Railroad’s History Out of Print for 22 Years
By Larry Alexander
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
Apr 28, 2007

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - To the farmers of southern Lancaster County who depended on it, the Peach Bottom and Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad was lovingly dubbed the “Little, Old and Slow.”

But during the 50-plus years it chugged between Peach Bottom, Quarryville and Oxford in Chester County, it was a vital link in getting farm produce from the local fields to the markets in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The history of this railway, the first narrow-gauge line in Pennsylvania, is recounted in “Little, Old and Slow” by the late Benjamin F. G. Kline Jr., now back in print after 22 years.

The book, reprinted by the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, includes an eight-page addendum of new material and photos uncovered by historians William Cole, Joseph Hueber and Stanley White.

The addendum includes original drawings by White of Dorsey Station at Peach Bottom, which still exists.

Deb Reddig, marketing director for the Railroad Museum, said Kline, who died in 1987, had been the acting curator at the museum and had written a number of books. Few, though, sold more than “Little, Old and Slow.”

“This one was hugely popular at the time,” Reddig said. “The Friends of the Railroad Museum have gotten a lot of requests over the years to bring it back. We were very fortunate to have Mr. White, Mr. Cole and Mr. Hueber add to this volume.”

Reddig said the book, which costs $15, is available in the museum’s store and that “we are trying to get it in at other historical societies and museum stores.”

The Little, Old and Slow, or “Peachy” as it also was known, was originally formed as the Peach Bottom Railway in 1868 by a group of investors. It went into operation in 1873 and ran between Peach Bottom and Oxford — a distance of about 20 miles. A connection to Quarryville was added around 1915.

White, an author and historian who lives in Drumore, said the investors had envisioned a standard-sized railroad, but a shortfall in funding forced them to build a narrow gauge line.

With the rails just 3 feet apart instead of the standard 4 feet, 8½ inches, everything was miniaturized. Locomotives, cars and even bridges were smaller and, subsequently, more affordable.

The petite size of the rolling stock was both a blessing and a curse.

“It was small enough that if it jumped the track, you could literally get a group of guys together and lift it back on the rails,” White said. “But if a big gust of wind came along, there was a serious danger that the car you were in might get blown over.”

He related a tale by one man who spoke of a car he was in being blown off the track six times.

“I imagine that got a little tiresome after a while,” White said.

Originally, the rail line was seen as a connection between Philadelphia and the coal fields at East Broadtop near Orbisonia in Huntingdon County.

In the end, money talked, and the line, which connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad at both Oxford and Peach Bottom, was strictly a means for local farmers to ship their goods.

“It was intended to be one of the big players one day, but all those plans fell apart, so they ended up building a railroad that was never connected across the river by anything other than a little steam ferry,” White said.

The Little, Old and Slow also carried passengers, some of whom actually flagged it down between stations.

“In its heyday, it probably made six trips a day between the three stops,” White said. “But for most of its life, it did about half that.”

White said the Little, Old and Slow was “was very much a peoples’ railroad,” and was so well-loved that, after the last of its several bankruptcies, the locals bought it back.

The rail line operated until 1919, put out of business by the advent of trucks. The line was dismantled and its equipment sold for scrap.

Today, only one car — a gasoline-powered passenger car that can be driven from either end — exists. It is in possession of the Strasburg Railroad.

To view the entire article, please visit LancasterOnline.

175 Years and Still Making an Impact
Media Release
Strasburg Rail Road

Strasburg, Pa. – March 1, 2007 – 175 years ago, the town of Strasburg flourished as a key location between Lancaster and Philadelphia. Progress brought new roads and a rail line – all with a direct connection to the bigger city. But as transportation advancements came, so did fear that Strasburg would lose its commercial edge. It was from this concern, and later, a few creative entrepreneurs, that one of Lancaster County’s most prized possessions – Strasburg Rail Road - came to be.

