In Memoriam

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania regretfully notes the passing of its Founding Director, George Michener Hart.

He was appointed the first director of the Railroad Museum in 1969, a position he held until retiring in 1983.

He advised the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on the selection of the museum site. He assembled a major collection of artifacts, books, notes and photographs which chronicled the state's rich railroading legacy.

A 1937 graduate of the George School in Newtown, his encyclopedic knowledge of railroads in Pennsylvania led to his being called "Mr. Railroad." An early organizer of railfan rambles, he owned several locomotives and operated tourist railroads at several locations, most recently at Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe), PA.

During his directorship, the museum acquired a number of historic locomotives and other railroad materials, thus laying the foundation for what has become a world-class museum of railroad history.

The funeral was at Jim Thorpe, with burial in Doylestown, PA. His legacy endures.