The Conrail Historical Society museum and archive center – housed in a retired 86-foot hi-cube auto-parts boxcar is located at the trail head of the Cumberland Valley Railtrail.

About two-thirds of the boxcar is devoted to exhibits, including a locomotive control-stand simulator that Conrail used at its training center at Essington, Pa., near Philadelphia, known as “Choo Choo U.” Panels will tell the story of the demise of PC and the other roads, the renewal that created the modern Conrail, and the split.

Artifacts include an ex-Erie Railroad semaphore signal built by Union Switch & Signal Co., and an interlocking tower model board from Virginia Avenue Tower in Washington, D.C. A mannequin’s clothing will be changed periodically to reflect the gear worn by different crafts such as conductor, engineer, car inspector, and signal maintainer. It will be supplemented by articles such as a grip (a metal valise to hold clothing, rulebooks, and paperwork), cooler, crew packs, and employee timetables. Rounding out the displays are a screen for video presentations and space for rotating exhibits.

The collection reflects Conrail’s emphasis on workplace safety, with safety jackets, signs and posters, awards, and photographs carrying that theme.

The remainder of the space is dedicated to archival storage and conservation. It will include a large-format scanner and a flatbed scanner to digitize the group’s collections. Among the holding are thousands of dispatchers’ sheets and hundreds of thousands of slides and negatives. Eventually, CRHS intends to make all of these records available to researchers, both for in-person visits and on-line.

Conrail Historical Society Museum