Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

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

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.

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. George Michener Hart was named Museum director and first employee.The Patriot-News, Sun, Jun 19, 1983, Page 22, Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaLancaster New Era, Tue, Aug 02, 1983, Page 6, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 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 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.

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.

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.

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). 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.

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).

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 2003 (603) and 2015 (915) respectively.

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.

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.

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 +LocomotivesNameClassUnit TypeImagesManufacturerYear built NotesReading Company RocketRocketSteamBraithwaite, Milner & Co.1838Built in the United Kingdom Virginia and Truckee Railroad 20 Tahoe 8-28d MogulSteamBaldwin Locomotive Works, Burnham, Perry, Williams & Co.1875Retired in 1944Waimanalo Sugar Company "Olomana"OlomanaSteamBaldwin Locomotive Works1883Ran 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 H3SteamAltoona Works (PRR)1888This was the first locomotive class was the first to introduce the Belpaire Firebox in the United StatesPennsylvania Railroad 7002 E7SteamJuniata (PRR)1902This locomotive set an unofficial speed record of 127.1 MPH on June 12, 1905Pennsylvania Railroad 1223 D16SteamJuniata (PRR)1905Was featured in several films such as Hello, Dolly!Pennsylvania Railroad 2846 H6sbSteamBaldwin Locomotive Works1905The only of its class survivingLeetonia Railway 1 Class C ShaySteamLima Locomotive Works 1906Pennsylvania Railroad 3936-3937 DD1Electric (Third Rail)Altoona Works (PRR)1911Retained by the Penn Central until it was donated in 1979WH Mason Co. 4Class B ClimaxSteamClimax Locomotive Works 1913Pennsylvania Railroad 460E6SteamJuniata (PRR)1914Nicknamed the "Lindbergh Engine" for delivering footage of Charles Lindbergh's returning transatlantic flightPennsylvania Railroad 7688H10SteamLima Locomotive Works1915Used for troop service during WW2Pennsylvania Railroad 520L1SteamBaldwin Locomotive Works1916The only of its class survivingPennsylvania Railroad 1670B6SteamJuniata (PRR)1916Under cosmetic restorationPennsylvania Railroad 94A5SteamJuniata (PRR)1917One of the heaviest 0-4-0s ever builtChicago Mill & Lumber Company 42 Truck HeislerSteamHeisler Locomotive Works1918Reading Company 1251B-4aSteamReading Shops1918The only of its class survivingPennsylvania Railroad 3750K4SteamJuniata (PRR)1920Pulled Warren G. Harding's political campaign and funeral trainPennsylvania Railroad 5741G5SteamJuniata (PRR)1924Was considered the standard locomotive for PRR commuter rail serviceVulcan Iron Works 1DieselVulcan Iron Works1930Pennsylvania Railroad 6755M1bSteamJuniata (PRR)1930Likely the largest surviving PRR locomotivePennsylvania Railroad 4800GG1Electric (Overhead)GE1934Prototype GG1Pennsylvania Railroad 5690B1Electric (Overhead)Allis-Chalmers, Altoona Works, Westinghouse1934The only of its class survivingPennsylvania Railroad John Stevens ReplicaJohn StevensSteamAltoona Works (PRR)1939Built for the 1939-1940 World's FairPennsylvania Power and Light 4094 "D"8-30Fireless steamHeisler Locomotive Works 1940Largest fireless locomotive builtCamden and Amboy Railroad John Bull ReplicaJohn Bull ReplicaSteamAltoona Works (PRR)1940Built for the 1939-1940 World's FairBethlehem Steel 1114-19Fireless steamHeisler Locomotive Works (PRR)1941Used as an emergency backup engine at the factory right before donationPennsylvania Railroad 4935GG1Electric (Overhead)Altoona Works (PRR)1943Used for excursions between 1977-1980Pennsylvania Railroad 5901EP20 (E7)DieselEMD1945Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad 81NW2DieselEMD1946Pennsylvania Power and Light N/A18-tonPlymouth Locomotive Works1949Baldwin Locomotive WorksS-12DieselBaldwin Locomotive Works1951Prototype unitLone Star Cement Co. N/A5-tonDieselN/ABrookville1951Pennsylvania Railroad 7006GP9DieselEMD1955Pennsylvania Railroad 4465E44Electric (Overhead)GE1963The only of its class survivingConrail 2233GP30DieselEMD1963Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701Century 415DieselALCO1968Amtrak 603E60MAElectric (Overhead)GE1976Only rebuilt E60 survivingAmtrak 915AEM-7ACElectric (Overhead)EMD1981First Amtrak AEM-7 to be preserved

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

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