Strasburg Rail Road Marks 175th Birthday
By Cindy Hummel
Lancaster New Era
June 7, 2007

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - Strasburg Rail Road president Linn Moedinger told a crowd of about 200 people on Wednesday that the railroad, “never did anything in a normal fashion.”

In a re-creation of a whistle stop tour of political campaigns gone by, Moedinger spoke from the back of an observation car after it pulled into East Strasburg Station.

“This year is the 175th birthday,” he explained, “and next year is our 50th.”

Moedinger explained that 175 years have passed since the railroad was incorporated in 1832. The railroad gained its second life in 1958 as a group of 24 people bought it at a sheriff’s sale and brought it back to life.

Although the railroad began in 1832, the economic depression known as the Panic of 1837 prevented much progress from happening until 1859, Moedinger said. After trolley service in Strasburg lured away passenger service around 1900, he explained, the Strasburg Rail Road carried mostly freight. A leader in the industry, Strasburg Rail Road was among the first to get rid of its steam locomotives.

Lenwood Sloan from the Pennsylvania Tourism Office read a proclamation from Gov. Ed Rendell honoring June 9 as the 175th birthday of the Strasburg Rail Road.

“Making it against all odds,” County Commissioner Sharron Nelson told the crowd, “the Strasburg Rail Road is a true legacy.”

The speeches were followed by the Hans Herr Elementary School fourth-grade band’s presentation of the Strasburg Rail Road song, written in 1986 by composer Joe Ambrosia after a visit to the railroad.

Lampeter-Strasburg Superintendent Robert Frick explained that the school district has had a long relationship with the railroad.

Several years ago, Frick said, the railroad donated $10,000 to L-S as well as to the Pequea Valley School District. The train runs through both districts. L-S used the gift as seed money for its fourth-grade strings music program. Since then, Frick said, the railroad has continued to give the district $5,000 per year, which has been used mostly for science equipment.

Millersville resident Michael Kuntz said he was so impressed by how far the students, including his niece Lauren Kuntz, had progressed.

“Most kids,” pointed out Hans Herr principal Andrew Godfrey explained, “were not playing an instrument at the beginning of the year.”

Moedinger invited the crowd to learn more about the last five decades of Strasburg Rail Road history by returning next year for the 50th anniversary.

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