The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road Company is today a heritage railroad offering excursion trains hauled by steam locomotives on of track in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, as well as providing contract railroad mechanical services, freight service to area shippers, and a hub for steam locomotive restoration projects. The railroad's headquarters are outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The railroad hosts 300,000 visitors per year.
The Strasburg Rail Road is one of the few railroads in the U.S. sometimes using steam locomotives to haul revenue freight trains. The adjacent Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania occasionally uses Strasburg Rail Road tracks to connect to the Amtrak Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line Leaman Place junction in Paradise.
History By the 1820s, the canal system had replaced the Conestoga wagon as the primary method of overland transportation. When the Susquehanna Canal opened, the majority of goods were directed through Baltimore, Maryland, rather than Philadelphia.Hallock, p. 132.Hallock, p. 133. The small amount of goods that were destined for Philadelphia traveled via a wagon road through Strasburg. Philadelphia attempted to reclaim its position as a major port city by constructing the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in 1831. A railroad was easier and more cost effective to build than a canal. Because the new railroad would bypass Strasburg and cause Strasburg to lose its livelihood, a group of businessmen petitioned the state government for the right to build their own railroad to connect Strasburg to the Philadelphia and Columbia.Hallock, p. 134. A charter was issued by the Pennsylvania Legislature with the signature of Governor George Wolf on June 9, 1832 to "incorporate the Strasburg ".
Although the pre-1852 history of the Strasburg Rail Road is sketchy, it is believed that the line was graded in 1835 and was operational by 1837.Hallock, p. 135. The railroad operated as a horse-drawn railroad until it purchased a second-hand Norris-built, 4-2-0 steam locomotive named the William Penn in 1851. Controlling interest in the railroad was purchased by John F. and Cyrus N. Herr in 1863. The rails were replaced around the same time with heavier ones to accommodate the locomotive.Hallock, p. 136. In 1866, the Herrs were granted a charter to extend the Strasburg Rail Road to Quarryville; surveys were carried out, but the extension was eventually canceled because of an economic depression.Hallock, p. 140.
Isaac Groff managed The Strasburg Rail Road for about 20 years until the fire of January 16, 1871, which destroyed the depot, grist and merchant mill, planing mill and machine shop — in all, more than $50,000 worth of property, equal to $ today. In 1878, the Strasburg Rail Road and the shops were sold. The railroad was sold again in 1888 to Edward Musselman, with the Musselman family retaining control of it until 1918 when it was purchased by State Senator John Homsher. By this time, the number of passengers had dropped off because tracks for the Conestoga Traction Company's streetcars had reached Strasburg in 1908, offering a more direct route between Lancaster and Strasburg.Hallock, p. 141.
In 1926, the Strasburg Rail Road purchased a , gasoline-powered, Plymouth switcher locomotive — the only locomotive that was ever built specifically for the Strasburg Rail Road. By 1958, the railroad fell on hard times from the cumulative effect of years of declining freight business and infrequent runs, damage caused by Hurricane Hazel, and lack of approval for operation of the Plymouth locomotive by inspectors from the Interstate Commerce Commission.Soloman, p. 76.
Upon the death of Bryson Homsher, the Homsher estate filed for abandonment with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.Hallock, p. 143. Learning of the potential abandonment, an effort to purchase and save the railroad was organized by railfans from Lancaster Henry K. Long and Donald E. L. Hallock. They organized a small non-profit group to purchase the railroad. After the better part of a year of hard work, the purchase was completed on November 1, 1958. A week later, the first carload of revenue freight was hauled to what was then the only customer, a mill in Strasburg.
Tourist excursion service began on January 4, 1959, and the first steam locomotive arrived in June the following year.
Today, the line carries passengers on a 45-minute round-trip journey from East Strasburg to Leaman Place Junction through nearly in southeastern Lancaster County. A percentage of each train ticket's revenue is contributed to the Lancaster Farmland Trust.
The railroad operates the United States' only operational wooden dining car on which visitors may dine while riding. Attractions at the station include the fully operational gauge Pint-Sized PufferbellyStrasburg Rail Road - Pint-Sized Pufferbelly (Cagney steam-powered ridable miniature railway), a vintage pump car and several c.1930s "cranky cars", along with several gift shops and a cafe.
The railroad's mechanical and car shops maintain and restore locomotives and rolling stock for a wide variety of public and private clients, including other railroads, steam locomotive operators, train museums, and other heavy industries. In 2016–17, the shops were enlarged to to accommodate increasing demand for their services.
Its freight department provides shipping and transloading for local and regional clients. Interchange is with Norfolk Southern at Leaman Place Junction on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor.
