Railfest 2023

"RAILFEST!"
A series of toots from my son's bedroom followed by a long foghorn effect (his Big Boy whistle) guaranteed that we were awake. Then it was on the road for Railfest at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Steamtown is fun for train lovers of any age any day of the year but the sheer number of trains on display at Railfest was enough to delight everybody.

We tooted hello to the Big Boy #4012 as we drove past her on the way to the parking area and immediately went to see the Birthday Girl, the Canadian Pacific #2317, who was on display in front of the roundhouse. She's 100 years old this month and celebrated by giving out trading cards of herself and allowing tours of her cab.

The big blue Alco diesel engine was just inside the gates. She's resting up after her trip from Portland, Oregon and visiting her friends at Steamtown before heading to the Delaware-Lackawanna shop for restoration.

All of the engines but one were outside the roundhouse so you could get up close to all of them to say hello. The engine left inside is in the middle of being repaired and really preferred to stay home in her shed. We spent some time saying hello to everyone.

The rides were free during Railfest and we decided go on them before stopping for lunch. The line for the caboose ride wasn't too long but the people just ahead of us filled the caboose to capacity so we had to wait for the next run. No problem! It's a short run and since we were at the head of the line we were able to sit in the cupola of the caboose. I've always wanted to do that!

The steam engine ride was loading as we got off the caboose so we jumped on and moved to the first passenger car. In honor of Railfest, the ride went all the way to the Nay Aug Tunnel entrance in the Roaring Brook Gorge. We were provided with a fun commentary along the way identifying and giving some history about the area that we rode through. He did give us a couple of minutes of silence in the middle to enjoy the experience of riding a steam locomotive pulled train. As much as I enjoyed his commentary, I enjoyed that the most.

I would like to thank the engineer of the excursion ride. We met him after the ride and he very kindly escorted us out to meet the Shay engine that we've only been able to catch glimpses of before.

This is the only day of the year that the repair shop is open to the public. The Burning Wheel of Fire demonstration was exciting and taught us about how a train wheel is changed. It was fun to go into the yard afterward and find the locomotive that the wheel came from. It was like playing hide and seek with the engine.

We took the short bus trip to the Scranton Iron Furnace site but it was not nearly as exciting as we thought it would be. We expected demonstrations linking cast iron and trains but if they were there, we missed them. Aside from a nice hands-on demonstration by the Pennsylania Lumber Museum that allowed the kids to saw a round from a log, there was very little for the kids to do except a moderately pricey craft involving carving a mold out to make a personalized cast iron block. We did enjoy talking to the lovely lady from the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum who knew a lot about Shay engines.

There were no food vendors at the site although there are a number of food options a short walk over the Mall Ramp to the Marketplace At Steamtown. . Since we preferred to stay onsite, we brought our lunch and were able to find a table across the entrance from the #4012. We brought a (pretend) box of coal to share with the locomotives during our visit but the #4012 ate most of it at lunch. I am assured that the other engines weren't hungry, although I'm not so sure about the Shay engine.

Back at the museum, we spent the rest of the day playing with our train friends. The Illinois Central #790 and the Big Boy # 4012 have their cabs open when the park is open and the #790 in particular allows for kids to pretend that they're driving the train. Being able to ring the bell is a huge plus! At one point we had a team of four young engineers taking the #790 to deliver freight. It was great fun and very gratifying to watch the kids taking turns at the important (and fun!) jobs.

For parents of 3 - 7 year olds, the things to remember are:

Trains are LOUD! Trains are BIG! They can be scary for even the most dedicated young train lover.

There are trains moving everywhere. Keep an eye out because the kids will probably forget to look both ways.

Take extra water and encourage everybody to drink it!

Finding food requires leaving the site. You might want to bring snacks and/or lunch If you think it might be difficult getting your kids away from the trains.

Remember sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes. There's a lot of open ground to cover here.

If you are going to stay all day, plan rest activities at intervals throughout the event.

Railfest was definitely worth the six hour round trip. We can't wait until next year!