Strasburg Rail Road

he Strasburg Rail Road is the oldest continuously operating railroad in the western hemisphere and the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The line runs from the east end of the village of Strasburg, 4.5 miles east to Paradise, Pennsylvania, where it connects with Amtrak's Keystone corridor mainline (former Pennsylvania RR and later Conrail) and a Norfolk Southern interchange. In addition to hauling over a quarter million tourists every year, the shortline also provides occasional freight and transload service to area shippers.

By the late 1950s, the pre-tourist Strasburg Rail Road had fallen on hard times from the effects of declining freight business, infrequent runs, damage caused by Hurricane Hazel, and inspectors from the Interstate Commerce Commission grounding of the line's tiny Plymouth locomotive. Upon the death of owner Bryson Homsher, his estate filed for abandonment with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in 1958. Hearing of the potential abandonment, an effort to purchase and save the railroad was organized by two local railfans from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They organized a non-profit group to purchase the shortline, which was finally completed on November 1, 1958. The following week, the first carload of revenue freight was hauled to what was then the only customer: a small mill in Strasburg. Tourist excursion service soon began in January 1959, and the revived line's first steam locomotive of many arrived the following year.

Strasburg currently rosters four operating steam locomotives: former Great Western "Decapod" #90, former Canadian National "Mogul" #89, former Norfolk & Western "Mollie" type #475, and former Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal #15 (rebuilt as Thomas the Tank Engine). The Strasburg is one of the few railroads in the United States to occasionally use steam locomotives to haul revenue freight trains. It also rosters the nation's largest operating fleet of historic wooden passenger coaches, including the nation's only operating wooden dining car. Several diesels are on hand for freight and standy service. The railroad's mechanical and car shops restore locomotives and rolling stock for the Strasburg itself and a wide variety of public and private clients, including fellow steam railroads, train museums, attractions, and others.

Adjacent to the Strasburg Railroad is the venerable Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, featuring a comprehensive collection locomotives and rolling stock related to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.