Strasburg Valley Railroad Company

Steamtown National Historic Site

Welcome to...

   Scranton Pa, the electric city in Lackawanna County, home of Steamtown National Historic Site Run by the National Park Service. Water Gap, East Struongdsburg, Cresco, Moscow, Tobyhanna and Carbondale are our stops. Enjoy a look back at the Roundhouse of when Steam was king, and along the former Lackawanna track age as one of our historic engines takes you back in time. Enjoy Pictures and Descriptions and the history of the park in general here...in the electric city that is.

History of Steamtown NHS

Established by an act of the United States Congress on October 30, 1986, Steamtown officially opened to the public in the summer of 1995, and celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2005. Congress established Steamtown to interpret the story of main line steam railroading between 1850 and 1950.

Much of the collection of steam (and a few diesel) locomotives and freight and passenger cars was originally part of 'Steamtown USA'. That collection was originally assembled by the late F. Nelson Blount and was located in several places in the northeast United States before moving from Bellows Falls, Vermont, to Scranton in 1984. Blount's death in an airplane accident in 1967 had cut off the main financial support for 'Steamtown USA', but much of his original dream to have a museum in a working railroad yard with excursions on steam trains and a functional locomotive shop has been realized at Steamtown NHS.

Steamtown NHS is located within a working railroad yard and incorporates the surviving elements of the DL&W Scranton roundhouse and locomotive repair shops. The new Visitor Center, Theater, Technology and History Museums are built in the style of and on the site of the missing portions of the original roundhouse, giving the impression of what the complete structure was like. (The 1902 roundhouse was originally a complete circle).

Visitors can see museum exhibits about the history and technology of steam railroads in the United States and Pennsylvania, as well as see many locomotives and freight and passenger cars on display. Some locomotives on display are open so that visitors can climb in and see the controls. A mail car, railroad executives' passenger car (with dining room and sleeping / lounge areas), a boxcar, two cabooses, and a recreated DL&W station with ticket window are also open to walk through. A steam locomotive with cutaway sections helps visitors understand the operation of steam engines better. Part of one of the 1865 roundhouse inspection pits uncovered in archaeological excavations is also preserved in situ, under glass.

Other exhibits include the history of early railroads, life on the railroad, the relationship between railroads in terms of business, labor, and government, and the history of the Lackawanna Railroad. There is a short film shown throughout the day in the theater.

The museum has a very interesting mix of rolling stock, with only a few pieces that are historically significant to the site. Some of those are a DL&W caboose, steam engine, boxcar, a former WWII troop sleeper that the DL&W converted to maintenance of way service, and numerous passenger cars. Former Oneida & Western/Rahaway Valley 2-8-0 engine #15 was overhauled by the DL&W during the steam era. Other noteworthy pieces are the popular Union Pacific Big Boy #4012, CPR #2929, a rare Jubilee 4-4-4, and Reading Company T-1 #2124. Other engines were owned by Steamtown NHS/Steamtown USA Foundation but have been traded or sold over the years. One of these includes Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-4 Hudson engine #2816 which has been restored to working order and hauls trips for her original owner.

Engines CPR 2317, CN 3254, and Baldwin #26 are considered operable, although as of winter 2008, both 2317 is down for repairs and 3254 for inspection, and #26 is entering the final stages of a long rebuild. B&M #3713 is under restoration. When this is complete this will be the first American engine at either Steamtown USA or Steamtown NHS to be restored to working order. Engines NKP #759, CN #47, Trap Rock #43, Rahway Valley #17 have operated at Steamtown before, but not since the move to Pennsylvania.

The following engines have visited the site before: NYS&W 142, BM&R 425, a Lowville & Beaver River Shay, former Reading Company T-1 #2102 (not operable) and MILW 261.

Steamtown NHS offers a variety of demonstrations, tours, and excursions that show how railroads functioned in the age of steam. Park rangers give guided tours of the locomotive shop (where you can see work being done on the steam engines in the original roundhouse area), talks on the history of Steamtown, the Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive on display, and demonstrations of the turntable on a regular basis. The Scranton yard occupies about 0.16 km² (40 acres).

