Railroaders Memorial Museum facts for kids
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Main gates of the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, PA
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| Established | 21 September 1980 |
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| Location | Altoona, Pennsylvania |
| Type | Railway Museum |
The Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) is a cool railroad museum located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This museum is all about the amazing history of railroad workers and the towns that grew up around railroads in central Pennsylvania. It especially focuses on Altoona, the famous Altoona Works (where trains were built and fixed), and the bigger Pittsburgh area. Since 1998, the museum has been in the Master Mechanics Building, which the Pennsylvania Railroad built way back in 1882. The museum also runs another special spot: a visitor center and observation area at the famous Horseshoe Curve.
Contents
Museum History
How the Museum Started
People in Altoona first suggested creating a railroad museum as early as 1938. They thought it would be a great way to attract visitors and celebrate the city's railroad past. In the 1960s, there was a big plan for a "Pennsyland" railroad museum. Altoona even tried to get 28 old Pennsylvania Railroad train cars and locomotives for its museum.
However, the state of Pennsylvania decided to build its main railroad museum in Strasburg instead. Even so, the Altoona Railway Museum Club kept working hard to build a museum in Altoona. They collected railroad items and showed them off at local events to get people excited.
The Railroaders Memorial Museum officially became a group in 1972. Their first big purchase was The Loretto in 1975. This was a special private railroad car built for a rich steel boss named Charles M. Schwab. The museum got full ownership of its current property in 1978. Construction began in 1979, and the museum opened its doors to the public on September 21, 1980, even though it wasn't completely finished yet.
Early Train Restorations
In 1983, The Loretto train car was badly damaged by a fire. People quickly formed a committee to raise money to fix and save the car.
Altoona's city council then wondered if they could do something similar for PRR 1361. This was a large K4 steam locomotive owned by the city. It was sitting at the Horseshoe Curve and was starting to fall apart. Museum officials wanted to help with this project.
In 1985, the Railroaders Memorial Museum was given the PRR 1361. The deal was that they had to find another train to put at the Horseshoe Curve. So, Conrail (another railroad company) gave them PRR 7048, a GP9 diesel-electric locomotive. The museum received money and workers to move No. 1361 and start fixing it up.
The K4 locomotive, No. 1361, was restored to working condition in Conrail's Altoona railroad shops. It ran for about a year, but then it had problems with its parts and had to stop. The museum faced financial issues, which made it hard to repair the engine. In 1996, the engine was sent to Steamtown National Historic Site for a full restoration. However, the museum stopped funding the project in 2007. The restoration was officially canceled in 2010. This failed restoration is still a talked-about topic because of its long history and the money spent.
Museum Growth
The National Park Service became interested in historic sites in western Pennsylvania. This led to the creation of America's Industrial Heritage Project in 1988. This project aimed to find important industrial sites and help create a better tourism industry. Altoona and Johnstown were chosen as key areas.
As part of this program, the Railroaders Memorial Museum worked with the National Park Service. They renovated the visitor facilities at the nearby Horseshoe Curve. These renovations cost $5.8 million and were finished in 1992. A new visitor center, run by the museum, was opened.
Museum officials also looked for a bigger space for the Railroaders Memorial Museum. In 1990, they wanted to move into the Master Mechanics Building nearby. This four-story brick office building was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Parts of it dated back to 1882. It had been empty since 1984.
Moving the museum was a big project, costing $12 million. It was paid for by the National Park Service and other grants. There were some delays due to paperwork and big snowstorms. This even caused a money problem for the museum for a short time. But finally, the grand opening ceremonies for the new museum were held on April 25, 1998.
New Management
In 2002, the museum faced serious money problems. An internal check showed that the museum was deeply in debt. The board members were surprised to learn they couldn't even "afford to open the doors." Most of the board members then resigned.
New board members took over and hired the Westsylvania Heritage Corporation to help run the museum. They made big changes to save the museum. They cut the budget and let go of more than half of the museum's employees. Volunteers took over many tasks. They also started hosting events and renting out the museum's spaces to earn more money. Slowly, the museum started to pay off its debt.
