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  • Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Gets a Roundhouse

  • General discussion related to all railroad clubs, museums, tourist and scenic lines. Generally this covers museums with static displays, museums that operate excursions, scenic lines that have museums, and so on. Check out the Tourist Railway Association (TRAIN) for more information.
General discussion related to all railroad clubs, museums, tourist and scenic lines. Generally this covers museums with static displays, museums that operate excursions, scenic lines that have museums, and so on. Check out the Tourist Railway Association (TRAIN) for more information.

Moderators: rob216, Miketherailfan

 #814327  by Espee9180
 
News for Immediate Release
June 3, 2010
Governor Rendell Releases $5 Million for Major Improvements at Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Project Will Help Boost Tourism, Preserve State’s Railroad History
Harrisburg – Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the release of $5 million in state funds for major improvements at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Lancaster County. This investment of capital funds will help boost Pennsylvania’s tourism industry while preserving the state’s storied railroad history.
Barbara Franco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), said $500,000 will be used for the design of a 16,000-square-foot roundhouse that incorporates the museum's existing turntable and will be able to house a significant number of the museum’s extensive collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock currently stored outdoors. Many of the locomotives that will be preserved in the new building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are among the only surviving examples of their kind. The Governor's Office anticipates releasing an additional $6.1 million for the elements.
Franco said $4.5 million is allocated for the design, fabrication and installation of new permanent exhibits that examine Pennsylvania's railroading history from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The exhibits will explore the social, economic, and technological history of Pennsylvania railroading, using the museum's collection of artifacts and rolling stock to illustrate the story. Together, the new roundhouse and new exhibits will make the Railroad Museum even more attractive to families and visitors of all ages.
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, which opened to the public in 1973, is one of the nation’s premier railroad museums and is among the most visited sites along the Pennsylvania Trail of History.
The museum is administered by the PHMC with the active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Visit the museum online at www.rrmuseumpa.org.
Media contacts:
Kirk Wilson, PHMC; 717-783-9882
Gary Tuma, Governor’s Office; 717-783-1116

Link to the info on the Museums Own Site: http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/whatsnew/prog ... ughs.shtml
 #815179  by Mr rt
 
A-N-D you can take a ride on a steam train just accross the street ... plus stay in the Caboose Motel or visit the Model RxR Museum, both just down the road a piece :-) ... been there ... done that ...
 #846254  by daylight4449
 
they get anything ready for the roundhouse yet? if i make a sugestion, they should have two stalls set aside for :
1) a paint shop, to help cosmetically restore artifacts
and 2) a fully stocked heavy machine shop, for maintaining operational examples and restoring locomotives to operation, wether they be steam or diesel.
pretty sure this would help, then steamtown wouldn't have to do all the steam restoration work
 #846369  by limejuice
 
daylight4449 wrote:they get anything ready for the roundhouse yet? if i make a sugestion, they should have two stalls set aside for :
1) a paint shop, to help cosmetically restore artifacts
and 2) a fully stocked heavy machine shop, for maintaining operational examples and restoring locomotives to operation, wether they be steam or diesel.
pretty sure this would help, then steamtown wouldn't have to do all the steam restoration work
1. They've already got that.
2. Outside of their scope/mission for one thing, and since state budget problems just forced them to let go half of their staff, where are the skilled people to run these machines coming from? And a heavy machine shop is going to take up much more room than one stall of a roundhouse.

The purpose of the roundhouse is to protect and preserve outdoor equipment from the elements.
 #847750  by daylight4449
 
D.Carleton wrote:Using the Age of Steam Roundhouse as a guide the new roundhouse across the street from Strasburg at "16,000 square-feet" should be five or six stalls. Very nice. I'd rather see it twice that size but I'll take what I can get.
so this is the facility that will house the locomotives from the old ohio central steam program? been trying to find any info on the project, this really helps, thanks :-D
 #848827  by Otto Vondrak
 
daylight4449 wrote:
D.Carleton wrote:Using the Age of Steam Roundhouse as a guide the new roundhouse across the street from Strasburg at "16,000 square-feet" should be five or six stalls. Very nice. I'd rather see it twice that size but I'll take what I can get.
so this is the facility that will house the locomotives from the old ohio central steam program? been trying to find any info on the project, this really helps, thanks :-D
Amazing what a Google search will turn up, eh? Start a new thread if you want to talk about Age of Steam.
 #927295  by woodsie
 
I can't believe no one knows what the plans are for the roundhouse. [It's been 2 months since I asked the question.] Am I the only one curious about what it may look like? A modern art tribute to an architect? Or, a neat brick building that actually looks like a roundhouse?
 #951516  by daylight4449
 
Kickpedal wrote:Can anyone explain to me why it costs $500,000 just to design the roundhouse??!! Is there anyone reading these forums that doesn't understand the typical design of a roundhouse? This is an extraordinary cost!!
Politics can be quite expensive. So can a majorly unusual request for a structure such as a roundhouse in the modern era.
 #976524  by woodsie
 
It's alternately called "politics," "approved procedure," "current requirements," and whatever!
It's disgusting. Grab a set of prints from the Reading, Pennsy, revise to comply with
the inane requirements of the day, and build it.
So, has anyone seen any plans? Anyone?