The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and organized into 16 regions and 170 local chapters located in the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The NRHS sponsors the popular RailCamp summer orientation program in partnership with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

, offering high school youth hands-on experience in the railroad industry.

National organization

History

The NRHS was formed in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, on August 18, 1935, when

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...

s from

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

, Philadelphia,

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city, capital city (New Jersey), city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

gathered there for a farewell excursion on the then soon-to-be-abandoned Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway. Officers from railfan clubs in those cities decided to merge and form a national organization, which they dubbed the "National Railway Historical Society".About the National Railway Historical Society
Leon Franks of the Lancaster club was elected the first chairman of the NRHS and William P. Hamilton III of Trenton was the first NRHS president.

Currently

The NRHS has around 10,000 members as of October 2015 and is one of the largest rail historical societies in the U.S. The NRHS is a non-profit section 501(c)(3) organization. Al Weber of St Louis, Missouri, is currently national president . Its mailing address is: c/o John K Fiorilla, Esq., Capehart & Scatchard PA, P.O Box 5016, Mt.Laurel, NJ 08054. The NRHS is "a historical preservation charity", with its future focus on education and preservation. Spokane Portland and Seattle engine 700 Union Station

Spokane Portland and Seattle engine 700 Union Station

The Society holds an annual national convention, featuring exhibits and excursions using historic railroad locomotives and rolling stock. It publishes the ''National Railway Bulletin'', a bimonthly membership newsletter containing articles, photos, and news about railroads, both past and present, as well as coverage of local chapter activities. The organization began a "Railway Heritage Grants Program" in 1991, to provide financial grants to "organizations that educate, publish, and preserve railroad history to benefit future generations", according to an NRHS news release. As described by the NRHS, projects assisted by the Railway Heritage Grants Program "range from refurbishing historic railroad stations and restoring vintage steam locomotives for operating and museum display, to the cataloging and storage of historic railroad archives".

"RailCamp" program

The NRHS conducts two week-long "Railcamps" each summer for high school-age youth. The program offers firsthand experience of rail history and operations, offered in partnership with the

and

and other organizations and companies in the rail industry. In 2008, participants toured Steamtown's roundhouse and shops, operating some of the shop machinery. The youth also visited Amtrak's massive

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, maintenance facility, where they went inside locomotives and met with Amtrak employees to learn about railroad careers. One participant wrote afterwards in ''Trains'' magazine that, "The experience truly increased my respect for the men and women who ... care for these huge machines."

Local chapters

Typically, local NRHS chapters concentrate on railroad history in their specific geographic area. For example, Mid-Atlantic Region chapters are particularly interested in such lines as the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, the Western Maryland Railway, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, all of which once operated in the region. In addition to the study and preservation of railroad artifacts, NRHS chapter activities may include periodic excursions using historic railroad equipment, such as

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s. Some chapters are involved in restoration of rail equipment and structures . Others operate rail museums or own locomotives, such as the Central New York Chapter's two former

EMD E8

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whe ...

s. A few chapters even own and operate entire

short-line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that oper ...

s, such as the New Hope Valley Railway.

References

External link

Official website
{{Authority control Rail transportation preservation in the United States History of rail transportation in the United States Historical societies in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 1935 1935 establishments in Maryland Organizations based in Pennsylvania 501(c)(3) organizations Railway societies