SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 It\u2019s a big year for Steamtown National Historic Site as the park prepares for major events expected to bring thousands to Northeastern Pennsylvania, but this week the focus was on teaching local students about the region\u2019s deep railroad roots through a hands-on learning experience rolling through Lackawanna County. <\/p>\n
All aboard at Steamtown National Historic Site, where more than 140 fourth graders from Waverly and South Abington Elementary stepped back in time Friday, climbing aboard a historic steam train during the Heritage Express: 4th Grade Edition program. The educational initiative gives students a hands-on look at Northeastern Pennsylvania\u2019s deep ties to railroading and anthracite coal.<\/p>\n
The day began with guided tours through Steamtown\u2019s roundhouse, locomotive shop and exhibit areas before students boarded Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 26 for a steam-powered excursion through the Lackawanna Valley to Carbondale.<\/p>\n
Along the way, students learned about the role railroads played in shaping communities across Northeastern Pennsylvania, and for many, the history felt personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really unique because their steam engines weren\u2019t going to be used anymore. They were going to be scrapped and turned into sewing machines and pocketknives,\u201d said Bria, a fourth grader from Waverly Elementary whose great-grandfather worked on the railroad. \u201cBut because of the national parks, now they\u2019re actually running, you can go on them, and we see them all over which is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students said they were surprised not only by the size of the locomotives, but also by how much history is preserved inside the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned that there is this one train where you can see inside it and the behind the scenes,\u201d said Aileen, another Waverly student. \u201cIt was really interesting to tell how coal was used and how it was burned up. It was also really interesting to see and know that there\u2019s so much more within the trains.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cwithout this national park, we wouldn\u2019t even have seen many of these trains anymore. It\u2019s really fascinating to be in the footsteps of our ancestors and how they were back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some students, the experience opened an entirely new world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really know much about trains before I came here,\u201d said Sofia, a fourth grader from Waverly Elementary. \u201cI just knew basic stuff and then I learned a lot about trains. It\u2019s really amazing. I never knew how big they were.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Heritage Express program was reintroduced in 2023 through a partnership involving Lackawanna Heritage Valley, Steamtown National Historic Site, NEIU 19, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the City of Carbondale and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.<\/p>\n
Since returning, more than 3,000 students have participated. This year alone, the program is expected to serve nearly 1,900 students from 27 schools across Lackawanna County.<\/p>\n
Organizers say the experience is designed to connect local students with the region\u2019s industrial roots in a way that textbooks cannot.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this is an actual working rail yard,\u201d said April Rogato, executive assistant at Lackawanna Heritage Valley and coordinator of the Heritage Express fourth-grade program. \u201cWe believe it\u2019s important for them to really realize the importance of rail history, of anthracite coal history, of everything that goes with this region. It\u2019s a perfect fit to bring them to this park and having a national park in our own backyard, not everybody can say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steamtown Superintendent Jeremy Komasz said introducing students to the park at a young age can create lifelong connections to history and preservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe national park service has determined that if you engage students at that fourth-grade level, they\u2019re still very interested and they catch on,\u201d Komasz said. \u201cThen that carries into later in youth when we get them, and they\u2019re old enough to volunteer or even apply to become an employee of the national park service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Komasz also said Steamtown remains one of the region\u2019s hidden treasures.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re a bit of an unknown gem,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe a lump of coal in northeastern Pennsylvania that\u2019s turned into a diamond. We\u2019re really happy to have everybody come out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students wrapped up the day in Carbondale with a Junior Ranger swearing-in ceremony led by Mayor Michelle Bannon before returning to Scranton.<\/p>\n
Steamtown National Historic Site occupies roughly 40 acres of the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad yard and is home to one of the largest collections of historic steam locomotives and rail equipment in the country, including the famous Union Pacific \u201cBig Boy\u201d locomotive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 It\u2019s a big year for Steamtown National Historic Site as the park prepares…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-200145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}