Railroaders Memorial Museum
Railroaders Memorial Museum things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Description
cultural
family friendly
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The Railroaders Memorial Museum is a railroad museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The museum focuses on the history of railroad workers and railroad communities in central Pennsylvania, particularly Altoona, the Altoona Works, and the greater Pittsburgh area.
attractions: A Quaint Corner Children's Museum & Discovery Center, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Amtrak Altoona Station, restaurants: Tom & Joe's Restaurant, Greenbean Coffee House, Lena's Cafe, The Clay Cup, Finelli's Italian Villa, Nicoletta's Family Restaurant, Texas Hot Dogs - 12th Avenue, JJ Hadley, Nardo's Cafe, Front Street Deli
Ratings
Description
The Railroaders Memorial Museum is a railroad museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The museum focuses on the history of railroad workers and railroad communities in central Pennsylvania, particularly Altoona, the Altoona Works, and the greater Pittsburgh area.
Posts
An absolute delight, and fun for all ages! The feeling of being in there is like time traveling to the past and seeing what the greatest railroad town in the world looked like in it's prime. Also, when you take a trip to the museum, you can get a pass to the Historical Horseshoe Curve and watch the trains pass by to really experience being on the path to westward expansion! Thank you to everyone at the Railroad Museum and at the Horseshoe Curve for your courtesy and providing an amazing experience! We appreciate you all. You will always have our support and we look forward to coming back and seeing all the smiling faces who we encountered while there. 10/10 Unfortunately, our local, county, state, and federal governments are neglecting to provide resources to the museum for restorations and repairs at the Horseshoe Curve. This affects our locals and friends who have traveled to see this amazing Historic landmark. Thus , those who require ADA accommodations as the government refuses funding to fix the funicular (incline). I do hope they decide to take the right steps to restore this; to allow all people the ability to have the full experience.
Sam Paule-WoytowiezSam Paule-Woytowiez
00
I visited the Railroaders Memorial Museum when I was on a short trip to Altoona, and I think that it is one of the best activities to do in that small city. The museum consisted of three main floors that showed numerous exhibits with historical artifacts, talking mannequins, explanatory signs, and videos. I saw old tools such as a scythe and wrench, a map of the extensive Pennsylvania Railroad, a large model train, and replicas of daily life such as a bar and kitchen. I felt interested in learning about the different railroad jobs, particularly the brakemen who stood on the tops of moving trains and used their hands to couple and uncouple breaks. The jobs were extremely dangerous and paid very little money, and thousands of men became maimed or died. In contrast, wealthy men such as J.P. Morgan and J.D. Rockefeller ruthlessly controlled the rates that railroads could charge to transport cargo. The museum’s gift shop was large and sold t-shirts, toys, books, and other souvenirs. On the grounds outside were a few old train cars, one of which I went inside.
Tiffany YanoskyTiffany Yanosky
10
Cool place to check out. Alot you can learn here about the town and how the PRR operated in it. I usually get the season pass cause my 3 year daughter loves trains and going there. It's also a nice spot in the back if you wanna just hang out and watch NS trains, come and go out of Altoona. With season pass you can use it at horshoe curve. I been going there since I was a kid, and the old K4 was there. I'm pretty sure during certain hours if your at the train museum you can also go into the old Roundhouse and in there they have the old PRR K4 that is being rebuilt and other older trains that you can check out. So if you're thinking about going, I would check with them and see when you able to go into the Roundhouse as well and check it out.
Brian spahnBrian spahn
10
It was a very fun experience. I haven't been to the horseshoe curve since I was a kid and you walked the old railroad ties to the top. I enjoyed watching the trains and being up there after hours was really cool especially when the trains came through at night. At one point we had 3 trains going round the curve. It was a blast if you enjoy trains. Also learned there is a live web cam you can watch on youtube. I wish they had the thing running to take u to the top but they didn't. They did put the lights on though and it was beautiful lit up at night. I will admit though the composting toilets were a bit odd though, they kinda gave me horror movie vibes, but it is what it is.
Autumn DonleyAutumn Donley
00
This was a great place for the family to spend about 1 to 2 hours depending how much detail you want to get into. Plenty to read about, but also plenty of audio and video things to listen to which I appreciated. Our 5yo enjoyed it and so did the rest of us. Just enough interactive items to make it fun for all. Definitely more than you might expect inside. It was early in the season and we weren't able to go into the yard and the roundhouse was closed so that was a bummer and couldn't find much info on when those items would be open. That was only negative at all.
Louis McCloskeyLouis McCloskey
50
My adult son and truly enjoyed this walk back in time to Altoona's heyday when Steam was king! Make sure you allow yourself at least two hours to enjoy the 20 movie, the model train layouts on the 3rd floor, and all the information on how the town was "scheduled by the shift whistle" and how the townspeople dealt with the dirt and coal dust. Absolutely do not miss the restorations taking place in the Roundhouse! We thought very highly of the staff, even before I accidentally left my purse in the ladies room and they kept it safe for me! 10/10 will go back 😊
Penelope Garcia65Penelope Garcia65
10
Nearby Attractions Of Railroaders Memorial Museum
A Quaint Corner Children's Museum & Discovery Center
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art
Amtrak Altoona Station

A Quaint Corner Children's Museum & Discovery Center
4.3
(85)Click for details

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
4.7
(58)Click for details

Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art
4.7
(21)Click for details

Amtrak Altoona Station
3.7
(26)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Railroaders Memorial Museum
Tom & Joe's Restaurant
Greenbean Coffee House
Lena's Cafe
The Clay Cup
Finelli's Italian Villa
Nicoletta's Family Restaurant
Texas Hot Dogs - 12th Avenue
JJ Hadley
Nardo's Cafe
Front Street Deli

Tom & Joe's Restaurant
4.8
(767)$
Click for details

Greenbean Coffee House
4.8
(594)$
Click for details

Lena's Cafe
4.5
(317)$$
Click for details

The Clay Cup
4.7
(287)$$
Click for details
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