Steamtown NHS occupies about 40 acres of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The entire yard is open whenever the park is open. Within this area, there are multiple opportunities for outdoor activities. Outdoor walking tours may be offered, as well as train rides outside our Park boundaries. Indoors, you can explore the museums and view a theater presentation. Guided walking tours of the Locomotive Shop are offered on most days year round. Rain or shine, Steamtown offers a chance to learn about the history of railroading and how the steam locomotive – and the people who worked to make it happen – created the America we know today.
Genius Value
While the displays of the engines and cars are interesting, two areas are outstanding.
1 - The cutaway engine really helps you understand and visualize how all of the components of the engine work together.
2 - The ranger-led guided tour was excellent. We walked through the public areas of the roundhouse, but then got a behind-the-scenes tour of the locomotive shop, where they actually maintain engines. Steamtown is a living history site – people that work there actually maintain and restore the engines. The tour takes you through the actual area where this happens. We were there on a weekend and nobody was working, but our ranger had tons of knowledge and was completely open to answering the most obscure questions. This was truly a priceless opportunity to learn from an expert.
Arrival
You have to drive through downtown Scranton to get to the park. There are signs for the park as you exit the highway so as you get closer all you have to do is follow the signs.
Parking
Parking is free. There was plenty of parking available and the spaces are roomy enough to comfortably unpack your carload and kids, strollers, etc. without fear of bumping someone else’s vehicle.
Ticketing
There is a very nice ticketing booth at the entrance of the park. The rangers were very friendly. Upon paying (or not, because we had a fourth grader with us!) you each get a wristband which allows you access to the park.
We also decided to pay $5 per person for the caboose ride. The ride we got was a short (and I mean, very short) ride on a caboose out and back on the park grounds. They do offer a train ride that leaves the park for a 30-minute ride. That train was not running during our visit in May.
Overview
We arrived around lunchtime so we were pretty hungry. We made our way over a connecting pedestrian bridge to the Marketplace at Steamtown mall. The food court was under a renovation at our visit. We ended up getting lunch at a Subway, a pizza place and (thank, goodness) we found a Starbucks. There weren’t really many open shops.
After a quick bite to eat we made our way back over the bridge to the park. We took a look at the many steam engines that they had parked outside around the round house. There was one that they allowed you to walk up on and ring the bell – fun for the kids!
We then made our way inside of the roundhouse where they had many different types of steam engines and plaques describing the wheel set up, when it ran, what it was used for, etc. Although this part was a little less interesting for the kids, they did appreciate hearing tidbits of what each train was used for.
We made our way out of the roundhouse and waited for our free guided tour. We basically made the same loop as earlier, but listened to more interesting facts. Our guide also brought us through the locomotive shop where they are currently fabricating pieces of equipment to restore an engine that they’ve acquired. Pretty cool! Our guide was very knowledgeable and clearly very into steam engines – we really appreciated his enthusiasm!
At the end of the tour, we continued on to another part of the museum. They have a steam engine that is cut in half so that you can see all the interior mechanisms of how a steam engine works. The kids really liked this.
There was also a cab car where you could sit and watch a movie about the trains. It was decorated with crate boxes for seating to really make it feel like you were part of the parcels being moved. It was a really nice place to sit and rest for a few minutes.
Soon, it was time to watch the engine and caboose go back into the round house for the night. There they will perform daily maintenance on both to be ready for the next day. The kids really liked this part, too. They moved both the engine and caboose onto the turn table, then spun it around numerous times so that all could see how it works. The horn blew several times, which was very loud, but very cool! It took about 30 minutes to watch. It was the perfect ending to our Steamtown park trip!
Helpful tips
- I would not recommend the short train ride on the caboose. For the $5 it really wasn’t worth it.
- Stay for when they put the train and caboose in the round house – approximately 3:00 pm. Totally worth it!
- Outside food is probably permitted. There were some benches inside the park to have a rest. We didn’t see any “no food” signs. There were not any snack stands within the park.
- The park is rather small. Overall, we spent about 3 hours in the park. For us, it was an all day trip, including driving to the park which was about 1.5 hours away.
- Do not wear white sneakers if you plan on taking the full tour. The full tour goes through the locomotive shop which is clean, considering it’s a working shop, but there is plenty of black dust to be found!
Near Here
After leaving, we took a stop at a Manning Farm Dairy store nearby. The location is not very pretty – but the ice cream is SO good! My personal favorite was the coconut crème – yum!
Related / Alternative Activities
- Electric City (Lackawanna County) Trolley Station and Museum - We didn't have time to visit this museum, but it literally shares the same parking lot as Steamtown
- Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour
