03/28/2026
The Lancaster Chapter, National Railway Historical Society is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. In October, chapter members and invited guests enjoyed cake and ice-cream during a chapter meeting held at the Christiana freight station. Memorabilia dating from 1934 to the present was displayed. At the Chapter banquet held at Hershey Farms Restaurant in November, Tony White, president of the National Railway Historical Society presented the Lancaster Chapter a Certificate of Recognition for their 90th Anniversary and for being the first charter chapter of the organization.
The history of the Lancaster Chapter, NRHS began in 1934 with a few young railroad & trolley enthusiasts who held meetings in an old trolley in Neffsville. They first organized as the Lancaster Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. In 1935 they sought to merge with the Interstate Trolley Club and other organizations to form the National Railway Historical Society. The Lancaster Chapter was the first charter organized in the NRHS on October 13, 1935.
The Lancaster Chapter holds their meetings in the 1882 Freight Station, in Christiana, that was restored by the chapter in 1998. The station, at 10 Railroad Avenue, is leased from Amtrak and is located at mile marker 48.5 on the Keystone Corridor which was the PRR main line. Later, the 1907 passenger station, on the opposite side of the tracks, was added to the lease. The chapter also maintains a gang house and Conrail caboose N-7E No. 21153 on site.
Through the years the chapter organized Amtrak rail trips to many places, including: West Point U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; Asbury Park, NJ; Fredericksburg, VA; Luray Caverns, Front Royal VA; Harpers Ferry, WV; Johnstown, PA; Stourbridge Line, Honesdale, PA; Washington D.C.; and the Grand Canyon, Wellsboro, PA. Two of the most popular excursions were the Horseshoe Curve fall foliage trips to western Pennsylvania and Mystic Seaport, CT trips. In 1988 special train excursions were operated to help celebrate Columbia’s Bicentennial.
Short-line excursion trains are still very popular: Adirondack Railroad, Cass Scenic Railroad, Colebrookdale Railroad, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Delaware & Ulster Railroad, Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Ohio Central Railroad, Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, Walkersville Southern Railroad, and Western Maryland Scenic Railroad to name a few. Train related multi-day trips were also organized within and outside of the United States including: Alaska, Canada, Europe, Ireland, Mexico, and the Panama Canal. A spring day bus trip is now planned for a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield with a rail excursion on the newly opened Gettysburg Railway.
As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the Lancaster Chapter, NRHS members have restored, preserved and donated many train and rail related projects to Lancaster County and surrounding communities:
- 1947 Conestoga Birney Car #236 was saved from scrap. It was acquired by the Lancaster Chapter when the trolleys were taken out of service in Lancaster. The trolley was first restored and displayed at the Landis Valley Farm Museum for many years. In 1990 it was donated to the Manheim Historical Society with funds to help in its restoration.
- 1960 Acquired the former Reading Company crossing watchman’s box, originally located in Lebanon, PA. It was saved and relocated to the Strasburg Rail Road, and is now called the Cherry Hill Station.
- 1967 Saved two PRR P70 coaches from scrap, #1007 was restored and donated to the State Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The other is now the Casey Jones Restaurant at Paradise Station, Ronks, PA.
- 1980 Purchased from Conrail for $30,000, and restored “Old Rivets”, GG1 4800, the first model GG1 electric locomotive built, was donated in 1996 to the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum in Strasburg, PA.
- 1984 Cumberland Valley “Lemo” Tower, aka J-Tower, was an 1885 PRR control tower that stood in Lemoyne, Pa. Disassembled and transported to the Strasburg Rail Road where it was restored. The title has since been transferred to the Strasburg Rail Road.
- 1985 to 2006 Restored, operated and donated Reading Lines FP7-902 unit to the Reading Technical & Historical Railroad Society. The FP7-902 is now being operated at Woodstown Central Railroad in New Jersey along with FP7-903 which was previously owned by the Philadelphia Chapter, NRHS. Both FP7-902 & 903 are 1950 era freight-passenger diesel locomotives.
- 1995 Time was restored to the original clock at the Lancaster Amtrak train station.
- 1998 Preservation of the 1888 Christiana passenger/freight station. In 1903 the 2-story building was jacked up and moved east 40’ to its present location to install additional track. Passenger service ceased in 1907, when the new Christiana passenger station on the opposite side of the tracks was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it terminated service in 1952. Amtrak now leases the 1888 freight station building, gang house, 1907 passenger station and trackside property to the Lancaster Chapter, NRHS. Chapter monthly meetings are held in the 1888 freight station. The first floor is available for rent and can accommodate 60 to 80 people. If interested, email: [email protected]
- 2002 Provided funds to repair the roof on the 1905 Parkesburg passenger station, owned by Amtrak. Amtrak continues to pick-up passengers from a sheltered platform beside this historic station. The station was featured in the 1985 movie Witness starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Lukas Haas.
- 2008 Restoration of Conrail era caboose Class N-7E No. 21153, is located at the freight station in Christiana. The caboose was built for the Erie Lackawanna railroad in 1969 by the International Car Company, there were only 20 cabooses built in its class.
- 2009 Donated a New Haven & Hartford Railroad Class NE-5 Conrail No. 23620 caboose to Red Lion Historical Society. Located at the Ma & Pa station in downtown Red Lion.
- 2016 Provided funding for the first of three linear park interpretive signs that were installed along the Mayor Janice C. Stork Corridor Park in Lancaster City. This rare accessible original right-away of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad is now a beautiful community walking path.
- 2020 Provided funding and installation for a bridge interpretive sign. About 1830, skilled masons constructed the last standing stone arch bridge over Pine Creek between Lancaster and Chester Counties. It was abandoned in the mid-1850’s when the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the rail line from the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad and re-aligned the tracks. The bridge is located to the northeast side of the Charles Bond Machine Company, the oldest continuous operating machine company in North America. The interpretive bridge marker is near the Christiana Underground Railroad Visitor Center located near the Historic Zercher’s Hotel. The National Park Service has designated both the Zercher Hotel and the Keystone Corridor as historic sites in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
The Lancaster Chapter, NRHS welcomes new members. If interested, please contact Steve Himpsl at [email protected].
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