Boy Scout trip to Steamtown

In Strasburg, PA the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania offers the BSA Railroading merit badge. It's a 7.5 hour program and costs $10 per scout. Check out page 5 of the web site:
http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/education/Edu ... %20Web.pdf

Too bad Strasburg isn't at Steamtown! ;-) That's a four-hour drive for us, where Steamtown is only 2.

I'm actually hosting an event at the Naugatuck Railroad/RMNE this May. It's an hour drive for most of our troops, and the railroad is putting out the red carpet for us. It should be a good time had by all.

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:I am a Scout leader here in New York, and I wanted to take my Troop to Steamtown in the fall. Has anyone ever done this with their Scouts before? My Troop is aged 12-18. Anyone ever use the Scout camps nearby?

-otto-

There's an NRHS chapter in the area, they might be able to give you some help.

You can find contact info. for them via the NRHS web site: NRHS.com.

NRHS also runs a RailCamp for Teenagers at Steamtown

Bob H

Thanks, I'm also an NRHS member and already approached that route, but thank you for the suggestion! What I really needed was a reference to a good campsite, either a BSA facility or a campground of some sort.

Here's what we ended up with:

http://wpcbsa.org/District/Muscoot/#SpringCamporee

-otto-

I know its NOT steamtown, but isn't there a boy scout camp in forestport/woodgate? Its not very far from Thendara and Utica.

Otto Vondrak wrote:I am a Scout leader here in New York, and I wanted to take my Troop to Steamtown in the fall. Has anyone ever done this with their Scouts before? My Troop is aged 12-18. Anyone ever use the Scout camps nearby?

-otto-

Several boyscout troops come to the Seashore Trolley Museum to earn their RR merit badge, Early May a couple hundred were here.

aline1969 wrote:Several boyscout troops come to the Seashore Trolley Museum to earn their RR merit badge, Early May a couple hundred were here.

I love visiting Seashore, but it's an eight-hour drive from New York, and not exactly an "nearby" trip for 150 Scouts. Check out the July 2008 RAILPACE to see an article on my April event at Railroad Museum of New England.

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:

aline1969 wrote:Several boyscout troops come to the Seashore Trolley Museum to earn their RR merit badge, Early May a couple hundred were here.

I love visiting Seashore, but it's an eight-hour drive from New York, and not exactly an "nearby" trip for 150 Scouts. Check out the July 2008 RAILPACE to see an article on my April event at Railroad Museum of New England.

-otto-

We get boyscout troops from CT up here.

Here's the story and some photos from our Spring Camporee at the Railroad Museum of New England:

http://ktny.blogspot.com/2008/05/2008-s ... on-ct.html

(the same story appeared in the July issue of Railpace)

-otto-

http://www.trolleymuseum.org/education.html

Here is the link to our boyscout program

Sounds like a great event for your troop. Hope you are fortunate getting parents to drive, we scaled back all of our campouts and events to be within an hours drive as it is like pulling teeth to get parents to help out if the drive is any longer.

I am currently a scoutmaster and have had the RR merit badge as one of those I am registered as a councelou. Being SM, it is nearly impossible to find time to run any merit badges any more though. I did the RR merit badge back when I was an Assistant Scoutmaster, we took the scouts to the DRGW Burnam shops in Denver, North Yard and car shops, Colorado RR museum and caboose hobbies, had 15 boys (half the troop) take the badge.

We are having a backpacking trip in August on Boreas pass on the old South park line. I would like to try and find the time to use it as a basis for RR merit badge again if I can find the time. We are planning on stopping at the old Como Roundhouse and have breakfast at teh RR Depot B&B before heading up teh pass and leaving the road (former roadbed) for a hike in starting from around the Baker Tank.

Boreas Pass is one of the most scenic RR lines I have seen, marshall Pass also rates. We just took a family Bike trip last weekend in Silverthorne and came home via Boreas Pass, it is spectacular.