Steamtown National Historic Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Steamtown National Historic Site |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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Five locomotives in the roundhouse
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 Steamtown National Historic Site
Location in Pennsylvania
Steamtown National Historic Site
Location in the United States
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| Location | Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Area | 62.48 acres (25.28 ha) |
| Established | October 30, 1986 |
| Visitors | 106,309 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Steamtown National Historic Site |
Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a special place in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. It's a railroad museum and a heritage railroad that covers about 62 acres. This site used to be the busy Scranton train yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W).
The museum is built around a working turntable and a roundhouse. These are mostly rebuilt versions of the original DL&W buildings. For example, the roundhouse was put back together using parts of a building from 1932. You can also see several original buildings from 1899 to 1902. All the buildings here are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Most of the steam locomotives and other train equipment at Steamtown NHS were first collected by F. Nelson Blount. He was a rich businessman from New England who loved trains. In 1964, Blount started a group called the Steamtown Foundation. They ran a steam railroad museum and train rides called Steamtown, U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, Vermont.
In 1984, the foundation moved Steamtown to Scranton. The idea was to help improve the city, and Scranton helped pay for the move. However, the museum didn't get as many visitors as hoped. It was facing money problems within two years.
In 1986, the U.S. House of Representatives decided to help. A representative from Scranton, Joseph M. McDade, pushed for $8 million to start turning the museum into a National Historic Site. Some people didn't think it was a good idea. They said the train collection wasn't that special and the site wasn't historically important enough. But supporters argued that the site and its trains showed an important part of American industrial history.
By 1995, the National Park Service (NPS) took over Steamtown, USA. They improved the facilities, spending about $66 million in total. Since then, Steamtown National Historic Site has sold a few trains from the original collection. They also added some trains that were more important to the history of the region.
Contents
Exploring the Museum and Collection
Steamtown NHS is located inside a real railroad yard. It includes parts of the original 1902 DL&W Scranton roundhouse and train repair shops. The visitor center, theater, and museums are built to look like the missing parts of the original roundhouse. This helps you imagine what the big circular building was like.
The museum has exhibits that teach you about the history and technology of steam railroads in the United States. You can learn about life on the railroad and how railroads worked with businesses, workers, and the government. A short film plays in the theater throughout the day.
Many locomotives (train engines) and passenger or freight cars are on display. You can even climb into some of them! You can explore a mail car, a fancy passenger car for railroad executives (with a dining room and sleeping areas), a boxcar, and two cabooses. There's also a recreated DL&W station with a ticket window. A special steam locomotive with parts cut away helps you see how steam power works. You can also see parts of an old 1865 roundhouse inspection pit under glass.
Some of the trains here have a direct link to the site's history. These include a DL&W steam engine, a diesel engine, a caboose, and a boxcar. There's also a former World War II troop sleeper car. Other famous trains include the huge Union Pacific Big Boy #4012 and the rare Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) #2929.
Awesome Locomotives at Steamtown
Steamtown has many different types of locomotives. Here are some of the most interesting ones:
- Smallest Locomotive: The Bullard Company #2 is the smallest engine in the collection. It's a tiny 0-4-0T type.
- Only DL&W Locomotive: The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad #565 is the only engine from the original DL&W railroad at this site.
- Oldest Locomotive: The Illinois Central Railroad #790, built in 1903, is the oldest engine in the collection.
- Largest Locomotive: The Union Pacific Big Boy #4012 is the biggest locomotive here. It's a massive 4-8-8-4 type.
- Fireless Locomotive: The Public Service Electric and Gas Co. #6816 is special because it's the only "fireless" locomotive. It doesn't burn fuel on board.
- Operational Engines: Some engines like Baldwin Locomotive Works #26 and Nickel Plate Road #514 are operational. This means they can still run!
- Famous Visitors: Other famous engines have visited Steamtown, like the "Peppersass" No.1 from the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
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Train Demonstrations, Tours, and Rides
Steamtown NHS offers many ways to learn about how railroads worked during the age of steam. Park rangers lead tours of the locomotive shop. Here, you can see people working on the steam engines in the original roundhouse area. You can also see the huge Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive up close. They often show how the turntable works. Rangers also give talks about the history of Steamtown. The Scranton train yard covers about 40 acres.