Born in 1832, Strasburg Rail Road evolved into a bustling tourist attraction nearly 50 years ago. Through the years, it has even been the site of Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential visit, Hollywood movies, and a destination for millions who travel to Pennsylvania Dutch Country’s Amish land. Today, Strasburg Rail Road owns the claim of being America’s oldest short-line railroad.

With each passing year, Strasburg Rail Road’s reputation has grown. And now, hundreds of thousands of families, railfans and group-tour travelers head to Strasburg each year, just to ride aboard the mighty steam train. And, for the first time, the railroad’s Web site welcomed nearly 1-million visitors in 2006.

While Strasburg Rail Road has long owned the rights as a great family attraction, the railroad’s newest excursion has redefined relaxing on the rails. Couples looking to soak up the scenery and savor a quiet moment can now ride in style aboard he Wine & Cheese Train. Traveling in first-class accommodations, riders are served complimentary wine, cheese, crackers and fruit.

Strasburg Rail Road is also the only place you can enjoy Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine while traveling past more than 20 working farms. Need more? Let the sound of music and thrill of live performance entertain you. The Traditional Dinner & Live Entertainment Train serves a home-cooked meal while you wind through the countryside on a music-filled train. Looking to be a part of the entertainment? Try the Murder Mystery Dinner. The Strasburg Rail Road Dining Car and Act 1 Productions are teaming up to bring you the story of “The Goober Family and the Silver Mine.” Audience members are encouraged to help solve the mystery while enjoying gourmet food.

Feeling full? Not a problem. The station is full of things to do and see. Provide the power for the miniature pump car or watch the little ones “steer” the pint-sized cranky cars around the track. Plus, don’t miss the cutest train to chug the tracks. Strasburg Rail Road is among just a few places where an authentic miniature steam train is still in operation. Built for an amusement park around 1920, the Cagney is the perfect ending, or beginning, to your totally train day.

If you’d like to learn more about the history of the railroad, take a self-guided tour of the luxurious President’s Car. This mansion on wheels once served tycoons and dignitaries. Take the Mechanical Shop Tour where you get a behind-the-scenes guided tour through the mechanical shop where trains from across the nation are actually built and refurbished, including Thomas the Tank Engine™. Another favorite is the switch tower tour, which offers a bird’s eye view of our magnificent countryside and approaching trains. Built in 1855, this is a classic example of Pennsylvania Railroad signal tower design.

Special Events Details:
Wine & Cheese Train
April through November
Travel in first-class accommodations onboard the Parlor Car as you are served complimentary wine, cheese and crackers. Beer, mixed drinks, premium wine, non-alcoholic hot and cold beverages are also available for purchase.

Easter Bunny Train
April 6, 7 & 8
Celebrate Easter weekend with Peter Cottontail, at Strasburg Rail Road, singing songs and playing games. Enjoy a relaxing ride through Pennsylvania Dutch County as you travel aboard a vintage steam train.

Day Out with Thomas™
June 16 – 24, September 15 - 23, November 30, December 1 & 2
Join Thomas the Tank Engine™, a full-sized operating steam locomotive, as he greets friends of all ages. Ride a train pulled by Thomas and meet Sir Topham Hatt™. You’ll find lots of other exciting activities and a complete selection of Thomas & Friends™ merchandise in our gift shop. Order tickets by visiting www.StrasburgRailRoad.com, or by calling 1-866-468-7630.

Trains & Troops Weekend
November 3 - 4
Pay tribute to our soldiers at Strasburg Rail Road. Ride a special train with re-enactors from all eras of our military in conjunction with the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s Veterans Day celebration.

Santa’s Paradise Express
December 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16
Celebrate the magic of Christmas at Strasburg Rail Road. Travel down the tracks with Jolly Old Saint Nick aboard passenger cars warmed by potbelly stoves. Take a picture with Santa, sing Christmas carols as musicians stroll from car to car.

To learn more about the history of Strasburg Rail Road, please visit StrasburgRailRoad.com.

