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.
For the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the Pennsylvania Railroad had displayed a number of historic locomotives and cars they had collected over the years. After the fair had ended, the PRR, decided to preserve the equipment that was displayed, along with various other locomotives and rolling stock. The equipment was stored away in 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 the museum was to be built directly next 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 was sent to Strasburg coupled together, forming the "Train of Trains."
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was officially opened to the public on 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.
List of Exhibits[]
- Steam Locomotives:
- Diesel Locomotives:
| Photograph | Locomotive | Locomotive Class | Build date | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conrail No. 2233 | GP30 | 1963 | Electro-Motive Division |
|
No. 1200 | S-12 | 1951 | Baldiwn Locomotive Works |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 5901 | E7A | 1945 | Electro-Motive Division |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 7006 | GP9 | 1955 | Electro-Motive Division |
|
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad No. 81 | NW2 | 1946 | Electro-Motive Division |
|
Monongahela Connecting Railroad No. 701 | ALCO Century 415 | 1968 | American Locomotive Company |
- Electric Locomotives:
| Photograph | Locomotive | Locomotive Class | Build date | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 3936 and 3937 | DD1 | 1911 | Altoona Works |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 4465 | E44 | 1963 | General Electric |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 4800 | GG1 | 1934 | General Electric |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 4935 | GG1 | 1943 | Altoona Works |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 5690 | B1 | 1934 | Altoona Works |
|
Amtrak No. 603 | GE E60 | June 1976 | General Electric |
|
Amtrak No. 915 | EMD AEM-7 | January 1981 | Electro-Motive Division |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 860 | Metroliner | 1968 | Budd Company |
- Former Locomotives:
| Photograph | Locomotive | Locomotive Class | Wheel Arrangement | Build date | Manufacturer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal No. 13 | - | 0-6-0T | 1919 | H. K. Porter | On static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio |
|
Nickel Plate Road No. 757 | Class S-2 | 2-8-4 | 1944 | Lima Locomotive Works | On static display at the the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum, Bellevue, Ohio |
|
Pennsylvania No. 3 | 1912 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | On static display at the J&L Narrow Gauge Railway in Youngstown, Ohio |
Trivia[]
- The National Toy Train Museum, & Choo Choo Barn are located nearby, and the Strasburg Rail Road is across the street from the museum.
- In addition to full-size rolling stock pieces, the museum offers a number of other commodities, which include several model railroad layouts, a hands-on educational center, a library and archives, and a smaller exhibit gallery on the second floor.
- It occasionally uses Strasburg Railroad tracks to connect to the Amtrak Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line junction in Paradise, Pennsylvania.
- The museum made an agreement with the Strasburg Rail Road to lease Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives 1223 and 7002 for tourist excursion service. PRR 1223 entered service with Strasburg in 1963 and PRR 7002 entered service with Strasburg in 1983. They both operated with Strasburg until their retirement from excursion service in 1989, after which, they were placed back on indoor static display at the museum.