‘Baskets, Please’ Ticket Taker Is All Ears As Strasburg Rail Road Passengers Get A Visit From The Easter Bunny
By Madelyn Pennino
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal

Thousands of people - a few of them with rabbit ears on top of their heads - descended on the platform of Strasburg Rail Road Easter Sunday to celebrate the holiday with a short train ride through the countryside. Once again, the Easter Bunny was on hand and doling out animal-shaped lollipops to the train’s youngest passengers. Four-year-old Austin Westlehgn of Maine is vacationing in Lancaster County with his parents, Dwight and Vicky Westlehgn, and his 2-year-old sister, Kelsey Rose. Austin said he is fascinated by trains and was thankful for his green lollipop. “This ride is fun,” he said. “It’s good, and green is my favorite color.” Vicky Westlehgn said Austin has been talking about taking a Strasburg train ride for days. “He really wanted to ride the train,” she said. “We just had to do it.” As mid-day temperatures climbed into the 70s, passengers aboard a noon train heading from Strasburg to Paradise said they couldn’t have asked for better weather. Jeff Grablow of New Jersey said he and his family decided to do something special for Easter this year. “This is something different,” Grablow said. “Riding a train makes you feel like a kid again.” His wife, Danielle, said she hopes her children remember their Easter train ride. “That’s why we did it … for the kids,” she said. Their 10-year-old son, Jeffrey, and 4-year-old daughter, Kayla, thought the train ride was neat. “It’s cool,” Jeffrey said. “We get to see a lot of different things and the Easter Bunny too.” Easter weekend has traditionally been a busy time for Strasburg Rail Road, according to train conductor Joe Wells. Wells, of Neffsville, has been a conductor with the railroad for 31 years. The Easter Bunny has visited train riders on Easter since Strasburg Rail Road opened in 1959. “It’s a wonderful time,” Wells said. “(The Easter Bunny) brings joy to people from all over the world. Everyone enjoys themselves.” Wells said about 3,000 people visited the railroad Saturday. The Easter Bunny, dressed in a blue pin-stripped railroad jumpsuit, strolled through various trains throughout the day Sunday, waving to children and handing out sweets. Mrs. McGreggor, a friend of Peter Cottontail, accompanied the Easter Bunny and wished passengers a happy holiday. Hopton and Lystra Campbell of New Jersey are visiting Lancaster County with their 6-year-old son, Mark. Mark was ecstatic about riding the train and soaked in the railroad atmosphere. “I think this is good,” Mark said. “It’s nice and smooth, and the seats are so green and nice.” Mark’s father said the family has visited Lancaster County several times. “It’s quiet and peaceful, and we can do a lot of shopping,” Campbell said.

To read the entire article, please visit Lancaster Online.

A Commitment To Community: Strasburg Rail Road Helps Enrich Local Schools
Strasburg Rail Road Media Release

Math, science and music. Not exactly what comes to mind when you visit the Strasburg Rail Road. That is, unless you play in the strings program at Martin Meylin or just calculated your way through the PSSA test at Salisbury Middle School.

Best known for whistles, steam and the history of railroading, America’s oldest short-line railroad is going the extra mile to enhance education for students at two local school districts by pitching in to make sure enrichment programs and school supplies are not left out.

Over the years Lampeter-Strasburg has used donations to provide students with a well-rounded education. For Superintendent Robert Frick the support is music to his ears … literally. “We had dreamed about starting a strings program for 30 years but never had the money to do it,” said Frick. “With the generous donation from the Strasburg Rail Road we were able to plant the seed for the program and watch it grow.” Now in its fourth year, the program has grown to nearly 200 students between grades four to eight.

Most recently the money is being used to upgrade the television broadcast system for Martin Meylin Middle School. The school district has also used its yearly donation to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for students participating in Science Fair competitions.

At Pequea Valley School District the donations from the Strasburg Rail Road are typically used as an incentive for teachers to create imaginative educational programs. Ideas like reading and writing programs are submitted to a panel of faculty and administrators. The most innovative ideas are awarded funding.

This year, budget cuts caused Pequea Valley Schools to devote the money to supplement its core studies. The fourth and fifth grade teachers at Salisbury Middle School are now using new calculators to prepare students for the Math PSSA test and help them understand mathematical logic. The Learning Support program at the elementary and middle schools are getting literature books to help improve reading proficiency and confidence in learning.

Eric Dreibelbis, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Pequea Valley School District, expresses his gratitude by stating, “We absolutely appreciate Strasburg Rail Road’s donations. There is no one else who has an ongoing relationship with us as they do, and we hope to use their donations to show the community that we are striving to create strong academics and skill development.”

The Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832 as a line to haul freight and passengers from Strasburg to the main line. Known as America’s oldest short-line railroad, Strasburg is a real working railroad. The Rail Road is home to museum quality, working, turn-of the century steam locomotives, freight cars, dining cars, private cars and one of the largest fleets of historic wooden passenger cars in the world.

