Our family vacation brought us to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania this year, and our itinerary included some hiking, Amish culture, brewpubs, pretzels and of course a little touch of railroading. We spent a day around Strasburg, Pennsylvania visiting both the Strasburg Rail Road, as well as the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania – well, part of it anyway.
The third day of our trip to Amish country, Wednesday August 17, 2016, we spent around the Strasburg area and had a full day’s agenda planned. We’d start out on the Strasburg Rail Road, riding the 11am train, then take the guided shop tour. After a bite for lunch, we’d then spend most of the afternoon across the street at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, enjoying the indoor part of their exhibits. In the evening we’d enjoy Miller’s smorgasbord, then wrap up the day shooting the 7pm run heading back to Strasburg, and the crew putting the power away for the evening right around sunset.
Strasburg runs a first-class operation, and I highly recommend visiting and riding their excursion – this was my first time visiting, and I’ll certainly be back. The ride and scenery was beautiful, and the open car was a great choice to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of steam railroading in the rural farm landscape. Also, the shop tour was a great peek into all of the work this road does behind the scenes to keep things rolling, not only for their own operations, but for other railroads across the country. Our tour guide Mark, who works in the car shop as a carpenter primarily, was knowledgeable and quite personable – as were all of the other employees we encountered during the tour. Everyone was more that willing to stop what they were doing and answer questions from the group. The museum across the street is simply immense, and really needs more than a day to enjoy completely. We made it through most of the indoor exhibits during our visit, but never made it outside. We’ll explore the rest on our next visit, for sure.
Here’s the full set of photos from our day, hopefully giving you a flavor of our visit – the ride, shop tour, museum and chase. And a pretty nice moon-rise to boot…
Thanks for looking!
Tom
Strasburg Rail Road No. 475 approaches the train for the first run of the day
The first run of the day gets ready with 475 about to tie onto the train in Strasburg, PA
Strasburg Rail Road No. 475’s fireman peers out of the cab at the start of the day
Strasburg Rail Road No. 475’s fireman talking with someone on the platform
The crew confers before departure time from Strasburg
No. 475 pulls the train out of the station past fellow locomotive No. 90, who is off for the day
Strasburg rail Road No. 475 pulls the train through conrfields
A different view of Strasburg Rail Road No. 475 pulling the train through the Amish countryside
Strasburg Rail Road pulls an excursion train through the cornfields of Strasburg, Penn.
No. 475s fireman watches his gagues in the cab
Strasburg Rail Road No. 475 pulls an excursion train into Paradise, Penn.
Strasburg Rail Road No. 475 pulls an excursion train into Paradise, Penn.
The conductor rides 475’s footboard up to the switch for the runaround move
The conductor rides 475’s footboard and signals the engineer when to stop, clear of the switch. In the background is a freight waiting to approach.
475s engine crew watches their train as they run around
475s engineer gives passengers a friendly wave
475s fireman gives passengers a friendly wave
475 nearly heads out of view, heading for the opposite end of the train for the return trip
The freight follows 475 down the pasisng siding
An Amish farm along the tracks
An Amish buggy heads across the grade crossing behind the train.
After a quick station stop, the train heads back to Strasburg
Strasburg station is visible in the distance, as the train passes through a corn field
An Amish farm along the tracks
An Amish farm along the tracks
475 runs around the train, preparing for the noontime run
Some folks watch 475 run around the train
While 475 meets up with its train, the Amish and “English” cultures meet, watching a common subject
Main Eastern GP9 No 764 spots loaded lumber cars in the transload area of Strasburg
A fan with a Providence & Worcester t-shirt (and a classic one at that) photographes the Maine Eastern GP9
Our tour guide Mark fills us in on some of the fabrication work that was going on.
Mark explaining the wheel lathe
Mark explaining the wheel lathe
A closeup of some wrenches
Some funny remarks…
Detail of a narrow gauge locomotive being rebuilt
Mark explaining the repairs being done
Mark explaining how stay bolts work
Mark explaining how the cups work with movable stay bolts
Mark pointing out some details
Mark giving an overview of the car restoration being done
Inside the car being restored
Oil cans in the shop
Oil cans in the shop
Thomas waits for his next assignment
Shop work
Shop work
Boiler rebuild
Explaining the rebuilding process
Fabrication
475 runs around the train for another run
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Inside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
An Amish buggy passes by the outdoor collection at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
475 rounds the bend at the top of the grade and into view
475 is about to pass by coworker No. 90
475 preparing to run around the train near the end of the track at Strasburg
475s engineer signals his fireman as he prepares to shove back
475 running around the train
475 waits at Strasburg to lead the final train of the day from the station
475s engineer checks the running gear prior to departure
475 pulls through the curve as they head back to the station
The 7pm passenger excursion on the Strasburg Rail Road heads back to the station a little before sunset.
The nearly full moon rises over the farmland
The moon rises over a Pennsylvania hopper
475s fireman throws a switch as they pause next to 90 at the end of the day
The moon rises over a Pennsylvania hopper and 475 passing by
475 heads for the coal ramp, where it will spend the night
475s fireman walks back to his locomotive, with 90 in the background sitting quietly
475s engineer moves the locomotive to the coal ramp, where it will spend the night
Interesting. I agree that Strasburg is a world class organization. The fact that they run so many trains per day is pretty amazing. I was actually there the day before on 8/16, but I opted for the air conditioned parlor car. This was my second visit, and I won’t hesitate to go back in the future.
Al Crossley
Great set, Tom, especially the B&W. I’ll have to get down there someday…always wondered how staybolts worked! 🙂
3 thoughts on “Strasburg Rail Road Visit”
Interesting. I agree that Strasburg is a world class organization. The fact that they run so many trains per day is pretty amazing. I was actually there the day before on 8/16, but I opted for the air conditioned parlor car. This was my second visit, and I won’t hesitate to go back in the future.
Great set, Tom, especially the B&W. I’ll have to get down there someday…always wondered how staybolts worked! 🙂
As usual, some great shots.