Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
	Entrance to the museum
Established	1975
Location	Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°58′57″N76°9′37″W / 39.98250°N 76.16028°W
Type	Railroad museum
Director	Patrick C. Morrison
Website	rrmuseumpa.org

Last updated November 22, 2024

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

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.^[1]

The National Toy Train Museum and Choo Choo Barn are located nearby, and the Strasburg Rail Road is across the street from the museum.^[2]

History

PRR engine #1223 in operation on the Strasburg Rail Road (1989) PRR1223.jpg — 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^[2] but had not broken ground as-of January 2019.^[3] In all, the museum holds roughly 100 pieces of rolling stock, some nearing 200 years old.^[2]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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).^[4] 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.^[5]

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).^[4]

Electric locomotives include two PRR GG1 locomotives: the original prototype PRR 4800, and PRR #4935. Two other electric locomotives include Amtrak E60 #603, and EMD AEM-7 #915, which were donated by Amtrak in 2015.^[4]

Solari Board from 30th Street Station awaiting installation Solari-Board.jpg — 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.^[4]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

List of locomotives

Operator	Number	Type or class	Manufacturer	Builder's No.	Year	Wheel arrangement
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	0-4-0 VB
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

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References

↑ "RR Museum of PA :: 2010 Funding Breakthroughs" . Retrieved 2010-08-08.
1 2 3 "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | About Us". rrmuseumpa.org. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
↑ "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania completes fundraising for five restorations". Kalmbach Media. 25 January 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | Roster". rrmuseumpa.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
↑ Cupper, Dan; Lettenberger, Bob (November 2023). "185-year-old Rocket moving to Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania". Trains . No. 11 Vol 83. Kalmbach Media. p. 52.
↑ Rush, Mariah (July 30, 2019). "30th Street Station's old Amtrak Solari board now on display at Railroad Museum". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
↑ Solomon, Brian (November 2023). "Ghosts in the Machines". Trains . No. 11 Vol 83. Kalmbach Media. pp. 54–56.

External links

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania website

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[1] "RR Museum of PA :: 2010 Funding Breakthroughs" . Retrieved 2010-08-08.

[rrmuseumpa.org-2] 1 2 3 "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | About Us". rrmuseumpa.org. Retrieved 2018-03-14.

[3] "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania completes fundraising for five restorations". Kalmbach Media. 25 January 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2021.

[roster-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | Roster". rrmuseumpa.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-14.

[5] Cupper, Dan; Lettenberger, Bob (November 2023). "185-year-old Rocket moving to Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania". Trains . No. 11 Vol 83. Kalmbach Media. p. 52.

[6] Rush, Mariah (July 30, 2019). "30th Street Station's old Amtrak Solari board now on display at Railroad Museum". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 11, 2019.

[7] Solomon, Brian (November 2023). "Ghosts in the Machines". Trains . No. 11 Vol 83. Kalmbach Media. pp. 54–56.

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