Several working locomotives take visitors on short excursions through the Scranton yard in the spring, summer, and fall. Most are on passenger coaches, but there are also caboose and hand car rides offered. These rides are included in the admission, although reservations may be required.

Longer excursions are scheduled with separate tickets. These include a ride on a Pullman coach and longer trips to several nearby towns, including the Lackawanna River valley and Carbondale, Tobyhanna and Moscow, Pennsylvania. On rare occasions, excursions are run to the Delaware Water Gap or on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Steamtown also plays host to RailCamp[1], a program put on by the National Park Service and National Railway Historical Society to train future railroad employees and fans of the industry in railroad operation and preservation.

Allegations had been made, especially within the mass media, that Steamtown was a "pork barrel" project prior to its building. Some criticized the United States National Park Service, which runs Steamtown, for using mostly Canadian locomotives (inherited from the Steamtown USA operation in Bellows Falls, VT) as working locomotives, although many American locomotives and cars are on display. While the collection within the museum and the rolling stock for excursions have been restored, many pieces of rolling stock that are quite visible to the public are in deplorable condition and face an uncertain future. Some of the most significant pieces of rolling stock (i.e. DL&W 565, one of two surviving Lackawanna Railroad steam engines) have not been

restored

Steamtown NHS Running Engines

Baldwin Locomotive Works #26

Owners: Baldwin Locomotive Works, #26; Jackson Iron & Steel Company, #3

Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works

One of two typical switch engines in the Steamtown NHS collection (the other is the Spang, Chalfont & Co. #8), Baldwin Locomotive Works #26 rolled out of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in March, 1929. But instead of selling it to some railroad or industry, the Baldwin company retained the locomotive for switching duties at their massive Eddystone Plant. The switcher, after serving many years for BLW, was sold to Jackson Iron & Steel of Jackson, Ohio where it switched empty cars into the plant and loaded cars out to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad -- the two railroads connecting with the plant. It was sold in 1979 to a private owner, and remained in Jackson until June, 1983, when it moved to Grand Rapids, Ohio. In July of the same year, it moved to the Mad River & NKP Museum at Bellevue, Ohio. It remained there until 1986, when it was acquired by the former Steamtown Foundation in trade for Canadian National Railways 4-6-0 Locomotive #1551. It actually arrived in Scranton, PA, in January, 1990, after Steamtown had been designated a National Park.

This locomotive is currently undergoing a full rebuild.

A new firebox is installed. The rigid staybolts on the side sheets are installed, though they still need to be trimmed and hammered over. The holes for the flexible and radial stays are being prepared.

The frame of the locomotive has been trammed (aligned), a new cylinder sleeve installed in the right main cylinder, the left main cylinder has been bored. Work continues on the brake rigging and suspension.

The wheels were checked for cracks in the cast steel. One crack was found and repaired. The axles were re-centered (the dynamic augment, or unbalanced weight, will eventually move the center of the axle away from the center of the wheel which, of course, increases the pounding) and the bearing surfaces have been ground.

In 2007, new tires were sweated into place on the wheels. During 2008-09, staybolts were installed, mud ring riveting, firebox welding and the slide valve rebuild were completed. Cab, tender frame and tender tank repairs were also completed in this timeframe.

In the coming months of 2009, a contractor will apply tank epoxy to the inside of the tender cistern, the tender trucks will be rebuilt and work will continue on the driving wheel boxes. Additionally, we will prepare to install the front tube sheet and approximately 300 2-inch flues.

While there continues to be no definite completion date for this rebuild, the BLW 26 could be back in service within the next 12 to 24 months.

Canadian Pacific #2317

Owners: Canadian Pacific Railway, #2317

Builder: Montreal Locomotive Works, June, 1923

The Canadian Pacific #2317 was built in 1923 as a heavy passenger locomotive. It was built as the eighteenth locomotive of the G-3-c series. (On the Canadian Pacific, "G" stood for the 4-6-2 "Pacific"-type locomotive. The "3" means it was the third design of this wheel arrangement, and the "c" means it was the third production run.) Ultimately, it proved a good design and CPR eventually acquired 173 G-3 4-6-2 steam locomotives. (Only two survive.) It remained in operation until 1959, when after 36 years of service, it was placed in storage.

F. Nelson Blount acquired the locomotive for his Steamtown Foundation. After Blount's death, the Foundation did bring the 2317 back to operation in 1978. It moved -- with the Steamtown collection -- to Scranton, PA, in 1984, and was donated to the National Park Service in 1987.

CP 2317 is in the Roundhouse, awaiting it's call to service for the 2009 Operations Season. This locomotive will power the Scranton Limited short train rides on select days this season. At the end of the 2009 season, this locomotive will be due to undergo it's 1,472-day FRA-mandated inspection. The Park is in the process of administratively preparing for this huge project.

Canadian National Railways #3254

Owners: Canadian Government Railways, #2854; Canadian National Railways, #3254

Builder: Canadian Locomotive Company, Kingston Works Ontario, Canada, 1917

Locomotive #3254, a 2-8-2 Mikado, rolled out of the Canadian Locomotive Company's Kingston Works for use on the Canadian Government Railways. The CGR had a very brief existence. The Canadian Government, on April 1, 1916, consolidated five government owned railways -- the Intercolonial Railway (1,527 miles), the Transcontinental Railway, the Prince Edward Island Railway (276 miles of narrow gauge) and the National Transcontinental Railway (1,814 miles) -- to become the Canadian Government Railway. In 1918, the CGR was combined with the Canadian Northern Railway, which operated primarily in the Western Prairies. This new railway, the Canadian National, is still in operation today.

The 3254 is an S-1-b Mikado. (On Canadian National, the "S" meant a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement, the "1" meant it was the first design of this wheel arrangement and the "b" meant it was the second production run.) It was built to pull heavy freight trains and was retired in 1958. It was sold to a private owner in Pennsylvania in 1961, and in 1982 it was sold to the Gettysburg Railroad. In the summer of 1987, the Steamtown Foundation traded the CPR #1278 (a G-5 Pacific) plus cash to Gettysburg Railroad for the CN #3254.

CN #3254 is in the Locomotive Shop, where our shop forces re-profiled the lead truck and main driving wheels, installed new springs on the trailing truck, and installed a rebuilt stoker motor. The locomotive is out-of-service for journal repairs as of June 28. We expect the locomotive to be back to excursion service for the 2009 Operations Season before long.

New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (the Nickel Plate Road) #514

Owners: New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad #514; Norfolk & Western Railway #2514; Norfolk Southern #2514

Builder: Electo-Motive Division, General Motors Corporation, La Grange, IL, 1958

Locomotive #514 rolled out of the La Grange, IL locomotive works of the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1958, putting it near the end of the production run of the famous GP-9 locomotives ("GP" designates a General Purpose locomotive, and "9" was the model number). The Nickel Plate Road (NYC&St.L) was one of the last major steam railroads to switch to the new diesel-electric locomotives. One reason for this was the famed "Berkshires" -- a 2-8-4 wheel arrangement steam locomotive capable of pulling heavy freight trains at high speed. In the early 1950s, the Nickel Plate took a look at the diesels and decided to stick with the Berkshires. Steamtown NHS has one Berkshire in its collection: the NYC&St.L #759. Though the 759 does not run, it allows the park to compare one of the last mainline locomotives in the US with the diesel-electric that replaced it.

The locomotive became part of the Norfolk & Western system in the 1960s after a merger with the Nickel Plate. On April 5, 1985, the locomotive was signed over to the Steamtown Foundation in Scranton, PA, as part of a trade which gave the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, clear title to the A-class steam locomotive N&W #1218.

Today the 514 has been repainted to its original Nickel Plate colors. While not part of the historic collection, it is used in the yards for switching and as a backup locomotive when the historic steam locomotives experience problems.

Minor cracks were found in one set of wheels. Until these wheels have been replaced, the locomotive is available only inside the railroad yards.