Railroaders Memorial Museum
Encyclopedia
Railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives , railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment.See List of railway museums...
in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. The museum is dedicated to revealing, interpreting, commemorating and celebrating the significant contributions of railroaders and their families to American life and industry.
Altoona is one of the hubs of the area's growing tourist industry. Many significant cultural resources are within the city itself, and most of these resources are linked directly to the city's long history as a railroad center. Altoona is in a section of southwestern Pennsylvania that is home to a number of significant cultural and historic resources. The Allegheny Portage Railroad
Allegheny Portage Railroad
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States. It was a series of 10 inclines, approximately long, and operated from 1834 to 1854...
National Historic Site, Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Johnstown Flood National Memorial commemorates the approximately 2,200 people who died in the Johnstown Flood of 1889, caused by a break in the South Fork Dam. Clara Barton successfully led the American Red Cross in its first disaster relief effort. The memorial is located at 733 Lake Road near...
, Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site
Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania)
Horseshoe Curve is a famous railroad horseshoe curve in central Pennsylvania, near Altoona in the United States. Called an "engineering marvel", it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad...
, Staple Bend Tunnel
Staple Bend Tunnel
The Staple Bend Tunnel, about east of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a town called Mineral Point, was constructed between 1831 and 1834 for the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Construction began on April 12, 1831. This tunnel, at in length, was the first railway tunnel constructed in the United States...
(America's first railroad tunnel), and the historic iron furnace at Mt. Etna are all within 25 miles (40.2 km) of Altoona.
For more than a century Altoona was one of the most important rail facilities in the United States. The city was home to the Altoona Works
Altoona Works
Altoona Works is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.-History:In 1849, PRR...
, Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's repair and maintenance shops, locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
construction facility, and test department. Altoona's location at the foot of the Allegheny front and its proximity to the Horseshoe Curve route over the mountains made the city a key location in the Altoona Pennsylvania Railroad's operations.
The 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.
The museum is also said to be haunted and was investigated by The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) in 2004.
History
- 1966 - An ad is placed in the Altoona Mirror searching for parties interested in establishing a Railroad Museum for Altoona.
- 1967 - The group forms the Altoona Railway Museum Club and adopts the name Altoona Railway Museum Association.
- 1968 - The National Railway Historical Society grants a charter to the association. Chapter members begin collecting railroad memorabilia and displaying historical objects at civic events, etc.
- 1972 - The name Railroaders Memorial Museum is officially incorporated.
- 1975 - Museum acquires the private rail car of Charles M. Schwab - The Loretto. The Altoona Redevelopment Authority sells the former Penn Central Railroad shop complex land to the Center Associates with an agreement providing that Center Associates make a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) plot available for the Museum.
- 1979 - Ground-breaking ceremonies are held on May 12th.
- 1980 - Museum celebrates grand opening on September 21st.
- 1985 - Museum acquires the PRR K4’s #1361 locomotive and moves it from the Horseshoe Curve to Altoona for restoration.
- 1987-1988 - K4’s excursions haul thousands as the “Pride of Altoona” returns to the rails.
- 1993 - Museum acquires former PRR master mechanics building and an adjoining parcel of land.
- 1995 - Renovations to the master mechanics building begin.
- 1997 - Exhibit fabrication and installation work begin.
- 1998 - Grand opening of the new Railroaders Memorial Museum held on April 25th.
- 2002 - Scott Cessna becomes Executive Director
- 2007 - RMM board fires management and lets Salone Marketing Group run the museum.