WOW, if you have never been there GO, They have a BIG BOY plus morethingd to burn up tons of film! And it is only $6.00 and that INCLUDES the train Ride! Feel like a kid again!![:D][:D]
[#ditto] Oh yeh!!! Great place to see steam in action. claycts, glad you enjoyed it! My oldest son and I went there last fall for the Fall Excursion and and we still talk about it every time the subject of trains comes up (which is often…). For all of you steam buffs out there, it is well worth the trip! You might get a ride behind this baby:
Steamtown rocks! I went there with the family a couple months back and I would highly recommend it to anyone. They had a tour of the roundhouse shops where you could see them rebuilding a Pennsy K4s!!!(although it’s in a bunch of pieces at this point). The working roundhouse was also pretty cool. Man, now I know why they call it a “Big” Boy, that thing was freakin huge.
Oh yes, definitely worth the trip! It’s also a good idea to walk up the ramp (built on the coal dock towers!) to see the selection of unrestored equipment sitting around as well. Some quite sad looking. And watch the steam excursions from overhead.
On the caboose ride I got to ride up in the cupola. That was fun.
And I hope you didn’t miss the HO model of the shops area as it once was.
–Randy
Yea…the first time you see that Big Boy up close and personal … what a beast!
I’ve spent hours just hanging around the shops with my sons. Sitting on the catwalks watching the guys try to muscle around all the huge, heavy steam engine parts, tearing assemblies apart, etc.
Jim
I WANT TO GO SO BAD! There, and Altoona for Horseshoe Curve.
But, it is really hard when you are the only true rail enthusiast out of a family of eight![:(!]
Been there twice. Place is awesome. Second trip there i got sick on so we had to leave sooner than we where going to. Never eat Arbys then have Chinese less than 5 minutes apart.[xx(][#dots][#oops]
I wonder if the rebuilding K-4 is a permanant exhibit. It was being rebuilt when I last visited Steamtown which was at least six years ago.
If you mean the K-4 # 1361, they are restoring her to running condition. I believe it is being done for the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, PA. Here is an URL to the Steamtown site that will Give you a link to the Railroaders Memorial Museum site that has some info on the loco. http://www.nps.gov/stea/oploc.htm
I volunteer up there regularly on the K-4 project. That does seem to be the running joke around the place. The biggest problem was the K-4 had a bad case of old house syndrome. When you took one thing apart to fix it, you found a dozen more things that needed to be fixed. The repair job back in the '80’s was just a patch job, but the new boiler regulations would never allow that today. Plus the change of team leader a couple years ago set things back a bit. The web link listed above, I believe, will take you to the pictoral page so you can see what’s been going on. Sometimes, it feels like we’re jacking up the number plate and putting a new locomotive under it.
I was also there last summer. Me and my father ( he helped rebuild the K4 in the Juniata shops) lost our minds there, it was great. The Big Boy was the best. My son, who looses interest in trains after the first 5 minutes couldn’t wait to get out of there. If it wasn’t for him we could have spent the whole day there. A must see for anyone who hasn’t been there.
I feel your pain…
but there will be the ultimate joy of restoring a loco to full steam, and you get the experience behind it with the skills…
full steam ahead my friend.
Do it! Finally got to see Horseshoe a couple of years ago when I went to Altoona on business. I was with a coworker who isn’t really into trains, and even he was amazed - he couldn’t believe the frequency of trains. He thought that over an hour we’d see like 1 or 2 trains - WRONG!
Then we stopped in town at the railroader’s museum, and he really liked that too. There’s something about trains that appeals to most everyone even if they aren’t rabid fans like the rest of us normal people [:D]
–Randy
In Va tonight (8-1-05) heading for teh VA Transportation. they are supposed to have a Y6b. This job I have is great!!!, go to car show, go to hobby shops, go to see trains and then go home, not bad. It helps when the president is your wife and you own it!. This has been a great trip and i WILL post pictures on one of our sites when we got home. (640 PICS AND COUNTING)
We’re essentially building a new tender body for it, I’d say 80 to 85% new metal. Lots of welding and riveting. Last I heard, we’re waiting for the FRA to approve one of the boiler repairs so we can move on with that part of the project.
But it’s definately encouraging to have the operating locomotives in the background, give you a taste of what we’re working toward on this one.
OK Tom… I am trying to hold back the feelings of envy. I have several times in the last few years considered selling my house and moving to the Scranton, PA area just so I could volunteer at Steamtown. For a Steam Fan, actually working on a great beast like the K-4 must be a great feeling. Having said that, I also have an idea how frustrating and difficult the project must be at times.
Thanks for being a part of the team that will put K-4 1361 back under steam! I can’t wait to see her back in operation.
I’m lucky enough to live under an hour from Steamtown, so I go a few times a year. I agree, it is a nice place.
Ray, it’s hot, hard, heavy, dirty work.
I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
There’s also a lot of other projects, the Boston and Maine 3713 (pacific) is also undergoing restoration right beside the K-4. This part is being run by Steamtown personnel. The K-4 still belongs to the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum and Steamtown is just providing space for the work.