Hoppin Down The Strasburg Rails
Media Release
Strasburg Rail Road

Strasburg, Pa - (March 3, 2007) - Hop into the season with an Easter tradition at the Strasburg Rail Road. Travel with Peter Cottontail as a vintage steam train takes you on a 45-minute journey from the East Strasburg Station to Paradise, Pennsylvania and back. Also enjoy our miniature steam train, our pump car, cranky cars and a behind-the-scenes tour of our shop where trains are built and refurbished. For a special treat, tempt your taste buds in our Dining Car, our trackside restaurant, or pack your own lunch for an Easter picnic at Groff’s Grove.

The Easter Bunny Train pulls into the station April 6th, 7th and 8th. On Friday, five trains run on the hour between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. Adult fares (age 12+) are $14, Child fares (ages 3-11) are $9 and Toddler fares (under 3) are $3. Tickets can be pre-purchased at www.StrasburgRailRoad.com or by calling 717-687-7522. Tickets can also be purchased at the ticket window.

As one of Pennsylvania’s leading family attractions, Strasburg Rail Road is known for its picturesque ride through Lancaster County’s farmland. Traveling past more than 1,000 acres of land, the ride provides one of the best views the county has to offer.

What: Easter Bunny Train
When: Friday April 6th
Saturday April 7th
Easter Sunday, April 8th
Trains depart hourly from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Where: Strasburg Rail Road, Rt. 741 East, Strasburg, Pa 17579-0096
For advanced tickets, go to www.StrasburgRailRoad.com or call (717) 687-7522.

The Noon Shop Tour
Media Release
Strasburg Rail Road

Lancaster County, Pa. - (February 2007) - A little known attraction in Pennsylvania Dutch Country is the behind-the-scenes tour of Strasburg Rail Road’s Mechanical Shop. Few people realize Strasburg Rail Road is an actual real, working railroad that still hauls freight today. Not only does Strasburg Rail Road build and repair the passenger cars and engines used at the railroad, but the mechanical department also has been producing world-class work in the steam railroading industry for more than 40 years.

In fact, the Strasburg Rail Road is one of only three shops in the country to hold what is known in the industry as an “S” stamp. That means the Strasburg Rail Road can build a pressure vessel from the ground up. All other shops have an “R” stamp, qualifying them only to do repairs. Most of the work done inside the Mechanical Shop is still done by hand – a skill dating back to the 1960s.

This year marks the fifth year the mechanical shop tour has been offered to the public. Each day the railroad is open, the Mechanical Shop closes down from noon to 1:00 p.m. while the workers take a break for lunch. During this time, the shop workers at Strasburg Rail Road take turns leading the daily tour of the mechanical shops, making each tour a unique experience for guests.

During a visit to Strasburg Rail Road, guests can view and ride aboard a rolling stock of six vintage steam locomotives and more than 15 passenger cars from the 1915 era of railroading. Engine #31 celebrates her 100th birthday next year; and last year, engine #475 celebrated her 100th birthday. Both engines are still going strong.

Starting in the Engine House, guests can see where water is tested and locomotives are hostled and stored. Guests learn about the various locomotives that pull the passenger cars and how they are cared for to ensure safety. From the 100-year old #475 with a 4-8-0 wheel formation, to a replica of the storybook character, Thomas the Tank Engine™, guests can always expect to see some steam in the Engine House.

From the Engine House, step outside to see the fireman shoveling a half-a-ton of coal into the engine’s firebox. The heat climbs to an astounding 2,500 degrees to transform the water into steam. The resulting energy, along with the engineer’s coaxing of the locomotive’s controls, turns the engines wheels to charge the 185-ton iron horse down the steel rails.

The next stop on the tour is the passenger car restoration shop. Guests can expect to smell the fresh scent of paint and stained wood. Here, passenger cars are restored to their natural splendor. The process of restoring passenger cars includes extensive research to learn exactly how the car would have looked in its original state. Workers try to restore and use as much of the original car as possible, but there are times when replications must be made. Wooden chairs are even whittled, by hand, to recreate the look of circa 1915. Passenger cars can take up to 13,000 man-hours to restore.