In 2007, the museum's operations were transferred to the Salone Management Group. This group had already organized concerts at the museum. In 2010, the Salone Management Group oversaw the building of a quarter-roundhouse on the museum grounds.
In 2020, Joseph DeFrancesco became the new executive director. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the museum and the Horseshoe Curve visitor center to close temporarily. DeFrancesco made many cuts and reorganized the museum. The museum reopened in March 2021. On June 24, 2021, the museum hired FMW Solutions to try and restore the PRR 1361 locomotive to working condition again. Charles "Wick" Moorman, a retired railroad executive, was chosen as the chairman of the board.
With new leaders and a strong financial plan, the museum is now in a much better place.
Museum Building
Since 1998, the museum has been located in the Master Mechanics Building. The Pennsylvania Railroad built this building as part of its Altoona Works. The Altoona Works was once the largest complex of railroad shop facilities in the world! The railroad started building shops in Altoona in 1849. Within 30 years, they had many different areas across the city. These included shops to build and fix locomotives and train cars, a paint shop, a blacksmith shop, and places to make metal parts.
The Master Mechanics Building was finished in 1882. It had two stories and held administrative offices. It was also the first home of the railroad's Test Department. This department had laboratories for testing materials. In 1886, a third story was added, giving the Test Department two full floors. Workers in this department helped the Pennsylvania Railroad make sure all its materials were the same quality. They also used the labs for public relations. For example, they gave demonstrations at the railroad's exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
By 1909, the Master Mechanics Building had grown to four floors. But the Test Department still needed more space. So, in 1914, the department moved to its own building within the Altoona Works.
The Pennsylvania Railroad and the companies that followed it continued to use the building for offices. This included the headquarters for the railroad police. It was last used for Conrail's medical offices and was empty by 1984.
Starting in 1990, the Master Mechanics Building was renovated and changed for the museum. The museum opened in its new home eight years later. The building also has offices for the Railroaders Heritage Corporation.
Old train cars and locomotives are displayed in a courtyard, a quarter-roundhouse, and a turntable on the museum grounds. The old museum building, also on the grounds, is now used for storage.
Ghost Stories at the Museum
The museum started telling stories about the Master Mechanics Building being haunted in 2003. During Halloween tours that year, they shared "real ghost stories." The TV show Ghost Hunters even filmed part of an episode inside the museum. After the episode aired in 2004, local ghost hunters wrote a book claiming that spirits of deceased railroad workers haunt the museum.
Museum Collection
| PRR 7048 | |
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| PRR 7048 at the Horseshoe Curve in October 2011 | |
| Power type | Diesel–electric |
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| Builder | Electro-Motive Diesel |
| Build date | December 1955 |
| AAR wheel arr. | B-B |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Prime mover | EMD 567C |
| Power output | 1,750 hp (1,300 kW) |
| Retired | 1985 |
| Disposition | On static display in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Cosmetically restored in 2021. |
The museum has several cool trains in its collection. One of them is Pennsylvania Railroad 1361. This is a K4 steam locomotive that was on display at the Horseshoe Curve from 1957 until 1985. It was fixed up to run again, but it had a problem with its axle within a year. Since 2015, it has been undergoing another restoration at a roundhouse on the museum grounds.
No. 1361 was replaced at the Horseshoe Curve by Pennsylvania Railroad 7048. This is a preserved GP9 Diesel-electric locomotive. It was built by Electro-Motive Diesel in December 1955 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Later, it was used by Conrail. In 1985, Conrail painted No. 7048 back in its original Pennsylvania Railroad colors and gave it to the museum. A cosmetic restoration (making it look nice on the outside) of 7048 was completed in 2021.
In 2023, the museum got another train: a former Conrail SD60I #5582. This train is painted as Penn State University #2020. It's special because it's one of the first modern Conrail road locomotives to be saved and preserved. In January 2025, the locomotive was started up for the first time since 2019.
