locomotives and cars. All these trains were moved to a roundhouse in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. Employees there took care of them.
In the late 1960s, Pennsylvania wanted to create a railroad museum. At the same time, the PRR's successor, Penn Central, wanted to find a new home for its collection. So, it was decided to build a museum next to the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg. The trains were moved to the Strasburg Rail Road. They were stored there while the museum was being built. Many of the Pennsylvania Railroad's historic trains were sent to Strasburg all together. This was called the "Train of Trains."
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania officially opened on April 1, 1975. As the museum got more trains, it needed more room. So, in 1995, the Rolling Stock Hall was made 55,000 square feet bigger. Today, the museum covers 18 acres. This includes 100,000 square feet of indoor space. A roundhouse for the largest trains stored outside was planned for 2018. However, construction had not started by January 2019. In total, the museum has about 100 trains. Some of these are nearly 200 years old!
Amazing Train Collection
Locomotives: The Mighty Engines
The museum's collection has over a hundred historic locomotives and cars. Many of these are from the Pennsylvania Railroad's own historic collection. After the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the PRR set aside many of its old trains to save them. This collection was stored in a roundhouse in Northumberland. In 1969, the collection moved to Strasburg. They were stored at the Strasburg Rail Road until the museum was finished in 1975.
Some of these engines even ran on the Strasburg Rail Road for years before being displayed again. For example, PRR 1223 was famous for being in the 1969 movie Hello, Dolly!. Also, PRR 7002 (originally #8063) is a copy of the famous original PRR #7002. That original train set an unofficial speed record in 1905, going 127.1 miles per hour! Both of these trains were leased to the Strasburg Rail Road and stopped running permanently in 1989.
Other historic locomotives are also at the museum. One is the famous "Lindbergh Engine," PRR 460. It finished a 6-year restoration in November 2016. The oldest PRR locomotive, #1187, was built in 1888. The 1187 is placed over a pit. This lets visitors go underneath and see the train's underside. In 1895, #1187 had an accident but wasn't badly damaged. Its smoke box had to be rebuilt, and it's still on the train today. The official steam locomotive of Pennsylvania, PRR 3750, is displayed outside. It's famous for pulling President Warren Harding's funeral train.
Two replicas are also in the Pennsylvania Historic Collection. These are the John Bull (built 1831) and the John Stevens (built 1825). In August 2023, the 185-year-old Rocket was moved from the Franklin Institute. It will be fixed up and displayed at the museum.
The collection includes the Tahoe, a 2-6-0 train built in 1875. It was used on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. There are also two fireless steam locomotives. These are Bethlehem Steel #111 and Pennsylvania Power & Light #4094-D. Don't miss the examples of three common geared locomotives. These are 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 trains. These are the original prototype PRR 4800 and Amtrak E60 #603. EMD AEM-7 #915 was given to the museum by Amtrak in 2015.
Cars: Riding the Rails
The museum also has a big collection of rail cars. Many of these are examples of cars seen on the Pennsylvania Railroad. This includes a P70 passenger car, a B60 Baggage car, and an N5c caboose. You can also see several old wooden freight and passenger cars. One of the first all-steel passenger cars, PRR 1651, is also on display.
Other Cool Exhibits
The Solari board that showed train departure times in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is now at the museum. This board, made by Solari di Udine, was the last of its kind at an Amtrak station. It was replaced by a digital board on January 26, 2019. Since July 2019, it has been on display at the museum.
A book in the gift shop, The Haunted Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, talks about ghosts. It suggests that some old train items might have spooky stories connected to them!
List of Locomotives
| Operator | Number | Type or class | Manufacturer | Builder's No. | Year | Wheel arrangement | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 1187 | H3 | PRR, Altoona | 1235 | 1888 | 2-8-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 1223 | D16sb | PRR, Juniata | 1399 | 1905 | 4-4-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 460 | E6s | PRR, Juniata | 2860 | 1914 | 4-4-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 3750 | K4s | PRR, Juniata | 3703 | 1920 | 4-6-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 7002 | E7s | PRR, Altoona | 1902 | 4-4-2 |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 94 | A5s | PRR, Juniata | 3191 | 1917 | 0-4-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 2846 | H6sb | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 26744 | 1905 | 2-8-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 5741 | G5s | PRR, Juniata | 3966 | 1924 | 4-6-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 520 | L1s | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 44565 | 1916 | 2-8-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 7688 | H10s | PRR, Juniata | 5063 | 1915 | 2-8-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 1670 | B6sb | PRR, Juniata | 3042 | 1916 | 0-6-0 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 6755 | M1b | PRR, Altoona | 4225 | 1930 | 4-8-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 3936 & 3937 | DD1 | PRR, Altoona | 1911 | 2-B+B-2 |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 4800 | GG1 | General Electric | 11848 | 1934 | 2-C+C-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 4935 | GG1 | PRR, Altoona | 4434 | 1943 | 2-C+C-2 |  |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 4465 | E44 | General Electric | 1963 | C-C |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 5690 | B1 | PRR | 1934 | C |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 5901 | PRR EP20 (EMD E7) |
Electro-Motive Division | 1945 | A1A-A1A |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 7006 | EMD GP9 | Electro-Motive Division | 1955 | B-B |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 860 | Budd Metroliner | Budd Company | 1968 | B-B |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | John Stevens (replica) |
PRR, Altoona | 1939 | 0-4-0VB |  |
||
| Amtrak | 603 | E60MA | General Electric | 1976 | C-C |  |
|
| Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1200 | S-12 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1951 | B-B |  |
|
| Bethlehem Steel | 111 | Fireless | Heisler Locomotive Works | 1941 | 0-4-0F |  |
|
| Camden and Amboy Railroad | John Bull (replica) |
PRR, Altoona | 1940 | 2-4-0 |  |
||
| Chicago Mill & Lumber Company | 4 | 2-truck Heisler | Heisler Locomotive Works | 1375 | 1918 | B-B |  |
| Conrail | 2233 | EMD GP30 | Electro-Motive Division | 1963 | B-B |  |
|
| Leetonia Railway | 1 | Class C Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 1799 | 1906 | B-B-B |  |
| Lone Star Cement Company | 5-ton | Brookville | 1951 | ||||
| Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad | 81 | EMD NW2 | Electro-Motive Division | 1946 | B-B |  |
|
| W. H. Mason Co. | 4 | Class B Climax | Climax Locomotive Works | 1913 | B-B |  |
|
| Monongahela Connecting Railroad | 701 | C415 | Alco | 1968 | B-B |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Power & Light | D | Fireless | Heisler Locomotive Works | 1940 | 0-8-0F |  |
|
| Pennsylvania Power & Light | 18-ton | Plymouth | 1949 | ||||
| Reading Company | 1251 | B4-a | Reading Company Shops | 2306 | 1918 | 0-6-0ST |  |
| Virginia and Truckee Railroad | 20 Tahoe | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 3687 | 1875 | 2-6-0 |  |
|
| Vulcan Iron Works | 1 | Vulcan Iron Works | 1930 |  |
|||
| Amtrak | 915 | EMD AEM-7 | Electro-Motive Division | 1980 | B-B |  |
See also
- List of heritage railroads in the United States
