Strasburg Rail Road — Attraction in Strasburg Township

I wanted to share my experiences on Google with customers and potential customers. There is a lot of history at the Strasburg Rail Road. It's the oldest operating short-line railroad in the United States. Because it's also located in Lancaster County, they get an influx of tourists on an annual basis which greatly helps this for-profit company. The employees are paid, as this is not a volunteer operation. They also operate a maintenance shop which is one of the best in the business in my opinion. They restore and work on historical equipment.

The Amazing and Good: The ride itself is about 9 miles through the Lancaster County countryside. At the end of the line you might get to see an Amtrak train! There is dialogue during the ride. One of the conductors shares some history during the ride which I always have loved. Some even throw in some jokes which many riders tend to love. For a short time a couple years ago, they used a pre recorded track instead which was overly fake and too "Disney" like for a historic Lancaster railroad company. Thank goodness they no longer use it. Some of the staff are very approachable (especially the Red Hats, the railroad station porter) and you can easily ask them questions. They will gladly do their best to answer them. If you have a small child, staff will interact with them and make it as memorable for you and your family as much as they can. Speaking of children, they have a small playground on property and also a picnic grove where you can get off at during the train ride during the summer months. It's a great place to see passing trains when two are running at one time. You can also get off there and take a short walk over to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm. They have special events throughout the year such as Day Out with Thomas, Easter trains, Christmas trains, Halloween specials, and so much more. The company brought historic Norfolk and Western 611 steam locomotive to their facility in the past which was a blast to experience. Their store on site offers an impressive amount of tshirts and historical train books. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of their mechanical shop, please do. You never know what you might see there. Highly recommend it!

The bad or what needs improvement: The checkin process can be lengthy, especially in the summer on weekends. I highly recommend getting there early so you don't miss your train (the company does a good job reminding the customer this on their receipt). During the summer months, it may be difficult finding a parking spot in their parking lot. Some of the staff on payroll for this organization seem to really dislike their job and can be miserable. Some also tend to degrade customers, have an ego, and think they are know-it-alls, and some don't like hearing other people's opinions. Turnover the last handful of years seems to be pretty high and the company has been though multiple CEOs for whatever reason. Some staff also don't enjoy hearing recommendations or thoughts from customers if the customers are trying to share ideas for a better overall experience. If you contact the company via their email or website, there are times they never get back to you with answers to your questions which is poor customer service. Cafe 1832 a handful of years ago went through an impressive renovation and started to offer better food and more creative options; however, that has changed back to basic mediocre food options again.

Overall, I recommend this business in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They do a great job with many things, but are not immune to areas that need some improvement. Their special events are unique and a lot of fun. If you are looking for additional railroads to check out in eastern Pennsylvania, I encourage you to check out the WK&S Railroad which is all volunteers. Thank you for reading my review of the Strasburg Rail Road, and I hope you will enjoy this...

I absolutely LOVED this and so did my kids. We were in car 88 "Mirian." I have twin 3 year olds and a newly 6 year old---all rambunctious and more than a handful---their auntie was there to help me maintain the peace--sorry for anyone else in the car who got to hear my kids scream or watch them dance up and down everywhere. Firstly, yes, families get there early!!! There is a lot of locotmotive movement leading up to departure and the parking lot is on the opposite side of the tracks that you board from so it stinks being late and sweating and having to wait to cross, checkin, and then find your car. Just get there early and save yourself the anxiety. There is a lot to see to keep everyone occupied. Specific to car #88: she's beautiful; cozy and warm and well decorated! You might break a sweat in those fuzzy Christmas PJs and blankets--especially if you imbibe on the merry drinks--I was sweating! There was also a toilet--much like an airplane! I happened to be in it when we started moving and I could hear one of my twins scream with excitement, and it just made me happy. There is one server for the whole car so if you intend to eat and drink maybe be politely proactive with the server because the further your seat is from the service area--the longer it will be to be served, and it's only a 40 minute ride (20 minutes of excitement in one direction and then the kids notice they are going backwards and the depression/meltdowns set in)! In our 40 minutes, we were served hot chocolate and cookies, we met Santa and had our pictures taken, a caroler came and THEN a 2 piece brass ensemble came and it sounded like a New Orleans Christmas--all were fantastic but that brass band was truly the twinkle in my "polar express Christmas memory." My only complaint is that I wanted it to last longer. It is a very busy 40 minutes. I hope my kids want to do this every year because I would love to make a tradition out of it no matter how old they get. It's just fun and unique. Oh and I had the cranberry mimosa drink and the fruit/cheese and cracker plate--- drink was fantastic but there's not much to brag about with the food--there is no place to cook and very little space to refrigerate so this is not going to be a food experience. Service all around is superb! Thank you for making our...

TL;DR Great family entertainment environment, especially for those who loves trains. The ride itself is 45 minutes through the countryside to Paradise and back. There's a place for food and drinks and a couple of souvenir shops as well. They have a couple of other attractions geared towards children and special events happen throughout the year.

Firstly, parking is free and ample, but on busy days, you might have to park on the grass to squeeze in. Unique in that it may not necessarily be true that the earlier you are, the better. On the day we went, trains were running every half hour until about 2pm. This meant a lot of people there from 10-2.

Tha main attraction itself is the ride on the train pulled by an old steam engine. The train ride itself is 45 minutes long and takes you along the gorgeous countryside with some stops along the way. There are several different options for riding the train including coach cars, open air cars, first class cars, dining cars, and the president's car for entertaining.

During the ride, you get to see another train at a picnic grove (which you can later get off at) and watch the steam engine transfer from one end of the train to the other on the way back. I believe there is a bit of a story telling element inside the cars as well. We were lucky enough to get the train where the open air car has a deck outside for standing on, so I don't remember much of what was being told.

At the station itself there are three extra activities. There's a smaller train for children, a cranky car activity for children, and a hand pumped cart with an attendant to try out.

The station includes three souvenir shops filled with all sorts of goodies from clothing to toys and various gifts. You'll definitely find something for everyone.

There's a place for food and drinks although we did not purchase anything.

The staff are friendly, patient, and helpful throughout the entire trip. Ticketing agents were happy to assist and answer any questions we had about the various ticket options and to recommend something based on what we wanted.

If you are in the area, love trains, or looking for a good activity to spend a couple of hours on, I highly recommend giving Strasburg Rail Road a look. I've been going here every couple of years since I was a child and it's always...