The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has its beginnings dating to 1963 when the state elected to build a museum to house the state's large collection of historical railroad artifacts as well as to keep alive its rich history of railroads which had operated within its borders (everything from the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad to small narrow-gauge and gravity railroads).

It took nearly 10 years from construction to begin on the museum, which was selected to be located by the then relatively unknown Strasburg Railroad in Strasburg. At one point the museum was in serious peril of losing the large collection, then owned by the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads which had merged in 1968 to form the Penn Central Transportation Company.

The Penn Central was interested in having the collection moved to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis but luckily those involved in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania successfully lobbied against the move keeping the collection in Strasburg. The first pieces of the collection began arriving in 1969 with the rest finding its may to the museum by the mid-1970s. Thankfully the Pennsylvania Railroad had taken great efforts and pride in preserving its historical equipment and thus today the museum features the largest collection of PRR equipment throughout the country.

In the proceeding years the museum lost a few pieces of its collection to sale but today not only hosts one of the largest collections of historic railroad equipment in general but also features some of the best facilities anywhere. For instance, the interior showroom, which plays host to dozens of cosmetically restored locomotives and cars (such as an electric GG1 locomotive) is meant to resemble a train shed from the mid-19th century. Also, outside on the grounds one can see more preserved equipment, notably several former PRR steam locomotives.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's collection, of course, is just a fraction of what you can find on the museum’s grounds. They hold numerous events throughout the year, virtual tours, model railroad layouts, membership opportunities, volunteer work to maintain and restore railroad artifacts, abundant educational exhibits to learn about our nation’s rail history and how it all works, and all kinds of other opportunities.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania also sits directly across the street from perhaps the most popular tourist railroad in America, the Strasburg Railroad, which operates through the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Tens of thousands of folks come to ride this railroad yearly and stop by the museum while there. Whatever type of railroading you hold an interest in there’s a very good chance that you will be able to find and/or experience it Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Also, for more information and reading about excursion trains and railroad museums you might want to consider picking up Tourist Trains Guidebook from the editors of Kalmbach Publishing's Trains magazine. The book lists and reviews over 400 excursions and museums found throughout the country and is an excellent resource if you're looking for one to visit. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.