(The following story by Larry Alexander appeared on the Intelligencer Journal website on May 30, 2009.)
LANCESTER, Pa. — The days of Conrail will come alive again this weekend at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.
The museum, in conjunction with the Conrail Historical Society, will feature the equipment, history, spirit and people of Conrail, which ended its run 10 years ago.
“Visitors will recognize the signature big blue engines of Conrail, like the GP-30, prominently exhibited in our Rolling Stock Hall,” museum director David W. Dunn said.
Conrail began operation in April 1976, rolling through the heavily populated Northeast, serving the nation’s largest cities, from New York and Philadelphia to Chicago.
“Railroading in the Northeast in the early 1970s was faltering,” Dunn said. “The Consolidated Rail Corp., by way of a new U.S. regulatory environment, actually arose from a federal bailout of the railroad industry to become a profitable and successful private enterprise.”
Conrail started its life with a colorful mix of aging, classic locomotives.
As it became profitable, the railroad utilized modern and innovative cars and engines, most notably the SD80MAC. At 420,000 pounds, the 5,000-horsepower locomotives — there were 30 of them built starting in 1996 — were “the largest and most powerful diesels in the world,” museum historian Ryan Kunkle said.
All 30 of the 80-foot-long locomotives are still in operation, and one will be at the museum this weekend.
Also on tap for the weekend is a 390,000-pound SD60I locomotive. Both the SD60I and the SD80MAC were built by the Juniata Locomotive shops in Altoona.
The museum also will feature, for this weekend only, a General Electric Evolution series locomotive from Norfolk Southern, the kind featured in the railroad’s recent TV advertising.
In the museum’s permanent collection is a GP-30 “lettered and painted for Conrail,” Kunkle said. The GP-30s have all been retired. The one in the museum was built in 1963.
Conrail ran successfully for more than 20 years. It disappeared in May 1999 as a result of a merger between Norfolk Southern and CSX. However, during its 23 years in business, Conrail is often credited with transforming railroading from bankruptcy to blue chip status.
Admission to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is $10 for patrons ages 12 to 64, $9 for seniors 65 and over, $8 for children ages 3 to 11 and free for children 2 years old and under.
Railroad Museum hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.