‘Little Engine That Could’ Chugs Through Bryson City April 14-16
By SMN

The Little Engine That Could will return to Bryson City for its second run with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Friday, April 14, through Sunday, April 16, and again Friday through Sunday, April 21 through 23.

The engine — modeled after the storybook character by the same name — is the creation of Strasburgs Rail Road Company and was specially made for the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad’s partner company Rail Events, Inc.

When Linn Moedinger, president and chief mechanical officer of Strasburg Rail Road Company, was asked if his company could build The Little Engine That Could, he gave the only natural response — “I think I can, I think I can!”

And so that’s what Strasburg Rail Road Company did.

However, the concept of turning a storybook train into a heavy-duty steam engine presented certain design challenges.

“A drawing doesn’t have to operate on a railroad track,” Moedinger said.
More than a dozen people worked on designing and constructing the actual engine.

“We had to make a few modifications to the original design as we went along,” said Moedinger.

“Complying with Federal Railroad Administration Safety Appliance Act of Congress was the biggest hurdle. We’d work awhile on such things as the bell, headlight and grab irons, and then the FRA inspectors would come out and check it. The engine was painted with marine paint — bright blue with a yellow bell and wheels. The whistle and bell are operable…the smile on the smokestack face stays in place.”

The project took about seven months to complete.

“I remember the story of The Little Engine That Could from childhood,” Moedinger said. “It teaches lessons that I have learned with Strasburg. It takes perseverance, determination and courage to climb a mountain … to save a life.

Tickets to the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad’s Little Engine event are $15 for ages 1 and over, which includes the train ride and an entire day of activities.

Advance ticket sales are available by calling 800.872.4681 or 828.586.8811. Reservations are strongly suggested. Seating is on a limited basis and tickets are expected to sell out quickly.

Strasburg Rail Road Restorers Even Do Facelifts – Just Ask Thomas
By Cindy Hummel
Lancaster New Era

The Strasburg Rail Road workshops can now add celebrity facelifts to their list of accomplishments. Thomas the Tank Engine, based on the Rev. W. Awdry’s series of children’s books, recently underwent major eye changes to get ready for a new season at the Strasburg Rail Road, along Route 741 east of Strasburg.

“Day Out With Thomas” events in Strasburg this year will take place June 17-25, Sept. 16-24 and Dec. 1-3. Thomas also travels up and down the East Coast to appear at other events.

England was the first to have a full-size steam engine rendition of Thomas. In 1998, the Strasburg Rail Road craftsmen created the first full-size American Thomas that could pull coaches full of fans. But those fans kept asking the same questions, according to the railroad’s Kelly Anderson: “Why isn’t he looking at me?” Hence, the facelift.

Throughout the winter, shop workers replaced the stationary, painted-on eyes with round, expressive eyes that move around, Anderson said.
But a recent tour of the workshops revealed more than Thomas’ new and improved face standing upright against the table.

Other shop tour highlights include Engine No. 475, a locomotive with a rare wheel alignment: four wheels in the front and eight toward the back. Strasburg Rail Road purchased the locomotive, which last ran in 1956, in 1991 and spent two years restoring it.

Railroad museums from across the county send their cars to Strasburg for restoration work, which can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Anderson said.

Hollywood also has called on Strasburg workers. For the 1999 movie “Wild, Wild West” starring Will Smith, a passenger car from the B&O Museum was shipped here to be transformed into a flashy, 1857 era car. Strasburg workers also restored a car for the 1969 movie “Hello Dolly,” starring Barbra Streisand. The railroad also was used in scenes from the 2000 movie “Thomas and the Magic Railroad.”

Workers do their restorations in two shops: one for locomotives and the other for passenger cars. They reuse as much of the original car as possible, Anderson said. When seats, light fixtures or inlay wood cannot be salvaged, workers can either use their supply of extra salvaged parts or recreate them to the tiniest detail. Passenger cars can take up to 13,000 man-hours to restore. The process includes extensive research to learn exactly how the car would have looked new.

Although the railroad uses vintage machines for most restoration, it has made a concession to modern times: a computerized lathe that not only cuts accurately, but also lowers costs. The newest shop expansion is a drive-through of sorts, with tracks that that allow cars and engines to drive in and out. Then new shop was scheduled to go into service March 31.

Asked why Strasburg’s shops are chosen for restoration projects over other shops, Anderson replied, “We are the best.” He pointed out that the railroad has skilled workers and little turnover. “It is a job and a hobby all rolled into one,” 40-year employee Glen Lefever said.

The 2006 railroad season officially kicked off April1. The first special event will be the Easter Bunny train April 14-16. Behind-the-scene tours of the shops are $12 with a ticket stub from the train ride or $20 for visitors who do not ride the train. Tours begin at noon on all days that the trains are running. Shop tours are offered seven days a week. The tours are not recommended for toddlers.

To read the entire article, please visit Lancaster Online.