Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum

Honoring those who built "The Standard Railway of the World"

The Railroaders Memorial Museum is dedicated to revealing, interpreting, commemorating and celebrating the significant contributions of Railroaders and their families to American life and industry. The Altoona Pennsylvania Railroad's contribution to the nation's transportation infrastructure, and to production standardization, marks it as one of the most important contributors to America's industrial revolution. By the 1920s, the Altoona railroad works employed 15,000 workers, and by 1945 the Pennsylvania Railroad's facilities at Altoona had become the world's largest rail shop complex.

tpmg_state egyptian ituated in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania, along the former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline, the Railroaders Memorial Museum features three floors of historical railroad exhibits, an outdoor rolling stock park, and an enclosed roundhouse with an operating turntable. The museum interprets early 20th century American railroading life through the lens of the former Pennsylvania Railroad — "the standard railway of the world." Key rolling stock includes a PRR class K4s steamer known as "Spirit of Altoona" and a General Electric GG1 electric passenger mover.

May 2016 / RWH

1945 Official Guide map / collection

1989 tourist train guide ad / collection

2019 tourist train guide ad / collection

postcard / collection

Museum

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Click to see the Railroads Memorial Museum plotted on a Google Maps page

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

brochure / collection

brochure / collection

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

brochure / collection

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

postcard / collection

Turntable

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Motive Power

Pennsylvania #4913

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #4913

builder:General Electric / PRR

model:GG1

type:2-C+C-2 passenger locomotive

built:1942 at Altoona

series:139 produced 1934-43

power:11-13.5 kV 25 Hz AC Catenary

notes:

15 built by General Electric
124 built by PRR Altoona Works

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

What's so special about the GG1? Longevity. The first GG1 went into service in 1935 and the last was taken out of service in 1983. The GG1 outlasted the railroad that built it and its successor road. This may be in part due to the fact that the GG1 was not handed a spot in the PRR inventory, it earned it. It was inspired by the nearby New Haven boxcab electric EP-3a that served that road so well. PRR was in the market for a new electric but the R-1 was offered in addition to the GG1. The R1 and GG1 inherited their general styling from the smaller modified P5a. The GG1 recieved the special attention of industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who, with minor changes in the sheet metal and major changes with the livery, made the GG1 the visual classic it is. Despite the other omnipresent items designed by Loewy, he stated he was always especially fond of the job he did on the G. The R-1 had a smaller single frame 2-D-2 wheel arrangement, compared to the GG1's multiframed 2-C+C-2. The PRR put both locos through their paces and the GG1 came out on top with slightly better tracking characteristics.

The GG1 Homepage

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

RWH

Berwind White Coal Mining Company "Nancy"

0-4-0T switcher / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Rolling Stock

Norfolk Southern #658265

60' steel commemorative boxcar / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #2136

40' steel boxcar / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #2561

50' reefer / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Pennsylvania #4468

PRR class D-70fR diner / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #6509

PRR class Bm-70nb Railway Post Office / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #9055

PRR class B-60b baggage / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Railway Express Agency #7375

refrigerator car / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Pennsylvania #477577

PRR class N-5 caboose / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH

Conrail #766163

16 axle depressed center flatcar / Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH

Publications

collection

brochure / collection

1989 tourist train guide ad / collection

1992 tourist train guide ad / collection

1994 tourist train guide ad / collection

1998 tourist train guide ad / collection

2001 tourist train guide ad / collection

2006 tourist train guide ad / collection

2013 tourist train guide ad / collection

2019 tourist train guide ad / collection

Action

The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum sits adjacent to the former Pennsylvania Railroad Philadelphia-Pittsburgh mainline, later used by Conrail and now by Norfolk Southern. Frequent freight trains pass throughout the day on their way to and from the famous Horseshoe Curve, and Amtrak's Pennsylvanian calls on the nearby Amtrak station twice a day, 7 days per week.

Click to see this railfan location plotted on a Google Maps page