When the railroad returned to operation for tourism, freight business was still pursued but was diminished compared to the past. Business from the Homsher feed mill ended in 1976, and one of the only sources of freight traffic was imported plastic pellets for a battery manufacturer in Lampeter. Occasional carloads of lumber were also carried, but freight traffic as a whole came to a near standstill a few years into the 2000s; the plastic pellet business was lost to trucks. Several years went by with no freight shipments at all, and the railroad was in danger of losing its designation as a common carrier entirely. The railroad made a strategic decision to actively seek out new freight business in 2008; at the time, the railroad was averaging less than one freight car per month. Improvements were made to the main line to accommodate the heavier weight of modern freight cars, and the railroad also purchased EMD SW8 #8618 to handle freight duties.
Since 2008, freight carloads have increased substantially, which resulted in the development of a new $1.5 million transloading facility funded by the railroad and matching grants. Increased freight shipments justified an additional locomotive purchase, a rebuilt EMD SW9, in 2019. On February 12, 2023, the railroad inaugurated a six-track freight yard located off of Route U.S. 30, the Lincoln Highway. The United States Department of Labor ordered the railroad in January 2025 to pay back wages and compensatory damages to an employee of the Strasburg Railroad who had unlawfully fired after the employee raised safety concerns.
Equipment Locomotives +Locomotive details Number Image Type Model Built Builder Former owner Status 1 Gasoline HL18 1926 Plymouth Locomotive Works None Operational 2 Gasoline JLA 1930 Plymouth Locomotive Works Unknown Operational 10 Railcar Doodlebug 1915 Sanders Machine Shop Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway Operational 15 Steam 1917 H.K. Porter, Inc. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Stored, awaiting overhaul 89 Steam 1910 Canadian Locomotive Company Canadian National Railway Operational 90 Steam 1924 Baldwin Locomotive Works Great Western Railway of Colorado Operational 475 Steam 1906 Baldwin Locomotive Works Norfolk and Western Railway Operational 972 Steam 1912 Montreal Locomotive Works Canadian Pacific Railway Stored, awaiting restoration 1235 Diesel SW9 1953 Electro-Motive Diesel Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Under restoration 7312 Steam 1908 Baldwin Locomotive Works Canadian National Railway Slowly undergoing a 1,472-day inspection and overhaul 8618 Diesel SW8 1952 Electro-Motive Diesel New York Central Railroad Operational
Cagney locomotives +Cagney locomotive details Number Image Type Model Built Builder Former owner Status 3 Steam 1920 Cagney Bros. Coney Island Operational 9 Steam 1903 Cagney Bros. Coney Island Stored
Former locomotives +Locomotive details Number Image Type Model Built Builder Current owner 21 Railcar Railbus 1921 Mack Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania 1187 Steam 1903 Baldwin Locomotive Works Age of Steam Roundhouse 1223 Steam 1905 Juniata Shops Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania 7002 Steam 1902 Juniata Shops Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania 8000 Diesel Electric 1931 American Locomotives, General Electric Company & Ingersoll Rand National Museum of Transportation 9331 Diesel 44-ton switcher 1948 General-Electric Walkersville Southern Railroad (privately owned)
Locomotives visited or rebuilt by the shops Number Image Type Model Built Builder Notes B&O Tom Thumb replica Steam 1926-1927 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Rebuild WDWRR 1/Walter E. Disney Steam 4-6-0 1925 Baldwin Locomotive Works Overhauled between 2016 and 2020 WDWRR 2/Lilly Belle Steam 2-6-0 1928 Baldwin Locomotive Works Overhauled between 2010 and 2016 WDWRR 3/Roger E. Broggie Steam 4-6-0 1925 Baldwin Locomotive Works Overhauled between 2019 and 2023 WDWRR 4/Roy O. Disney Steam 4-4-0 1916 Baldwin Locomotive Works Under overhaul since 2024 B&O 25/William Mason Steam 4-4-0 1856 Mason Machine Works Rebuild 37 Steam 1924 American Locomotive Company Stored at Strasburg between 2010 and 2023 39 Steam 1929 Juniata Shops Awaiting restoration since 2008 40 Steam 1925 Baldwin Locomotive Works Rebuilt to operating condition between 1990 and 1991 98 Steam 1909 American Locomotive Company Stored at Strasburg 1961-1964 611 Steam 1950 Roanoke Shops Visited Strasburg in 2019 and in 2021-23 614 Steam 4-8-4 1948 Lima Locomotive Works Owned by RJD America, LLC, with Strasburg contracted for restoration to operating condition3713Steam4-6-21934Lima Locomotive WorksStrasburg contracted for restoration assistance by Steamtown National Historic Site. Undergoing restoration to operation. 764 Diesel GP7 1954 Electro-Motive Diesel Leased in 2016 902 Diesel FP7 1950 Electro-Motive Diesel Visited Strasburg in 2001 903 Diesel FP7 1950 Electro-Motive Diesel Visited Strasburg in 2001
Pre-1958