Colebrookdale Railroad - Steam Program

A Modern Take On A Timeless Technology
 

The dreams of the future are fueled by the history of the past.  The great achievements of the past inspire us today and animate our hopes for tomorrow. They remind us the trials of our time are neither greater in scope nor less bounded in number than those won by the people who came before. 

We as Pennsylvanians are the recipients of a remarkable legacy forged in iron and steel. Our ancestors of many creeds and colors, nations, and beliefs, came to this land with little else in common than a shared desire to find a future worth living for.  Together, they built a nation, rivet by rivet.


We Are Pleased To Announce:

Steam Locomotives on The Secret Valley Line
 

The Promethean spirit of the age of American transcendence has no greater representative than the steam locomotive. Muscle, and an iron will to conquer the future, made manifest in a machine, the steam locomotive is one of the modern man's most iconic creations. Its speed, its beauty, and the rhythmic grace of its motion amidst the sound of fury of its passing fire the imagination no less today than it did nearly two centuries ago

In many ways, the Colebrookdale was made for steam. Connecting the sites of the iron industries that launched Pennsylvania's rise to industrial supremacy, the Colebrookdale experience is designed to take you to the place and time when iron rails connected a divided people and the heart of the nation pulsed with the potent energy of the steam locomotive. Pennsylvania built more steam locomotives than any other place on the globe, many of them with steel made right here along our line.
 

While operating steam locomotives are increasingly rare creatures, they have taken on a renewed relevance in the education of our youth. The Colebrookdale's steam program will be neatly-tailored to our STE(A)M education program, offered free-of-charge to Pennsylvania schoolchildren. Now, more than ever, the steam locomotive is a connective device, joining not just the pre-and post-electronic age, but also young and old who come to marvel. The precision of their mechanical form and visceral "realness" of their presence represent the apex of human creation from the period before electronics and virtual reality. 
 

More details will follow in the coming weeks about our steam program. Stay tuned!


We will need your help to make this dream a reality. We are raising funds to construct the infrastructure necessary to rebuild and operate steam. We are looking for volunteers who believe in our mission and want to join it. Please consider donating to our effort or joining us as a volunteer!

Thank You!