The steam season at Steamtown NHS in Scranton, PA begins on Sunday, April 17, also the start of National Parks week. Just like the B&O Museum was building up to its 175th anniversary with new exhibits, so is Steamtown, with two already opened. One in the Visitor Center is "Celebrating Celebrations," which covers all types of railroad travel, from short day trips to the vacation areas, plus the pleasures of dining cars and sleepers. A photo essay compliments this celebration idea by showing a look back at the Scranton yard, with historic and current photos.
"Railroading in Northeastern Pennsylvania," is another exhibit showing the different types of marketing the railroads used in reaching Scranton and other areas. This is in the History Museum. These new exhibits give us the chance to take artifacts out of the Archives where they've been stored for quite some time. Other items have been lent to the Museum, which add either color or interest to the exhibit ideas. Since Steamtown doesn't accession historic clothing, other than what a railroader would wear, some items are on loan from the Lackawanna Historical Society. Some others have lent model railroad equipment, too.
New tours are being developed for the season, along with other exhibits, that will finish up in December. More info. will be available on-line, as it becomes availablehttp://www.nps.gov/stea/