Welcome
back to our blog! In this post we are
traveling to eastern Pennsylvania to one of the few remaining sites in the
country which preserves the legacy of steam powered locomotives.
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| Entrance Sign |
BACKGROUND:
With
the harnessing of steam power during the early 1800s, the economy of the United
States boomed as the power source drove the industrial revolution. Key to the expansion of the nation was the
steam locomotive, which was equally revolutionary as a transportation
method. By the end of the Civil War,
tens of thousands of miles of railroad tracks had been laid, connecting the
nation as never before. Following the
completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the industry exploded as rail
service became the biggest business of the century. The period from the late Gilded Age of the
1890s, through to the beginning of World War Two, was a golden age of steam
locomotives.
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| A vintage steam engine originally built in 1903, on display at Steamtown NHS. |
In
the aftermath of the war however, technology changed. Train engines switched to diesel power, which negated the need for much of the infrastructure that kept the steam railroads
in service for so many decades. Rail
lines fell out of use as passenger travel dried up with the advent of the
Interstate Highway system and mass air travel, and maintenance yards went
quiet, soon to be demolished due to lack of use.
However,
one vintage railyard hung on through the efforts of preservationists. Amassing a collection of steam locomotive
engines dating from the first four decades of the 20th century, the
Steamtown Foundation worked to open a museum centered on a surviving steam
railyard with a working turntable in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The foundation’s efforts won favor with local
politicians who backed a bill in Congress to designate the museum a National
Historic Site in 1995.
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| A view of the exterior of the roundhouse and the turntable at Steamtown. |
THE SITE:
Steamtown
National Historic Site is located at the center of Scranton, Pennsylvania at
the former railyard of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, or
DL&W. The site preserves a little
over sixty acres of the railyard, along with many historic structures. The center of the site is the roundhouse,
once a massive circular garage that served as a maintenance shed for over forty
engines, complete with a functioning turntable.
The roundhouse is split into two halves, the eastern half is primarily
an original structure and is still used for the maintenance of the working
steam engines at the site. The western
half of the building has been mostly reconstructed and serves as the visitor
center and museum. Adjacent to the
roundhouse, the former oil pump building now serves as the site bookstore. On the north side of the railyard along
several connecting rail sidings, the site hosts a large collection of vintage
steam engines, passenger and freight cars, and other rail vehicles. Although it shares a parking lot with
Steamtown but is not a part of the site, is the Electric city Trolley Museum,
which focuses on the history of streetcars.
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| A model on the second floor of the visitor center showing the roundhouse and the railyard as they appeared in their heyday in the late 1930s. |
TRAVEL TIPS:
Steamtown
National Historic Site is open from 9am to 5pm from April through November, and
10am to 4pm during the winter months.
The site offers a variety of train rides using the operating locomotives
at the side, ranging from short trips around the vicinity of the railyard to
extended excursions around the Scranton area.
These rides are not regularly scheduled events and visitors are recommended
to check the special event schedule on the site’s webpage prior to
visiting. The site has no entrance fee,
although the train rides are an additional fee.
The visitor center features a short film and passport stamps can be
found in the bookstore. The site is only
partially handicapped accessible. Visitors
are strongly advised to be aware of their surroundings at the railyard. The operation of the large steam engines at
the site is inherently dangerous, and there has unfortunately been at least one
fatal accident involving one of the site’s engines.
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| While it may be difficult to see from the photo, here an engine hauls a caboose filled with riders on an excursion through the railyard. |
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| An additional view of several engines parked inside the yard of the roundhouse. |
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| The business end of the 790 Engine. |
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| A view of the roundhouse office. |
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| A cutaway showing the interior workings of a steam engine in the visitor center. |
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| A view of the interior of the still functioning maintenance side of the roundhouse. |
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| A view from the second floor of the roundhouse showing the collection of freight and passenger cars in the railyard. |
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| The Baldwin Locomotive Works Engine 26 backs onto the turntable to be returned to the roundhouse for the night. |
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| The Electric City Trolley Museum, located at the opposite end of the parking lot from the roundhouse. |
