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Altoona Railroaders Memorial MuseumHonoring those who built "The Standard Railway of the World" |
May 2016 / RWH
he Railroaders Memorial Museum is dedicated to revealing, interpreting, commemorating and celebrating the significant contributions of Railroaders and their families to American life and industry.
The Altoona 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.
Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum
ituated in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania, along the former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline, the Railroaders Memorial Museum features three floors of historical railroad exhibits, an outdoor rolling stock park, and an enclosed roundhouse with an operating turntable. The museum interprets early 20th century American railroading life through the lens of the former Pennsylvania Railroad — "the standard railway of the world." Key rolling stock includes a PRR class K4s steamer known as "Spirit of Altoona" and a General Electric GG1 electric passenger mover.
May 2016 / RWH
1945 Official Guide map / collection
1989 tourist train guide ad / collection
2019 tourist train guide ad / collection
postcard / collection
See also these related scrapbooks:
Museum
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Click to see the Railroads Memorial Museum plotted on a Google Maps page
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
brochure / collection
brochure / collection
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
postcard / collection
Turntable
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Motive Power
Pennsylvania #4913
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #4913
124 built by PRR Altoona Works
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
What's so special about the GG1? Longevity. The first GG1 went into service in 1935 and the last was taken out of service in 1983. The GG1 outlasted the railroad that built it and its successor road. This may be in part due to the fact that the GG1 was not handed a spot in the PRR inventory, it earned it. It was inspired by the nearby New Haven boxcab electric EP-3a that served that road so well. PRR was in the market for a new electric but the R-1 was offered in addition to the GG1. The R1 and GG1 inherited their general styling from the smaller modified P5a. The GG1 recieved the special attention of industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who, with minor changes in the sheet metal and major changes with the livery, made the GG1 the visual classic it is. Despite the other omnipresent items designed by Loewy, he stated he was always especially fond of the job he did on the G. The R-1 had a smaller single frame 2-D-2 wheel arrangement, compared to the GG1's multiframed 2-C+C-2. The PRR put both locos through their paces and the GG1 came out on top with slightly better tracking characteristics.
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
RWH
RWH
Berwind White Coal Mining Company "Nancy"
0-4-0T switcher / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Rolling Stock
Norfolk Southern #658265
60' steel commemorative boxcar / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #2136
40' steel boxcar / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #2561
50' reefer / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Pennsylvania #4468
PRR class D-70fR diner / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #6509
PRR class Bm-70nb Railway Post Office / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #9055
PRR class B-60b baggage / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Railway Express Agency #7375
refrigerator car / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Pennsylvania #477577
PRR class N-5 caboose / Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Conrail #766163
16 axle depressed center flatcar / Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / JCH
Publications
collection
brochure / collection
1989 tourist train guide ad / collection
1992 tourist train guide ad / collection
1994 tourist train guide ad / collection
1998 tourist train guide ad / collection
2001 tourist train guide ad / collection
2006 tourist train guide ad / collection
2013 tourist train guide ad / collection
2019 tourist train guide ad / collection
Action
The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum sits adjacent to the former Pennsylvania Railroad Philadelphia-Pittsburgh mainline, later used by Conrail and now by Norfolk Southern. Frequent freight trains pass throughout the day on their way to and from the famous Horseshoe Curve, and Amtrak's Pennsylvanian calls on the nearby Amtrak station twice a day, 7 days per week.
Click to see this railfan location plotted on a Google Maps page
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Lagniappe
Standard Symbols
RWH
Credal Living
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
A Working Man
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
A Difference of Decades
Altoona, Pa / Jun 2003 / RWH
Altoona, Pa / May 2016 / RWH
Links / Sources
- Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum
- Wikipedia article for Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum
- Altoona Works website
- The Pennsylvania GG1 Homepage
