The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (RRMPA) is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission with the active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (FRM).
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, in which construction officially began in July 2025 and is expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027.
The National Toy Train Museum and Choo Choo Barn are located nearby, and the Strasburg Rail Road is across the street from the museum.
History
thumb|left|PRR engine #1223 in operation on the [[Strasburg Rail Road (1989)]]<!--attribution required: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/image:Strasburg1223.jpg-->
For the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, the Pennsylvania Railroad displayed several 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. Many of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Historic Collection were sent to Strasburg, forming the "Train of Trains."
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was created by an act of the state legislature in 1963. The site was purchased in 1966 and groundbreaking occurred in 1972. in 1969 and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania officially opened 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 In all, the museum holds roughly 100 pieces of rolling stock, some nearing 200 years old.
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 [[Pennsylvania Railroad 7002|
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.
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).
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.
List of locomotives
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Locomotives
!Name
!Class
!Unit Type
!Images
!Manufacturer
!Year built
!Notes
|-
|Reading Company "Rocket"
|PR Rocket
|Steam
|190px
|Braithwaite, Milner & Co.
|1838
|Built in the United Kingdom
|-
|Virginia and Truckee Railroad 20 Tahoe
|VT 8-28d Mogul
|Steam
|190px
|Baldwin Locomotive Works, Burnham, Perry, Williams & Co.
|1875
|Retired in 1944
|-
|Waimanalo Sugar Company "Olomana"
|WSC Olomana
|Steam
|190px
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|1883
|Ran excursions on the Grizzly Flats Railroad between 1953-1977. Walt Disney also called the locomotive "the nearest thing to a Mickey Mouse engine he had ever seen"
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 1187
|PRR H3
|Steam
|190px
|Altoona Works (PRR)
|1888
|This was the first locomotive class was the first to introduce the Belpaire Firebox in the United States
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 7002
|PRR E7
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1902
|This locomotive set a unofficial speed record of 127.1 MPH on June 12, 1905
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 1223
|PRR D16
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1905
|Was featured in several films such as Hello, Dolly!
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 2846
|PRR H6sb
|Steam
|190px
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|1905
|The only of its class surviving
|-
|Leetonia Railway 1
|Class C Shay
|Steam
|190px
|Lima Locomotive Works
|1906
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 3936-3937
|PRR DD1
|Electric (Third Rail)
|190px
|Altoona Works (PRR)
|1911
|Retained by the Penn Central until it was donated in 1979
|-
|WH Mason Co. 4
|Class B Climax
|Steam
|190px
|Climax Locomotive Works
|1913
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 460
|PRR E6
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1914
|Nicknamed the "Lindbergh Engine" for delivering footage of Charles Lindbergh's returning transatlantic flight
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 7688
|PRR H10
|Steam
|190px
|Lima Locomotive Works
|1915
|Used for troop service during WW2
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 520
|PRR L1
|Steam
|190px
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|1916
|The only of its class surviving
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 1670
|PRR B6
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1916
|Under cosmetic restoration
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 94
|PRR A5
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1917
|One of the heaviest 0-4-0s ever built
|-
|Chicago Mill & Lumber Company 4
|2 Truck Heisler
|Steam
|190px
|Heisler Locomotive Works
|1918
|
|-
|Reading Company 1251
|PR B-4a
|Steam
|190px
|Reading Shops
|1918
|The only of its class surviving
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 3750
|PRR K4
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1920
|Pulled Warren G. Harding's political campain and funeral train
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 5741
|PRR G5
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1924
|Was considered the standard locomotive for PRR commuter rail service
|-
|Vulcan Iron Works 1
|N/A
|Diesel
|190px
|Vulcan Iron Works
|1930
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 6755
|PRR M1b
|Steam
|190px
|Juniata (PRR)
|1930
|Likely the largest surviving PRR locomotive
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 4800
|PRR GG1
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|GE
|1934
|Prototype GG1
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 5690
|PRR B1
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|Allis-Chalmers, Altoona Works, Westinghouse
|1934
|The only of its class surviving
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad John Stevens Replica
|John Stevens
|Steam
|190px
|Altoona Works (PRR)
|1939
|Built for the 1939-1940 World's Fair
|-
|Pennsylvania Power and Light 4094 "D"
|PPL 8-30
|Fireless steam
|190px
|Heisler Locomotive Works
|1940
|Largest fireless locomotive built
|-
|Camden and Amboy Railroad John Bull Replica
|CA John Bull Replica
|Steam
|190px
|Altoona Works (PRR)
|1940
|Built for the 1939-1940 World's Fair
|-
|Bethlehem Steel 111
|BS 4-19
|Fireless steam
|190px
|Heisler Locomotive Works (PRR)
|1941
|Used as an emergency backup engine at the factory right before donation
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 4935
|PRR GG1
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|Altoona Works (PRR)
|1943
|Used for excursions between 1977-1980
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 5901
|PRR EP20 (E7)
|Diesel
|190px
|EMD
|1945
|
|-
|Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 81
|NW2
|Diesel
|190px
|EMD
|1946
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Power and Light (No. N/A)
|18-ton
|Diesel?
|N/A
|Plymouth Locomotive Works
|1949
|
|-
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|S-12
|Diesel
|190px
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|1951
|Prototype unit
|-
|Lone Star Cement Co. (No. N/A)
|5-ton
|Diesel
|N/A
|Brookville
|1951
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 7006
|GP9
|Diesel
|190px
|EMD
|1955
|
|-
|Pennsylvania Railroad 4465
|PRR E44
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|GE
|1963
|The only of its class surviving
|-
|Conrail 2233
|GP30
|Diesel
|190px
|EMD
|1963
|
|-
|Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701
|Century 415
|Diesel
|190px
|ALCO
|1968
|
|-
|Amtrak 603
|E60MA
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|GE
|1976
|Only rebuilt E60 surviving
|-
|Amtrak 915
|AEM-7AC
|Electric (Overhead)
|190px
|EMD
|1980
|First Amtrak AEM-7 to be preserved
|}
See also
- List of heritage railroads in the United States
References
External links
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania website