Strasburg Rail Road
Heritage railroad in Pennsylvania / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Strasburg Rail Road (reporting mark SRC) is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road Company is today a heritage railroad offering excursion trains hauled by steam locomotives on 4.02 mi (6.47 km) of track[1] in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, as well as providing contract railroad mechanical services, and freight service to area shippers. The railroad's headquarters are outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
This article possibly contains original research. (August 2022) |
Overview | |
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Headquarters | Strasburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Reporting mark | SRC |
Locale | Strasburg and Paradise Townships, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |
Dates of operation | 1832 (1832)–present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Length | 4.02 mi (6.47 km) |
Other | |
Website | strasburgrailroad |
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Strasburg has five operational steam locomotives on its roster, as well as several others in various stages of restoration. As of 2022, Canadian National No. 89, Norfolk & Western No. 475 and Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal No. 15 (rebuilt as Thomas the Tank Engine) are all in active service, while Canadian National No. 7312 and Great Western No. 90 are undergoing their FRA inspection and overhaul as of January 2024.[2][3] The other steam locomotive is a 15” Gauge 4-4-0 built by Cagney in the early 1900s.[2] They also have the nation's largest operating fleet of historic wooden passenger coaches. It hosts 300,000 visitors per year.[4]
The Strasburg Rail Road is one of the few railroads in the U.S. sometimes using steam locomotives to haul revenue freight trains. The nearby Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania occasionally uses Strasburg Rail Road tracks to connect to the Amtrak Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line junction in Paradise, Pennsylvania.