Harrisburg has an absolutely stunning train station. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1885-1887 and was significantly rebuilt after a fire in 1905, giving it its current distinctive shed barn roof, which is one of my favorite aspects of this classic station. The roof is build with the Fink truss and is a testament to the power of this design, which would go on to be used for many industrial purposes. It was also the largest train shed in the world when it was built, and it is one of the only remaining ones today. The station was built in the Queen Ann Style. Everything about this station is grand, from the entrance and ornate lobbies, to the train shed over the tracks. This is a grand entrance into the city that many larger cities should be envious of, especially New York City.
PRR 4859. This sleek GG1 electric locomotive was built at the Altoona Works and designed by GE. It was the first electrified unit to run from Philadelphia to Harrisburg on January 15, 1938. It is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Adjacent you can see an modern Amtrak locomotive waiting to head back out on the open rails
This was a union station, though never referred to as such, in that it served several other rail companies and several different major lines. Unlike Pittsburgh, which was always referred to as a union station, though it never really was one. You could refer to the current setup as a union station, with the myriad of connections that can be made by bus at the station. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the same east-west routing the exists today in one way or another with connections as Amtrak does, but it also had a passenger line that ran from Baltimore to Buffalo and a line that ran to Erie (which has another beautiful train station)on the old Philadelphia and Erie Railroad routing.
These days, the station still pulls large Amtrak traffic, with it being the western terminus of the Keystone Service, Amtrak's 3rd most used route in the Northeast Corridor and its fifth most used overall. The route runs between New York City and Harrisburg, via Philadelphia and Lancaster (which has another stunning train station).
The second route is the Pennsylvanian which runs from New York City to Pittsburgh, via Philly, Lancaster, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Tyrone, Altoona, Johnstown, Latrobe, and Greensburg. That route only runs one train eastbound and westbound each day. There are plans to add another train that are frequently talked about, but I am not holding my breath on that happening. Harrisburg is also the end of the electricified system. The locomotives run on diesel as they head west. The first major landmark the trains hit as they head westbound out of the station is the stunning Rockville Bridge, the longest stone arch bridge in the world.
We highly recommend checking out this beautiful train station! It is also located within close proximity of the State Museum and Capitol Building
Thank you so much for your support over these many years with these calendars. The proceeds help to keep the lights on here. The 2024 edition is available now!
Our 2024 Pennsylvania Wall Calendar features scenes from across the state, including views of:
-The old growth forests in Cook Forest State Park
-Center City Philadelphia
-Knoebels Amusement Resort
-Gettysburg Battlefield in the snow
-Sailing in Erie
-PA's Elk Herd
-Canyon Vista at Worlds End State Park
-Kinzua Bridge
-Cowan's Gap State Park
-Downtown Pittsburgh
-A vista on the PA 144 Scenic Byway -A holiday scene from Sunbury PA.
The calendars open up to be 17 inches tall by 11 inches wide (8.5 by 11 pages) and all photos have been taken by us, and the calendars are produced in the USA. The proceeds help us to continue what we do to highlight and bring attention to the many great adventures that this state has to offer.
It makes for a great gift for someone or for yourself. It is available for purchase through the PayPal dropdown menus at the top of the page and the bottom of this article.
Also available is our book on Pennsylvania's historic amusement parks, Great Pennsylvania Amusement Parks Road Trip. It features Knoebels, Kennywood Park, Hersheypark, Dorney Park, Waldameer, DelGrosso's, Lakemont, Dutch Wonderland, Idlewild, and the sadly former Conneaut Lake Park.
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