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.

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