Several working locomotives take visitors on short rides through the Scranton yard. These rides happen in the spring, summer, and fall. Most rides are on passenger coaches. You can also sometimes ride in a caboose or on a handcar. These short rides are usually included with your admission ticket.
Longer train trips are also available, but these require separate tickets. You can ride in a special Pullman coach. Longer trips go to nearby towns like Carbondale, Tobyhanna, and Moscow, Pennsylvania. Sometimes, special trips go even further to places like the Delaware Water Gap.
History of Steamtown
Starting in New England
F. Nelson Blount loved railroads. He collected one of the biggest groups of old steam locomotives in the United States. By 1964, he had 25 steam locomotives and many other train cars. They were kept in North Walpole, New Hampshire. His company, the Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad, offered train rides.
In 1964, Blount started the "Steamtown Foundation." This group was created to run Steamtown, U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The foundation's first job was to get Blount's collection and move it to Vermont.
Sadly, Blount died in an airplane accident in 1967. By then, much of his collection was with the Steamtown Foundation. The trains used tracks owned by another company, the Green Mountain Railroad. Over time, there were problems between Steamtown and the railroad. Also, the steam trains caused pollution, which went against Vermont's rules. By 1978, the Steamtown Foundation started looking for a new home for Steamtown, USA.
In the early 1980s, Steamtown in Vermont was struggling. It didn't get many visitors, and some of its buildings were damaged by heavy snow. Many of the old trains needed repairs.
Moving to Scranton
A newspaper writer named Michael McManus suggested that a city like Scranton could benefit from a tourist attraction like Steamtown. He explained why it was failing in Vermont, like its isolated location and damaged buildings. He also pointed out that the train collection was very valuable.
In June 1983, Scranton decided to take on Steamtown. The city promised to raise $2 million to move the trains and create a museum. On October 23, 1983, Steamtown had its last train ride in Vermont. Then, Scranton began raising money for the big move.
When Steamtown moved to Scranton, people thought it would bring 200,000 to 400,000 visitors each year. But in 1987, only 60,000 visitors came. The museum quickly faced money problems. One issue was the high cost of fixing up the new site and the old trains. Also, the train rides from Scranton weren't as scenic as the ones in Vermont.
Becoming a National Historic Site
In 1986, the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Representative Joseph M. McDade from Scranton, approved money to study the collection. The goal was to make it a National Historic Site (NHS). By 1995, the National Park Service (NPS) had taken over Steamtown. They spent $66 million to develop it, and it opened as Steamtown NHS in 1995.
Before taking over, the NPS studied the trains to see which ones were most important to American history. Some trains that didn't fit the new goals were sold or traded for others that had more historical meaning for the region.
The idea of Steamtown becoming a National Historic Site caused some debate. Some historians and museum experts felt the collection wasn't top-tier. They also questioned if the site itself was historically significant enough for federal funding. However, supporters argued that Scranton was a perfect place to show the history of America's Industrial Revolution. They said the city had many signs of that era, like old train shops, a roundhouse, and a grand passenger station.
The site used to belong to the DL&W railroad. This railroad was famous for its "Phoebe Snow" advertisements. These ads showed a young woman who always wore white, to highlight that the DL&W used clean-burning coal. This meant no soot would get on her white dress! Scranton was once served by five railroads, showing its importance as a train hub.
Despite the debates and challenges, Steamtown NHS opened in 1995. It was praised for letting visitors see trains not just in a museum, but also in motion. Locomotives regularly move from the yard into the roundhouse, making it a "dynamic museum."
By 2008, the government had invested a lot in Steamtown. Visitor numbers had gone down since its opening year. Many of the old trains also needed special cleaning to remove materials like asbestos. The federal government promised money for this work and for restoring the equipment, if other groups also helped with funding.
In 2013, Steamtown, like other National Parks, had to close for a short time due to a government shutdown.
