One thing I don’t get is why there are several tourist railroads and museums that are surviving in one state. There is Steamtown, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg Railroad, WK&S, Oil Creek and Titusville, East Broad Top, and the Stewardstown railroad, which planning on tourist operation. How can they all survive relatively close together?
New York City, Philladelphia, Boston, Washington DC.
There is also the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad.
Population geography is one advantage for Pennsylvania. In addition, a railfan who wants to vacation and visit tourist railroads and museums, not many states offer the variety found in Pennsylvania. Many other states may have one or two such venues, hard to compete with Pennsylvania’s complete package.
Quality of the tourist attraction is another issue, Pennsylvania tax dollars support some of these operations to attract visitors, assisting in a way other rail musuems can not benefit. Put all that together with the variety of railfan locations, such as the Horseshoe Curve and other railfan parks on the Mountain, no matter where your at in Pennsylvania, there is opportunity for a railfan dream vacation.
Lone Geep, why ask why? If you can, go there. Trust me, you’ll have a ball!
(Written as I sit here wearing a Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania “hoodie”.)
Unfortunately the East Broad Top had cancelled train operation last year. IIRC they are hoping to resume this year.
Add to that the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum, operated by the Reading Company Technical and Historica Society, in Hamburg, PA.
The EBT did not run last year and things are looking dim for this year as well.
I went there in 2011 and it was great! The way the K4sPRR explained it makes sense to me.
Thank you for your replies. [:)]
First reason is population
1/4 of the population for all of North America lives within a day’s drive (500 miles) of Harrisburg PA. Just counting NY, Phila and DC alone, there are more than 30 million people - all within a few hours drive to those places.
Second reason is coal. Lots of RRs were built because of PA coal, so there were lots and lots of RRs and facilities there.
Lots or RR + population = museum potential!
They say there are more railroad employees in Pennsylvania than any other state, that’s why most politicians from there are usually pro-rail. I’ve heard that there’s more registered hunters than any other state as well. A funny thing, a bunch of us came down from Canada to attend an estate auction for a man who worked on old Citroens, near Lewisberry. This was in October and all throughout the day, the noise of gunfire was heard everywhere. Must have been hunting season. By the way, Lonegeep, are you complaining? [(-D]
True about the hunting. Traditionally, many kids in PA (especially in the suburban / rural areas) grew up doing two things: playing football and hunting. I’ve seen reports that PA deer hunters have more small arms fire power than the entire U.S. Army.
The population statement is also correct. PA has two very large metro areas, plus its sits right in the middle of the East Coast and Great Lakes population centers. It is a easy drive for close to half the population of the U.S. Factor in the historically large number of railroads in the state, it is the perfect location for RR museums.
The Pa’ Game Commission estimates on the first day of rifle season there are upwards of 900,000 hunters in the woods of Pa.
There were lots of railroads in Pa. The state had/has many natural resources, such as coal, oil, lumber and was a highway from the factories on the East coast to the farms and cities of the mid west. So there was a large traffic base to provide for railroads to thrive. At the time railroads were the only way to move large amounts of products over any kind of distance. It seems that there is not a home in the state that’s not within a few miles of a railroad grade of some kind. My house is within about 3 miles from 3 grades, PRR’s Hamilton branch, the abandoned B&S grade and the former BR&P main line. So there was/is lots to save and a large population to provide funding, a perfetic mix for preservation.
Perhaps one reason why Pennsylvania has more railroad museums than other places is because Pennsylvanians are more willing to tax themselves to protect their heritage.
Let’s count:
of the 31 sites listed in the Third Edition of the Tourist Trains Guidebook:
Two are defunct, Fayette Central and Stourbridge Line (and another defunct one not listed, the Stewartstown RR). All three got NO state money.
Another is on hiatus (East Broad Top), and not only got/gets no government money, but has actually resisted government buyout proposals.
Two are National Historic Sites (Allegheny Portage and Steamtown).
One is a state railroad museum, one of three state-operated railroad museums nationwide.
That leaves 25 museums that are more or less free of government money, and I know of a few more that aren’t listed. There are a couple murky gray areas, to be sure–for example, the Pioneer Coal Mine Tunnel is located in Ashland’s City Park, so there’s a little bit of overlap, but the borough of Ashland doesn’t run the operation, a non-profit does. The Railroaders Memorial Museum and Horse Shoe Curve eat some tax money, but certainly aren’t “publicly-funded” in the way the library or schools are. Even the Franklin Institute is actually private and independent of government funding.
Saying that Pennsylvania has the rail attractions they do because “Pennsylvanians are willing to tax themselves” is an outright insult to the hard-working places as big as Strasburg and as small as a little station museum that work hard to preserve railroad history and artifacts by the kindness of donations and volunteer work. It’s more accurate to say “they work at it by choice.”
To answer the question more intelligently, Pennsylvania has t
Steamtown got “Federalized” by Congressman Flood - pure pork!
These got their start with an nice dose of Federal pork via Congressman Bud Shuster.
But, I agree that most get by because of location. Being near huge population and being in a area with lots of “unneeded” rail lines and facilities that make siting museums possible.
Like Colorado, Pennsylvania had some especially worth-while, long lasting railroads to preserve. The closeness to population centers Is not generally duplicated in Colorado, however.
In my case Steamtown definately gives a new meaning to the term “mixed feelings”! As a fiscal conservative I hate Congressional pork, but as a railfain…oh brother, how do I deal with this?
It’s like the old joke about the definintion of mixed feelings: seeing your worst enemy going over a cliff in your new car!
If you consider such words an insult why, then, do you say them? As applied to my statement they are a half truth that distorts the meaning of what I said. There is no disrespect to the many individuals who work to preserve an understanding of the immense contribution of railroads to American history and culture for government also to recognize railroads’ contributions and join in the efforts to bring it to the public.
4472 is way off the mark in his interpretation of what was being discussed. Yes, they work hard at it by choice, as is the case with any volunteer based endeavor, but, they are fortunate to be supported by people who are willing to allow allocation of tax dollars for such. In Pennsylvania, preserving their heritage goes way beyond its rich railroad history. John’s response did not disrespect anyone for their efforts, it takes effort and money and not all States have the attitude found in Pennsylvania thus putting more pressure on those dedicated to preserve their heritage.
I don’t see where he implied they have such attractions solely due to taxing themselves. I know of a small town in Pennsylvania where dedicated volunteers restored a former PRR passenger station, they were fortunate to get a state funded grant to assist in their effort. Other efforts of this type should be so fortunate.