STRASBURG — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania will host its annual Reading Railroad Days over two weekends in July.
The program runs from July 1 to July 5, and July 8 to July 11 at the museum in Lancaster County.
The museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, is known for its world-class collection of more than 100 steam locomotives and railroad cars.
One of 23 sites administered by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, it receives support from the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
The Reading Railroad Days centerpiece is an HO-gauge layout of the Reading Railroad in the museum’s Rolling Stock Hall.
It’s operated by members of the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society.
HO-gauge Reading Railroad display is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. SUBMITTED
Also on display are the 108-year-old tank engine No. 1251, the 95-year-old multiple unit commuter car No. 800 and the 188-year-old Rocket steam locomotive.
Built in 1838, the wood-fired Rocket is the oldest surviving locomotive of the original Philadelphia & Reading Railway. After a 90-year stay at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, it was relocated to the state museum in Strasburg.
In its heyday, the Reading Company was a multifaceted industrial giant.
Founded as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad to transport anthracite coal in 1833, it evolved into a large corporation serving eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
With a complex of shops for locomotive car building and repair, the Reading Company held a leadership role in the industry for about a century.
Tickets are available at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania website or at the door.