I am currently in Vermont and headed down to South Carolina. I can spare a day or so to hit a railroad museum on the way south. My current thought is either Steamtown at Scranton or the Pennsyvania Railroad Museum at Strasburg. Any recommendation as to which one is better (or any other recommendations)?
Regards,
John
I’ve been to both, and I’d give the Pennsylvania RR Museum/Strasburg Railroad the edge. They are right across the street from each other. You can tour Strasburg’s working railroad shop facilities and the train ride thru the Amish contryside is very pleasant. Strasburg has lots of kid-friendly things too, if there are children travelling with you.
There was a motel down the way that had old cabooses for rooms, decorated in various road names and paint schemes. I don’t know if its still there… been some years since I went thru.
I have been to the B&O muesum in Baltimore and that was nice. They have a good sized collection in a cool building (a circus-tent like roundhouse with the turntable inside the building). They also have a large collection outside and a shop with even more trains! They have a HO layout in one of their passenger cars and a G scale layout outside the roundhouse. Depending on when you go, they may have other people come set up layouts. It is not all B&O, though, so it realy depends on what you are interested in seeing.
sfb
Tough call. For Strasburg/RR Museum of PA, I can spend 2 days there easily, and I’ve been on teh Strasburg so many times starting when I was about 4 that I know the entire dialog they give for the ride. But it’s fun to get an all-day pass, take the shop tour (no kids allowed for that), pay for one trip to upgrade to the parlor car, and, the last time I did that, it was not peak season so the last run was via the LO&S motor car - I had never been on that before even after all these years. This past July when I was last there, I also did the evening wine train, which was quite nice as well.
Then to see everything in the museum, really see everything, it takes nearly a full day. Best to go on a day they have lots of volunteers, the more help they have the more stuff they open up - particularly some of the loco cabs.
Steamtown too is fairly vast, and there are rides - last time I was there I lucked out on the caboose ride (pulled with a steam engine) and got to ride int he cupola. Actually, I was the cutoff person in line and the helper said if I was willign to climb up there I could go on this trip or wait an hour for the next one. Well DUH! There’s also the trolley museum right there that offers rides, it’s not part of Steamtown, if you like traction.
I’m closest to Strasburg - only about 45 minutes for me. If I had to decide today where to go I’d pick Steamtown, but only because I haven’t been there for a while and I was just at Strasburg over the summer when the RCT&HS had the modular layotu on display. Other than that I couldn’t tell you which I prefer - but there is definitely more stuff at Strasburg between the railroad and the museum. They’re both great.
–Randy
I live fairly close to Steamtown so frequent there and have been to Strasburg/RR Museum of PA a few times.
I would go to Strasburg RailRoad and the RailRaod Museum of PA across the street from Strasburg Railroad.
Steamtown has their static displays of steamers all gone for asbestos abatement and they don’t run steam except in the summer and a few excursions in the winter months for the holidays.
Strasburg runs steam all the time they run locos. The RR Museum has static dispays of about “one of everything major in the RR history” including a heisler, shay and climax as well as a GG1. They are missing the “big boy” that Steamtown has, but they are not so impressive in person, really.
Steamtown will be a better bet to visit next SUMMER. they will have their static steamers back and should be running 2 steamers, one when they do excusions and one to run the yard trip. But taht will be next June-July-August.
Here are links if you don’t already have them:
A southern alternative closer to your SC destination is North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer. They have a great roundhouse. Check out their website.
Also like Strasburg/ PRR museum a lot. Have never been to Steamtown or B&O museum.
Go to Steam town, Horseshoe curve, and the B&O Museum.
Hi John
I used to work for a British American company and came over to the States on many occasions. My wife and I came over from the UK in1997 on vacation and specifically went to the Pennsylvania RR Museum. I would recommend it without hesitation. Also, the Strasburg Rail Road is only across the street so you can get to ride on a steam train! The PRR switch tower is excellent.
John…
I’ve not had the opportunity to visit Sreamtown but hear that it is worth the time to visit.
Can highly recommend the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum and the Strasburg RR - allow 2 days there to see everything - also a couple of hobby shops real close - one on the premesis with a great book store.
One place within a half day drive from Straburg is the Altoona Railroaders Museum in Altoona and just 7 miles away is Horsehoe Curve. Not as much on hand equipment and it is out doors for the locomotive/car collection, but definitely worth visiting. 3 floors of museum displays and gift shop. Located in one of the PRR Juniata shop complex buildings restored.
Also the B&O Museum in Baltimore definately worth visiting - these are probably the two most prominent Museums in the Esatern region.
HeritageFleet1
I have, what might seem to some, to be a rather “bizarre” question. Call me parnoid but…
Since the most recent accident (a year or two ago) at Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor, not to mention the residual radiationthat is said by some watch groups (with geiger counters!) does anyone know if this is something to feel at allconcerned about?
I’m planning on going to Steamtown AND Strasburg next summer.