A Ride Into History: The Strasburg Rail Road
By Thomas James Stefanchik
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
April 2007

What comes to mind when you think of Pennsylvania Dutch Country? Serene images of a bucolic countryside, Amish folk tending their fields, horses and buggies?

How about steam trains and pressure vessels? The town of Strasburg, located just outside of Lancaster, PA, is a hub of activity for the railroading industry and its enthusiasts. Chief among the area’s train-related museums, stores and other sites is the Strasburg Rail Road. This facility should be of special interest to ASME Members, as it is one of the only tourist railroad shops in the country to hold what is known in the industry as an “S” stamp. This highly specialized designation, administered by ASME, indicates that the Strasburg Rail Road can build a pressure vessel from the ground up. All other similar shops have an “R” stamp, qualifying them only to do repairs.

While most people visit Strasburg to ride the rails, those interested in a more technical perspective can take the little-known behind-the-scenes tour of the Mechanical Shop. With more than 250 years of combined experience in design, repair and construction of heritage and historical railroad equipment, Strasburg has been producing first-class work in the steam railroading industry since the 1960s. Interestingly, most of the work performed there is still done by hand.

In the mechanical shop, you will see both vintage and modern-day equipment, all of which was acquired with one thing in mind: to keep the history of steam railroading alive. Each day that the Rail Road is open, the Mechanical Shop closes down from noon to 1:00 p.m. for lunch. During this time, the workers take turns leading the daily tour of the shops, making each visit a unique experience for the guests.

Starting in the Engine House, guests can see where water is tested and locomotives are hostled and stored. From the Engine House you can step outside to see a fireman shoveling half a ton of coal into an engine’s firebox. The heat climbs to an astounding 2,500 degrees to transform the water into steam.

The next stop on the tour is the passenger car restoration shop, where visitors are treated to smell the fresh scent of paint and stained wood. Here, passenger cars are restored to their natural splendor. In fact, due to its unique standing and reputation in the industry, Strasburg is contracted by railroads nationwide for use of its facilities. Says President and Chief Mechanical Officer Lyn Moedinger, “We do not just build to industry standards, we build more for longevity. These trains are meant to last and be enjoyed for generations to come.”

One facility, which has utilized Moedinger’s shop, is the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, whose engine the William Mason was restored by Strasburg for the film “Wild, Wild West” (as it turns out, that engine was the best thing about the movie). And when the Museum’s roof collapsed from heavy snow in 2004, it was helped back on track by Strasburg, who assisted in repairing their turntable and rebuilt one of its coaches for display.

While touring the Mechanical Shop may be a “must see” for any engineer, a visit to the Strasburg Rail Road is not just nuts and bolts. The highlight, for many, is a ride on one of the railroad’s beautifully restored and fully operational steam trains, two of which, engines #475 and #31, recently celebrated their centennial birthdays. These 45-minute excursions take you through scenic Pennsylvania Dutch countryside, with narration provided by courteous and knowledgeable conductors.

As for the survival of a quaint industry like steam railroading in an increasingly complex and technically oriented society, Moedinger remains optimistic. “The rarity of what we have to offer causes great demand and ensures our continued popularity.” Looking to the future, he says, “Our long-range plan is to build a roundhouse and reconfigure the property so that it has that turn-of-the-century look and feel. One of our greatest challenges, however, is finding qualified young people to hire.” If you’ve always dreamed of working on the rails, or if you simply want more information about the railroad, visit www.strasburgrailroad.com.

To read the entire article, please visit ASME Online.

Strasburg Rail Road
By Chris Guenzler
Trainweb.com
April 22, 2007

I pulled into the Strasburg Railroad parking lot at 8:30 AM and learned that their first train I would be riding would leave at 11 AM. With it very cold and windy I decided to have a look around. I quickly saw smoke that led me to Thomas the Tank Engine 0-6-0 #1. […]

With it really cold and windy I decided it was now time to visit the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum across the street. […]

At 10:35 AM I finished up at the museum and recrossed the highway to the Strasburg Railroad. I bought my ticket and went to the Strasburg Railroad offices to look for Katie Stafford who would be my host for today’s trip. […]

To read the entire article, please visit TrainWeb.com.

