Strasburg Rail Road

Strasburg Rail Road

Reporting mark	SRC
Locale	Strasburg and Paradise Townships, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1832 (1832)–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	4.5 mi (7.2 km)
Headquarters	Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Website	strasburgrailroad.com

Strasburg Railroad
Legend Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Strasburg Road (PA 741) East Strasburg Paradise Lane Esbenshade Road Groundhog Cut Cherry Hill Pop. 17 (more or less) Cherry Hill Road Groff's Grove Carpenters Black Horse Road Leaman Place Amtrak Parkesburg–Lancaster

The Strasburg Rail Road (reporting mark SRC) is the oldest continuously operating railroad in the western hemisphere and the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road continues to operate under its original charter and original name (Strasburg Rail Road Company). Located just outside of the town of Strasburg, Pennsylvania, the railroad is a heritage railroad offering excursion trains, hauled by steam locomotives, through the heart of world-famous Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Strasburg currently has four (4) serviceable historic steam locomotives (Canadian National 7312, Canadian National 89, Great Western 90, N&W 475) on its roster and has the nation's largest fleet of historic wooden passenger coaches in operation. The Strasburg Rail Road is also one of the few railroads in the United States to occasionally use steam locomotives to haul revenue freight trains. It hosts 300,000 visitors per year.^[1]

Across the street from the Strasburg Rail Road is the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The Strasburg Rail Road serves as the Museum's physical rail connection to the Amtrak Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line junction in Paradise, Pennsylvania.

Description

Strasburg Rail Road is a shortline railroad whose construction in the 19th century was intended to connect the town of Strasburg with the main line. Today, the original 4½-mile (7.2 km) line carries passengers on a 45-minute round-trip journey from Strasburg to Leaman Place Junction through nearly 1,000 acres in south-eastern Lancaster County.

The train includes the United States' only operational wooden dining car on which visitors may dine while riding. Attractions at the station include the fully operational 15 in (381 mm) gauge Pint-Sized Pufferbelly^[2] (Cagney steam-powered ridable miniature railway) a vintage pump car and several c.1930s "cranky cars" along with several gift shops and a cafe.

A percentage of each train ticket is contributed to the Lancaster Farmland Trust.^[3]

In addition to the excursion train rides, Strasburg Rail Road mechanical and car shops conduct contract work for a wide variety of public and private clients including fellow steam railroads, train museums, attractions, and more. Strasburg Rail Road's freight department facilitates the carrying of goods to and from the main line for a number of local and regional clients. In 2016, it was announced that they are to expand their shop an extra 12,000 square feet due to the increase of jobs from other railroads.

History

By the 1820s, the canal system had replaced the Conestoga Wagon as the primary method of long-distance transportation. When the Susquehanna Canal opened, the majority of goods were directed through Baltimore, Maryland rather than Philadelphia.^[4][5] The small amount of goods that were destined for Philadelphia traveled via a wagon road through Strasburg.^[5] Philadelphia attempted to reclaim its position as a major port city by constructing the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in 1831. A railroad was easier and more cost effective to build than a canal. Because the new railroad would bypass Strasburg and cause Strasburg to lose its livelihood, a group of businessmen petitioned the state government for the right to build their own railroad to connect Strasburg to the Philadelphia and Columbia.^[6] A charter was issued by the Pennsylvania Legislature with the signature of Governor George Wolf on June 9, 1832 to "incorporate the Strasburg rail road [sic]".^[7]

Strasburg Rail Road ex-PRR 4-4-0 number 929 in Strasburg around 1894.

Although the pre-1852 history of the Strasburg Rail Road is sketchy, it is believed that the line was graded in 1835 and was operational by 1837.^[6][8] The railroad operated as a horse-drawn railroad until it purchased a Norris-built, 4-2-0 steam locomotive named the William Penn in 1851.^[8] Controlling interest in the railroad was purchased by John F. and Cyrus N. Herr in 1863. The rails were replaced around the same time with heavier ones to accommodate the locomotive.^[9] In 1866, the Herrs were granted a charter to extend the Strasburg Rail Road to Quarryville; surveys were carried out, but the extension was eventually canceled because of an economic depression in 1867.^[10] Isaac Groff managed The Strasburg Rail Road for about 20 years until the destructive fire of January 16, 1871 which destroyed the depot, grist, and merchant-mill, planing-mill, and machine-shop. In one night over fifty thousand dollars' worth of property was destroyed. In 1878, the Strasburg Rail Road and the shops were sold.^[11] The railroad was eventually again sold in 1888 to the Edward Musselman, with the Musselmans retaining control of it until 1918, when it was purchased by State Senator John Homsher. By this time, the number of passengers had dropped off due to tracks for the Conestoga Traction Company's streetcars reaching Strasburg in 1908, which offered a more direct route between Lancaster and Strasburg.^[12]

In 1926, the Strasburg Rail Road purchased a 20-short-ton (18 t), gasoline-powered, Plymouth switcher—the only locomotive that was ever built specifically for the Strasburg Rail Road.^[12] By 1958, the railroad fell on hard-times from cumulative effect of years of declining freight business and infrequent runs, damage caused by Hurricane Hazel, and inspectors from the Interstate Commerce Commission's lack of approval for operation of the Plymouth locomotive.^[13][14] Upon the death of Bryson Homsher, the Homsher estate filed for abandonment with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.^[15] Hearing of the potential abandonment, and effort to purchase and save the railroad was organized by Henry K. Long and Donald E. L. Hallock, both railfans from Lancaster. They organized a small, non-profit group to purchase the railroad. After the better part of a year of hard work, the purchase was completed on November 1, 1958. The following week, on November 8, the first carload of revenue freight was hauled to what was then the only customer, a mill in Strasburg.

