Steamtown National Historic Site

Lackawanna Ave at Cliff St, Scranton, PA 18503, USA

Address:	Lackawanna Ave at Cliff St, Scranton, PA 18503, USA
Phone:	+1 570-340-5200
Site:	nps.gov
Rating:	4.7
Working:	9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Charles Carlin

A real feather in the cap of the National Park Service is Steamtown. Steamtown is located somewhere in New York and Fantastic collection of steam engines a round house and a staff thats incredible. They are building and working and building and working on these trains and they have an entire shop of men devoted to the maintenance of steam engines. They are working very hard on an anniversary in 2017 to have the steam engines ready, especially a particular model that is well quite rare. The staff is full of storytellers who will talk your ears off all day long if you just engage them a little bit, Theyre the friendliest guys youve ever wanted to meet. Theres a 20-minute movie called Steam and Steel and it is marvelous. It gives all of you I look and insight into the history and the glory of steam engines. Their Glory Days have passed but hold on to the memories. The Steam and Steel movie is about 20 minutes in a beautiful, beautiful theater that seat hundreds. Im sure on some days in the weekends and the holidays this place is jam-packed,however for me, I came on a Monday, I believe, and the place was pretty vacant so I had Private Tours, private viewings and couldnt ask for anything more. When you come up to the place, on the outside there are a couple of Big Engines and a Diesel. The steam engine in the parking lot that are in such pristine shape. Enter the lobby and talk to Pete, one of the volunteers, and he could talk about trains I think Forever. I just listened and asked questions and he just kept pouring on the information until I think my brain was somewhere between full and ready to explode. I looked at many of the stations the cars the cabooses the tank cars the freight cars it was very nice, very very nice, In the early days they were even cars separate for just the women and children and the men were not allowed. How interesting ti was that the food on the trains was posted as some of the best and served in an elegant manner. How nice that must have been. It was however a money loser for the train companies and eventually discontinued. The major money for the train has been moving Freight. And the freight pays the bills. The passengers on the trains begin to dwindle especially with the Advent of the automobile. People wanted their freedom and the automobile gave it to them. Passengers were then a losing money situation. This is probably still true today and contributes to the high prices on the train today. It seems today when I look it up I can fly Coast-to-Coast cheaper than I can take the train Coast to Coast. But enough whining lets get back to the Train. The early days of the train so and many changes The trains were wonderful thing that helped put the canals out of business. The canals were used to move Freight around the east and with the Advent of the train there was not a faster cheaper way to move Freight. This resulted in many boom towns Especially with the need for coal. Coal could be loaded on the trains and shipped the city and that was wonderful. The trains in the early days were influencing the growth of cities, It turned out now that people could take the train into town and take the train home and still have a good job in the city, how interesting. Well I could ramble on about trains and the people who drove them and the people who rode them, and the people who service them, and the people who Moved Freight, and the people who took tickets and the people who handle baggage, and the people who greeted you - all of these people made the train such a wonderful thing for a memory - An Experience - That now is two to three generations old.

Patrick Cross

If youre a railroad enthusiast whos familiar with the northeast, youll already know that Steamtown is a classy museum. But even if youre new to the area or dont know much about railroading, youre in for one heck of an introduction. I first visited the park while I was on vacation at the age of 6 (I think...), and have come back over and over whenever the opportunity presented itself. Its a great place to visit. To give you a bit of background, Steamtown is what remains of a train locomotive roundhouse (a circular structure for storing train engines) and freight yard for the Delaware Lackawanna and Western (often just called the Lackawanna), and even today sees some occasional freight trains from a small short line in the area passing by. Inside the roundhouse is the museum itself, which gives you some basic insight into how the railroad itself came to be, how a train works, what went on at the roundhouse years ago, and much more; its like a beginners guide to railroads in general. Nearby is the workshops where locomotives and cars are repaired, refurbished and/or rebuilt. You can actually go inside and see the restoration crews at work from a special balcony elevated above the area. Outside by the parking lot also exists an electric streetcar museum, which adds to the Steamtown experience even further. There are some trains you can ride on too... but dont expect to go TOO far. Unless youre coming on a festival day, most of the moving trains just shuffle about in the yard, or go up a couple miles on some branch lines. Still, its a worthwhile experience. ...the museums been having some tough times lately though. Theres still quite a bit of equipment in the shops and yard that is awaiting restoration, and has been for some time. But because of the recession and funding cuts from the NPS, Steamtown just doesnt have the budget to fix them all up. Either way though, its a fun little attraction for visitors of all ages and walks of life, and a nice little nostalgia trip if youre into trains. In going there though I would recommend bringing a good digital camera, some snacks (though you can go to the mall nextdoor alternatively), and depending on the season you might want some sunscreen; lots of outdoor spaces. Go ahead and check it out sometime! The park could really use your visit, and youll definitely enjoy it too! ;)

Stanisław Puda

Fantastyczne miejsce nie tylko dla zainteresowanych pociągami. Można zobaczyć lokomotywy, wejść do środka, oglądnąć wnętrza wagonów pocztowych, osobowych itp. Ciekawa ekspozycja dotycząca technicznych aspektów kolejnictwa, jak również dodatkowe wystawy - stroje, poczekalnia itp.

Gary M

Nice folks working there and well maintained collection of steam and diesel engines. Some are unrestored and another group partially restored which I really enjoyed seeing. The highlight is the Big Boy 4-8-8-4 outside which is awesome to see! You cannot go inside the cab, but so cool to see. We also paid for a 30 minute short train ride which is back and forth on the tracks, but nice to see in an old passenger car. Only complaint is signs getting into the parking area are not clear from the main road, but a well deserved 5 stars on my end.

Jonathan Bakos

If you are a train lover you cant afford to miss this place, all staff are extremely kind and helpful. A roundhouse full of railroad history and of course steam locomotives, and the working turntable to feel the full experience of days gone by. Yards of full of amazing trains you may not see anywhere else, and of course the Big Boy sitting nicely in the yard as well. train rides and tours happen all day long and its always full of fun for my whole family. If you are a rail fan do not miss this place.