There is supposedly a web page dedicated to the folks who are doing the air/soil monitering in the areabut haven’t been able to locate that. Anyone have a link by far fetched chance?
I’ve read fairly extensively about the original accident at T.M.I. and spoken with farmers in the area who had live stock (on an Amtrak trip) and have never believed the “official” reports. The anecdotes from these people in conversation who lived in the area during the original accident were-eyebrow raising to say the least.
Ok, realize fully, that I’ve opened myself up to ridicule here, but if one is bringing kids (especially) to the area the question deserves, at least, asking…
Any info. or links to said watch groups would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I’m 25 miles from TMI, and I feel pretty safe. There are no unusually high cancer cluster groups around TMI.
There was a very minor radioactive gas leak about a year back. It was considered insignificant. The amount considered equal to getting a chest x-ray if you breathed it. However the safety systems did catch it and set off the siren.
The second most recent problem was tritium getting in the Susquhana from a leaking supply pipe. Tritium is better known as heavy water because it contains extra neutrons in the Hydrogen. This was about 5 years ago. (Give or take) It’s the result of being bombarded by stray neutrons in the reactor. It is harmless to humans and the problem fixed.
The accident at TMI happened when two cooling water supplies to the core were shut off and a 3rd was undergoing maintenance. The core overheated and started to eat through the concrete. (Add too much heat to concrete and it turns back into powedered cement.)
TMI has had numerous safety enhancements since the accident. (As did all nuclear plants in the US) It can not blow up like Chernobyl because it is designed differently.
To give you an idea, this is how the containment walls of a US Nuclear reactor are built:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh5owPVnSL0
What happened in Russia is the result of poor safety standards. They don’t have the same building standards that we do.
I just had a trip to Steamtown two weeks ago and was very favorably impressed with the changes since my initial visit a year after they opened. There are some nice displays and the shop tour was the highlight. We got to talk to the guys who were refitting the crossheads on a steamer that has been under repair for about 8 years. Big Boy was in a new coat of paint and the tender lettering was just going on. It was a nice trip and we had a very nice stay in the Lackawanna Station Hotel nearby. That said I think that I still prefer Strasburg and the PA Railroad Museum. There is more to see and the indoor displays are better.
Joe
Three Mile Island isn’t close enough to Strasburg or Steamtown to even make a blip on anyone’s radar. Berwick is closer to Steamtown and even that is too far away to matter. Limerick or Peach Bottom are probably clsoer to Strasburg than TMI, and STILL it doesn’t matter. I’ve lived in serveral areas that did have warning sirens for Limerick, other than tests, never a problem.
I really wish there was a way to erase the load of scientific excrement that was that HORRIBLE movie The China Syndrome from people’s minds. With more cheap electric from more nuclear power plants it migth actually be feasible to drive all-electric cars and clean up the atmoshpere as well as cut the dependence on foreign oil.
Along with more electric commuter rail.
–Randy
You can’t go wrong with Strasburg, the indoor display is probably the best there is when it comes to trains.
I would also like to see the museum in Virginia, I forget what its called, but they have the N&W class J on display.
Horsehoe curve is way west in PA, so is off the usual north-south route for someone headed from VT to the Carolinas. My wife and I were going to visit a few years ago about this time of year; we found that the finicular from the parking lot to viewing platform was running only on weekends. We had to give it a pass.
The B&O muesum depends if you plan to take I-95 or I-81 on your way south. I-81 is the choice if you want the PA museums; I-95 goes thru Baltimore
We did visit both Steamtown and PA RR Museum/Strausburg museums. If a lot of Steamtowns displays are away for asbestos removal, maybe this is the time to give it a pass. At either location, take the noontime back shop tour. Buy your backshop tickets early, they limit the number of people and do only one tour a day while the shop crew is at lunch.
I just remembered, there is a RR museum in Danbury CT, I have not been there, but you may want to do a search to see if it looks interesting.
Think it’s just called the Virginia Museum of Transportation. When I was last there several years ago it wasn’t really ‘finished’ yet but there was some intereting stuff to look at. Not just trains. But Roanoke is a bit far west for someone going from CT to the Carolinas, much like Altoona.
81 is too far west and goes the wrong way. 95 is the easterly route, and 83 is the one if you want to skip the 95 corridor around Philly and Baltimore. From Strasburg you’d go west on 30 to York and then south on 83.
–Randy
Many thanks to all who responded. We are currently on our way to Strasburg. Trying to decide whether to make a slight detour and hit Northlandz on the way.
Regards,
John
[tup] Yeah, all those plants are pretty far from the RR museums. Neat thing about the Berwick (Susquehanna) power plant is that it sits right on top of a prehistoric fault line! I lived in Bloomsburg and Catawissa for 2 years and never went to either SteamTown or Strasburg. [:(]
John,
I have personally been to all of the places that the guys on the forum have listed, and in my opinion, The Pennsylvania Railroad museum and the Strasburg Railroad are your best choices. You have a great mix of all types of equipment, both static and operating in the middle of beautiful Pennsylvania Amish farm county.