Strasburg Railroad Station, Oct 2010

Strasburg Railroad #89

Strasburg Railroad #475

Two trains meet near Groff's Grove

Strasburg Railroad #89

Tourist excursion service began on January 4, 1959, and the first steam locomotive, No. 31, arrived the following year.

Locomotive roster

Operational

SRR's former Great Western 90 2-10-0 decapod at Leaman Place

No. 1 was formerly BEDT Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal engine #15, rebuilt as Thomas the Tank Engine by SRR. Thomas' face was replaced with the CGI face in June 2014.^[20]

No. 89 was purchased from the Steamtown Foundation in 1972. En route to Strasburg that June, it was caught in Penn Central's Buttonwood, Pennsylvania, yard when Hurricane Agnes flooded the Susquehanna River over the locomotive's stack, delaying its debut at Strasburg.

For several years, groups have scheduled photo charters when the railroad reletters locomotives in their heritage paint scheme. For the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad, #475 and three passenger cars were relettered "Indian Valley".

No. 90 was painted in her old Great Western Railway (Colorado) colors in 2013.

Undergoing restoration

No. 1187 ran as No. 4 between 1962 and 1967. It was retired as being of inadequate strength for SRR's heavy trains. It is a camelback-type locomotive. After a loan to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, it is now back on the railroad property and is currently dismantled pending long-term future restoration.^[21]

No. 972 was acquired from Rail Tours Inc. of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania after the company could not afford the payments for mechanical repairs that Strasburg was performing on the locomotive at the time.

• • While there are many locomotives which have gone through the backshop for restoration, some have been established to be in the shop only on here-say. It should be noted that only locomotives which have been publicly displayed or have been given a press release count as restorations/re-builds.

Retired

Pennsylvania Railroad D16 #1223 on the Strasburg Rail Road in 1989

Both 1223 and 7002 were leased for operation. 1223 was leased from the PRR from 1965 to 1968, from Penn Central from 1968 to 1979 and from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1990. 7002 was also leased from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. After ultra-sonic testing both engines were found to have thin spots in their fireboxes, which are a part of their boilers, thus the engines were taken out of service. Today, 1223 and 7002 are static displays in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

98 is currently operating at Wilmington and Western Railroad.

Pre-1958

Strasburg Rail Road's first locomotive "William Penn" after its time at Strasburg

Strasburg rostered at least five steam locomotives prior to 1958. Evidence suggests that Strasburg only rostered one locomotive at a time, operating it until it was no longer economically viable to run it anymore and would purchase a new locomotive to replace it. ^[23]

Non-steam locomotives

SRR also has a collection of early internal combustion locomotives; All are in operation.

Retired diesels

Passenger Car Roster

See also

• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of Pennsylvania railroads
• Oldest railroads in North America

References

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strasburg Rail Road.

• Official website
• Strasburg Rail Road on Facebook
  
• Strasburg Rail Road on Twitter
  

Coordinates: 39°58′59.3″N 76°9′35.5″W / 39.983139°N 76.159861°W / 39.983139; -76.159861

Railroads of Pennsylvania
Common carriers	ALLN AOR AVR BDRV BLE (CN) BPRR BVRY CP CHR CNYK CORY CSXT DL EBGR EEC ESPN EV GET JVRR KRL KJR LRWY LS LVR LVRB LVRR MIDH MKC MMID MSUB NBER NCIR NDCR NHRR NS NSHR NYSW OCTL PAM PN POHC PSCC PSWR RBMN RJCN RJCP SBR SH SLRS SRC SVRR SWP TCKR TMSS TYBR UCIR UMP URR WCOR WE WNYP YRC YSRR
Passenger carriers	ALLN AMTK DI EBT ECTM FCR JIP KJR LGSR MI NHRR NJTR OCTT PAT PATC PREX PTM RMP RTM SPAX SRC TIOC WCRL WKS
Private carriers	CSAO CUMB EASO PBL
Former carriers	ALY APRR BO CNJ CR DH DLW DV ERIE EL GBRY GETY KKRR LNE LV MCLR MCRR MGA MPA MTR NCR NKP NYC OCTR OHPA OW NW PLE PC PRR PSN PSR PWV RDG SBRR WM YKR Y&PB
See also: List of United States railroads by political division