Easter Bunny Hops Train
By Michael Yoder
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
April 9, 2007

Laurie Mackison has done almost every job imaginable at the Strasburg Rail Road except engineer or conductor.

But it’s her early spring assignment that gives the greatest satisfaction — dressing up as the Easter Bunny.

Dozens of people braved unusually chilly spring temperatures to ride Train No. 400, “The Executive,” for a 45-minute Easter Sunday trip with the Easter Bunny.

Mackison, who has dressed as the Easter Bunny off and on for the last 11 years, said she loves to talk to the people, but the hardest part of the job is staying quiet when she is in costume.

“It’s just neat to go through the train and see the kids’ faces light up when they get a piece of candy,” Mackison said.

Coal-fired potbellied stoves kept passengers warm in 30-degree temperatures on the trip from Strasburg to Paradise and back. Last year temperatures were in the 70s for Easter.

Eric and Meagan Johnson of New Bedford, Mass., brought their 2-year-old son, Alexander, on his first train ride.

The Easter Bunny handed him a red clear-toy candy rabbit, and he started blowing her kisses.

Karen Johnson, Alexander’s grandmother, said she enjoyed the ride and was glad her grandson got to experience a small piece of nostalgia.

The ride “takes you back in time,” Mrs. Johnson said. “It’s something to do on a cold day.”

Linn Moedinger, president of the Strasburg Rail Road, spent Sunday running and working on a 1920’s Cagney locomotive, a miniature steam engine used to transport amusement-park visitors in the early 1900s.

He said special events like the Easter Bunny help to draw people to the railroad.

Strasburg Rail Road has featured the Easter Bunny on trains since it opened in 1959.

Moedinger said attendance numbers have dropped since a peak in the early 1990s, and the group has been searching for ways to attract tourists.

“It’s a little more difficult to get (tourists) here today, but when you get them here, they’re fascinated,” Moedinger said.

To read this article, please visit Lancaster Online.

Wine and Cheese Train’s Season Begins Saturday
By Cindy Hummel
Lancaster New Era
April 3, 2007

A railroad experience aimed at adults will head down the Strasburg Rail Road tracks at full speed beginning April [14].

The wine and cheese train is returning, after a successful experiment last summer.

People purchased tickets for last year’s train faster than anticipated, recalled manager Joanne O’Connell.

“We sold out every wine and cheese train,” she said.

To meet the demand, the railroad will again run a wine and cheese train on Saturdays from April [14] through Nov. 24. Additional wine and cheese trains will depart on Thursday and Friday nights during part of the summer.

In addition to the single parlor car with 30 seats used in 2006, the back half of a second parlor car has been added. The new car has been transformed into a parlor car to seat an additional 14 guests.

O’Connell says she is pleased with the design of the new car, which includes green, stuffed velour chairs that swivel. The railroad shop created the chairs, finished on the bottom with fringe, based on a parlor car from 1915.

The four waiters and waitresses will have to walk back and forth between the two parlor cars, but O’Connell doesn’t think it will be a problem.

Some of the wines and cheeses will be different than those served during the inaugural year. Wine and cheese selections are still being determined, O’Connell said, and may change from week to week. One wine sure to be served is a Strasburger Red. Selections will include two red and two white wines.

The wine and cheese train, open to riders 21 and older, is popular because it gives adults a new option, O’Connell said.

“I think people wanted something to do as married couples,” she said.

Co-workers also ride together after work for unusual gatherings, O’Connell said, while other people have purchased tickets as gifts. Weddings and receptions have also taken place in the parlor car.

Besides wine and cheese, crackers and fruit also will be served during the 45-minute trips. […]

To read the entire article, please visit Lancaster Online.