The Tahoe at Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Written by in the Sharing the Common Wealth category and the Spring 2000 issue Topics in this article: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Lancaster County, Philadelphia, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, railroads, Strasburg
Sharing the Common Wealth showcases objects, artifacts, documents, structures and buildings from the collections of PHMC.

The Tahoe, marking its one hundred and twenty-fifth birthday in 2000, will serve as the centerpiece for the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, Lancaster County. The famous Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, the world’s largest steam engine manufacturer, built the engine in 1875 for Nevada’s Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The Tahoe, a “mogul” type (2-6-0) wood burning engine, is ornamented with fancy paint and shiny brass, decorations typically found on mid-to late-nineteenth-century American railroad locomotives. This Pennsylvania product represents the most technologically advanced machines of its day, when railroad engines were the fasted manmade objects on earth. Opened in 1975, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania displays a collection of more than one hundred pieces of rolling stock, hundreds of smaller railroading artifacts, and extensive library and archives holdings. Anniversary programs have been scheduled throughout the year.