Steamtown National Historic Site

18503 Scranton, PA, United States of America (USA) (Pennsylvania)

The Visitor Center, Theatre, Technology Museum and Locomotive Cutaway Exhibit remain closed until long-term repairs to the heating and cooling system are made.

Things to do

You may tour the History and Technology Museums or Roundhouse, explore special exhibits or watch the movie "Steel and Steam". You can also join a Park Ranger or Volunteer on a Guided Tour of our Locomotive Repair Shops. Seasonally, you may want to experience our short train rides, longer train excursions or Living History programs.
 

The History and Technology of Steam Railroading

Steamtown National Historic Site offers world-class museum facilities which tell the story of steam railroading. Both the nuts-and-bolts side and the personal side are shown at the Park.

When Steamtown was created, the National Park Service decided to use the existing portions of the Roundhouse (dating from 1902, 1917 and 1937) as a part of the Museum Complex, while adding a Visitor Center, Theater, Technology Museum and History Museum.

The theater at Steamtown shows an 18-minute film called Steel and Steam. This short film follows one man's career on the railroad, and illustrates the massive changes railroads underwent in a fairly short time during the early 20th century.

Inside the History Museum, there is a timeline of railroading, from the earliest days of rails to the 1980s, with a special focus on anthracite coal mining and DL&W President William Truesdale. Another feature of the History Museum is the Life on the Railroad exhibit which focuses on the people who kept the railroad running, the railroad stations exhibit, and a Railway Post Office car and Business car.

The Roundhouse has been adaptively rehabilitated to allow Steamtown's mechanics to care for the locomotives with light-duty maintenance and repairs.

The Technology Museum includes a sectioned steam locomotive, a caboose and a boxcar, and exhibits covering technical aspects of railroading such as Making and Using Steam, Signals, Disasters, Railroad Jargon, Architecture, Maintenance of Way, and others.

The combination of a working railroad yard and a world-class railroad museum gives visitors a chance to do more than just step back in time. Visitors to Steamtown can step back in time with an understanding that is unique in America.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Locomotives

Baldwin Locomotive Works 26: Under restoration as of 2011.
Berlin Mills Railway 7
New Haven Trap Rock Company 43
Boston and Maine 3713: Under restoration, which will be ramped up once Baldwin #26 is finished, providing funding is enough to finish the project. When this is complete, this will be the first American engine at either Steamtown USA or Steamtown NHS to be restored to working order.
Brooks-Scanlon Corporation 1
Bullard Company 2
Canadian National 47
Canadian National 3254: Ran excursions in 2011.
Canadian National 3377
Canadian Pacific 2317: Seen running but made no excursions during RailFest 2008. Hauled the Scranton Limited. Entered the Roundhouse for the final time under steam in September 2010, and awaited its 1,472-day rebuild.
Canadian Pacific 2929
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 565
E.J. Lavino and Company 3
Grand Trunk Western 6039
Illinois Central 790
Lowville and Beaver River 1923
Maine Central 519
Meadow River Lumber Company 1
Nickel Plate 44
Nickel Plate 514
Nickel Plate 759
Norwood and St. Lawrence 210
Public Service Electric and Gas Company 6816
Rahway Valley 15
Reading 2124
Union Pacific 4012

Train Rides and Excursions

Steamtown's short train rides and excursions are available seasonally (there are no train rides during the winter months).

OPEN

The following spaces and activities are available during regular business hours of 9:30am - 4:00pm, daily:

Information Kiosk
Park Store
History Museum
Louisville & Nashville Railway Post Office Car
Erie Business Car
1937 Roundhouse
Cut-A-Way exhibit
Locomotive Shop (guided tour only)

CLOSED

The following spaces are closed:

Visitor Center
Theater
Technology Museum

Your Safety

For your personal safety, please remember:

* Trains are large and can move at any time. Assume that ALL tracks are active and that a train can be on it at any time.
* The railroad tracks present a tripping hazard, whether they are above ground or embedded in concrete, wood, or macadam.
* Dress for the weather. The passenger cars used for train rides are not air conditioned. They can be very hot (or cold) depending on the weather.
* Not all of the cars and locomotives in the Steamtown collection have been stabilized. Please do not climb on any of the railroad equipment; the cabs to some locomotives in the museum complex are open.
* Steam locomotives sometimes release live steam from the cylinders under the front of the locomotive. This live steam can be hazardous.
* Steamtown National Historic Site is an active industrial heritage site. Please supervise your children at all times.
* Cinders from operating steam locomotives can cause eye irritation. If you get a cinder in your eye, do NOT rub it; blink repeatedly, and the tears should wash the cinder out. If not, contact a Park Ranger or Volunteer for assistance.
* Individuals with breathing difficulties need to be aware that steam and smoke are part of the steam railroading experience and may create breathing difficulties.
* Other hazards may present themselves. Please exercise caution at all times during your visit.

EXPECT TRAINS AND LOCOMOTIVES TO MOVE
AT ANY TIME IN ANY DIRECTION ON ANY TRACK!

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