Railway Forum - Scranton's Steamtown pays tribute to railroading

SCRANTON -- They're mammoth, noisy and dirty, and they belch smoke into the air.

But people seem to love them. In fact, they will stand in line just to have their photos taken next to one the "iron horses" that once roamed the rails, billowing steam from the "hellfire" that burned deep within their bellies.
Years before passenger jets circumnavigated the globe and tractor-trailers rolled across thousands of miles of asphalt, the steam locomotive was such an innovation in transportation that it helped form our nation. The locomotive gave factories and industries a more reliable and faster means of transporting goods while giving the public a safer way to travel.
Although this new form of transportation made life easier for people in the mid-1800s, life was anything but easy for the men that worked on the railroad in those early years. From the engineers to the firemen that had to continuously feed the fire an endless supply of coal while monitoring a host of gauges and values, the work was hard, dirty and sometimes deadly.

Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton pays homage to the "iron horses" and the men and women that worked for the railroad from its infancy into its prime. The historic site occupies about 40 acres of the Scranton railyard, once home to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroads in the heart of downtown Scranton.
Pennsylvania's rich history with steam locomotives is one of the highlights at Steamtown, which shows the locomotive's impact on the growth of industries and communities in the state. An impressive part Steamtown's large collection is standard-gauge steam locomotives and freight and passenger cars that New England seafood processor F. Nelson Blount assembled in the 1950s and '60s.
In 1984, 17 years after Blount's death, the Steamtown Foundation for the Preservation of Steam and Railroad Americana Inc., brought the collection to Scranton.
"There were 12 other places that wanted to have this collection," John Mucha, supervisory park ranger at Steamtown, said. "St. Louis, Orlando, Albany (N.Y.) and Roanoke (Va.) were some of the places that really wanted to have the collection in their towns."

But after a major fundraising effort by the city and elected officials, Steamtown was selected as the site for the collection.
Soon after, Steamtown National Historic Site was created and the yard and the collection became part of the National Park Service.
"Being part of the National Park Service is one of the best things that could have happened here at Steamtown," Mark Brennan, chief of rail operations at the site, said. "Steamtown has come a long way since it first started. It's a lot of hard work, but we have a terrific group of rangers and volunteers that make this all possible."
The Steamtown collection consists of 25 locomotives, 11 freight cars, 30 passenger cars and maintenance-of-way equipment from several historic railroads in Pennsylvania and other parts of the country. A few of the highlights include the Union Pacific Big Boy, the world's largest steam locomotive ever built, and the classic 1917 Canadian National locomotive.
But what makes Steamtown so unique is the numerous attractions and museums at the site.
In addition to a working railyard where visitors can experience the thrill of what steam travel was like years ago, there are several informative museums located in a restored 1902 roundhouse.

Inside the History Museum, visitors find a detailed timeline of railroading, from the earliest days to the 1980s, including information on anthracite mining. A railway post office car and business car are located here as well as historic photos and relics of the steam era.
The Technology Museum features a sectioned steam locomotive, a caboose and a boxcar that visitors may enter. There are also informative exhibits covering technical aspects of railroading, such as how steam is made and used, signals, rail architecture and maintenance-of-way items.
The Theater at Steamtown runs an 18-minute film that depicts what life was like working on the railroad and the hardships that accompanied the job.
"People visiting Steamtown for the first time are always amazed at all there is to see and do here," park ranger Mucha said. "We get a lot of families -- grandparents, parents and their children -- and everyone always has fun while they also learn some interesting history too."