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Railroaders Memorial Museum

Railroaders Memorial Museum is located in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and is home to a number of significant cultural and historic resources. Built as a tribute to railroad workers nationwide, the museum reveals, interprets, and commemorates the significant contributions of railroaders and their families to American life and industry. The idea to construct a Railroad Museum for Altoona was born in 1966. As a result, the Altoona Railway Museum Association came to be, after a year. In 1972, the name Railroaders Memorial Museum was officially adopted. Over the years, the museum underwent renovations and celebrated the grand opening of the new Railroaders Memorial Museum in 1998. With lively and technically dazzling exhibits, the museum tells the social and cultural story of the people within the railroading industry. It exhibits artifacts of railroad history, particularly that of the Pennsylvania Railroad. A replica of K4S #1361, named "Spirit of Altoona," is on display. Visitors can take tours of one the largest active railroad shop operations in the world. Rail fans who visit the museum are allowed to enjoy ride excursions around the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark. Inside the Visitors Center, the public is encouraged to view the descriptive displays that depict the excellent work of railroaders. It houses a gift shop of souvenirs for every railroad buff. There also is an incline plane — the Funicular — designed to take the public from the Visitors Center up to the train tracks of Horseshoe Curve. The Grimshaw Room, Memorial Hall, Horseshoe Curve Visitor Center, and the Master Mechanics Building are rental facilities available at the museum. In addition to the above, the lobby has seating for up to 55 persons for buffet meals; the theater offers seating for 63. The heritage landmark also promotes various events. Regarded as one of the most interactive railroad museums in the nation, the Railroaders Memorial Museum hosts thousands of visitors each year.