The Strasburg Rail Road is the oldest continuously operating railroad in the western hemisphere (second oldest in the world only to the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales) and the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In 1998, Britt Allcroft received permission to film on Strasburg's property during the production of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Strasburg then approached her with the idea of converting one of their locomotives into a steam-powered replica of Thomas. Allcroft gave her approval, and Thomas would make his debut in 1999. Strasburg has since introduced several Thomas & Friends replicas to their railroad.
Rolling Stock[]
Locomotives[]
| No. | Name | Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 475 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 475 | Originally built by Baldwin in 1906 for the N&W Railway. Sold to the railroad in 1991. Had an accident with an excavator on November 2nd 2022 and was repaired on November 6th | 
|
| 89 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 89 | Originally built in 1910. Sold to the railroad in 1972. | 
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| 90 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 90 | Built in 1924.Sold to the railroad in 1967 | 
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| 15 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 15 | Originally built in 1917 as a H. K. Porter, Inc 0-6-0ST. Sold to the railroad in 1998 and rebuilt in 1999 to resemble Thomas. | 
|
| 8618 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 8618 | Originally built for New York Central in 1951. Sold to the railroad in 2009. Due to its resemblance, this is sometimes dressed up as Mavis for Day Out with Thomas Events. | 
|
| 2 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 2 | Originally built in 1930. Sold to the railroad in 1984. Like with 8618 with Mavis, due to its resemblance, this is sometimes dressed up as Rusty for Day Out with Thomas Events | 
|
| 1 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 1 | Originally built in 1926. Sold to the railroad that same year. | 
|
| 10 | Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway doodlebug car | Built in 1915 by the Oxford shops from the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway. Sold to the railroad in 1962. | 
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| 31 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 31 | Originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Canadian National Railway as #7312. It was built in 1908 and bought by Strasburg in 1968. It has been taken in for overhaul and has stayed in the shed since 2009. As of 2022 No.31 is still in the process of being overhauled. |
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| 1235 | Strasburg Rail Road No. 1235 | Originally built for Santa Fe in 1953. Sold to the railroad in 2018. |
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Day Out with Thomas[]
Strasburg Rail Road usually holds runs Day Out with Thomas three times a year: July, September and November. Strasburg uses a steam-powered Thomas that was rebuilt from the Brooklyn East Direct Terminal #15, which happens to be the same locomotive as Porter's basis. From 2014 onwards, Thomas gained a CGI face with controllable eyes and an animatronic mouth. Thomas also contains an audio system which plays Martin Sherman's Thomas voice. Additionally, Strasburg has built a fleet of Thomas dummies that are used at Day Out with Thomas events at various railroad museums and heritage railroads across the US and Canada.
In September 2014, it was announced that Strasburg would introduce Percy to their railroad; however, they do not use a steam-powered Percy. Percy is a dummy model usually pushed or pulled by a locomotive.
In April 2019, it was announced that Mavis would run alongside Thomas for the "Thomas, Mavis and the Strasburg Spooktacular" event between the 25th and 27th of October. Mavis is Strasburg's SW8 switcher 2008, improvised with a face, “Ffarquhar Quarry Co” lettering, and nameplate.
The following year, in 2020, Rusty was added to events exclusive to Strasburg, first appearing at a Ride With Thomas event in August. Rusty is Strasburg's small Plymouth switcher #2, Dinky, improvised with a face, nameplate, and new number.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular Day Out With Thomas events in 2020 were cancelled. Instead, Thomas, Percy, and Mavis were brought out for a smaller-scale “ride with Thomas” event. During this event, Thomas and either Percy or Mavis (depending on the day) were run as part of the Railroad’s normal roster, running the entire length of the line to Paradise, PA instead of the shorter section typically used for Thomas events. Rusty was on static display for photos, while the other three engines were rotated in and out.
In 2022, Thomas' voice lines were all re-recorded by his US All Engines Go voice actor Meesha Contreras. However, the engine itself was not modified.
Trivia[]
- On the US VHS/DVD 10 Years of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, the Day Out with Thomas events took place at Strasburg.
- In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the scene with the "Rainbow Sun" (#475) was filmed at Strasburg. 475 and three of the railroad’s passenger cars (only two of which appeared in the film) were given Indian Valley Railroad lettering. After the film wrapped production, the passenger cars retained the lettering for several more months.
- The colour scheme of the small Plymouth switcher #2 (Dinky) was specifically inspired by Rusty's livery in the television series. [1]
- In the United States, Day Out With Thomas was never presented by The Britt Allcroft Company, but instead by Amtrak. Genesis P42 and F40PH, which is mostly known in Caltrain, who appeared to support mostly because Amtrak presents this event.
- The nearby Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania occasionally uses Strasburg Railroad tracks to connect to the Amtrak Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line junction in Paradise, Pennsylvania.
- On 2nd November 2022, 475 collided with an excavator while running around to the other end of its train, damaging the headlight and smokebox door. The incident was captured on video by both a live webcam and a passenger onboard.
- As of 2024, the Strasburg Rail Road opens a six-track freight yard located at Southern Lancaster County as part of the mainline.
External links[]
- Official website
- Strasburg Rail Road on the Locomotive wiki.