Just through the swinging doors, guests can see where locomotives are built and restored. For more than 40 years, the mechanical department has been producing world-class work in the steam railroading industry, with more than 250 years of combined experience in design, repair and construction of heritage and historical railroad equipment. Strasburg Rail Road repairs, reproduces and restores equipment to a museum-quality original state. In the mechanical shop, you will see both vintage and modern-day equipment, which was all acquired with one thing in mind: to keep the history of steam railroading alive.

To learn more about the Mechanical Shops Tour, please visit StrasburgRailRoad.

Strasburg Rail Road Embraces Past, Stays on Track for Future
By Cindy Hummel
Lancaster New Era
March 22, 2007

STRASBURG, Pa. - The Strasburg Rail Road isn’t huffing and puffing slowly into its 175th birthday.

It’s chugging along at top speed with a host of changes in store designed to improve the terminal operation, while at the same time giving it more of a 1920s-era feel.

In addition to an anniversary celebration in June, the railroad also has embarked on a long-range plan that includes creating an early 1900s street scene and adding turntables on either end of the line.

The milestone celebration, set for Wednesday, June 6, will most likely include a governor’s proclamation, but officials won’t know until two weeks before the event whether Gov. Ed Rendell will actually make an appearance, said railroad president Linn Moedinger.

As for the long-range plan, the railroad has already begun work to create a 1920s street scene — a small-town station environment where visitors can stay around awhile, stopping in a general store and a hobby shop before getting a milkshake.

“We are going along with long range plans to improve the property in East Strasburg,” Moedinger said, “making a much better terminal.”

The project includes replacing some existing buildings with structures resembling those from the early 1900s. The plan also calls for placing the turntables at both ends of the line.

As the railroad goes through the approval processes for the long-range plan, smaller changes have already occurred.

The railroad has been replacing its green John Deere tractors with Model T Fords, Moedinger said. The older vehicles with tiny pickup beds can now accomplish more jobs around the station. Surveying work also has begun, he said.

Strasburg businessmen opened the railroad in 1832 after the Pennsylvania Railroad bypassed the town, according to Kurt Bell, archivist for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, who recently shared the beginnings of the railroad with the Strasburg Heritage Society.

The businessmen felt connecting Strasburg by rail with a station at Leaman Place would prevent the “economic death” experienced by other communities bypassed by the railroad.

On Feb. 22, 1861, Abraham Lincoln made a stop at the Leaman Place station on his inaugural train ride, en route to Lancaster. His four-minute visit drew nearly 5,000 people to catch a glimpse of the president and his wife, according to Kim Carlo of the Strasburg Rail Road.

After World War II, the railroad faced closing as other forms of transportation became more prominent. In 1958, another group of interested individuals joined forces to save the Strasburg Rail Road in what would be the rail road’s first rebirth. The 50th anniversary of that rebirth will be celebrated in November 2008.

“It is kind of interesting to have our 175th this year,” Moedinger said, “and our 50th next year.”

In 1986, New York composer Joe Ambrosio wrote a song about the Strasburg Rail Road that the fourth-grade band at nearby Hans Herr Elementary is currently learning to play, according to their band teacher Robert Shaubach.

The popularity of the Strasburg Rail Road has been like a pendulum, Moedinger said, with the most recent peak of ridership in the 1990s. The nostalgia factor is being lost as fewer people remember the steam whistle when it was still commonly in use.

At the same time, Moedinger has noticed an increasing number of younger people riding Amtrak and becoming interested in trains. The Thomas the Tank Engine phenomenon also brings children and their parents to the East Strasburg station.

The rail road’s long-term plans are aimed at being ready for the next peak of popularity when it arrives.

“On our 175th birthday,” Moedinger said, “It is kind a second rebirth.”

Read more at Lancaster Online.