Strasburg Rail Road
Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Established in 1832 in response to the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad's bypass of Strasburg, it remains the oldest American railroad operating under its original charter. Local railroad enthusiasts saved it from abandonment in 1958 and developed it as one of the most successful tourist railroads in the US. The fleet of operable historic steam engines and passenger cars, among the largest in the nation, preserves the state's rail transportation history.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1832 after the state's main line bypassed the town, the Strasburg Rail Road refused to fade away — it is the oldest American railroad still running under its original charter. Rescued from abandonment by local enthusiasts in 1958, it was reborn as one of the country's most beloved tourist lines. Its fleet of working steam locomotives and vintage cars, among the largest anywhere, keeps Pennsylvania's rail heritage alive and in motion.
Why it matters
Its unbroken life from the dawn of American railroading to today makes the Strasburg a living museum of the technology that transformed the nation's landscape and economy.
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Nearby & related markers
Conestoga Navigation Company
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In the canal-building fever of the 1820s, the Conestoga Navigation Company set out to tame Lancaster County's Conestoga Creek with a slackwater system of locks and dams, connecting the rich farm country around Lancaster to the great port markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore. Chartered in 1825, its eighteen-mile course climbed through nine sets of locks, with Lock No. 1 standing here at the head of the line. Like many early canals it struggled financially against the coming railroads, collecting its last lock tolls in 1872. In a fitting second life, several of its abandoned dams were later harnessed to generate electricity from 1913 into the 1940s.
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