Trains andTroops 2010

Celebrating our military and the trains they rode on!

Trains & Troops is the Museum's annual tribute to the U. S. Armed Forces, American railroads and all those who served, and are serving, overseas and on the home front in defense of our nation.

• Greet our guys and gals in uniform, including veterans, re-enactors, civilians and railroaders from the Civil War forward.
• See a fascinating array of military and military railroad service-related posters, uniforms, equipment, field gear, maps, books and photographs on display from participating exhibitors, as well as from the Railroad Museum's archival collection.
• Join a salute to American military veterans.
• Enjoy an optional ride on the Strasburg Rail Road, with living history reenactors.

      The American Civil War marked the first major military application of railroads, which were principally used as supply lines for troops, munitions, rations and communications. The Military Railway Service was created in 1916 for World War I, which, by the end of the war, had over 32,000 railroaders and 897 officers working for the Service. In World War II, U. S. freight and passenger railroad service, both military and civilian, was phenomenal.  As many as 160 freight trains traveled daily between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and numerous passenger trains were converted into troop carriers and hospital cars.
     Following World War II the railroads' use in conflict declined, but did not disappear. Today's military rail movements are centered more on large, heavy equipment, which simply cannot move over highways. A renewed focus on the railroads for both military and civilian importance as an integral part of a balanced transportation network is necessary for our nation's well-being.