Why is Steamtown NHS located in Scranton, Pennsylvania?
When Steamtown National Historic Site was created in 1986, the collection, belonging to a non-profit organization called Steamtown USA (The Steamtown Foundation for the Preservation of Steam), occupied the former railroad yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. Rather than move the collection to a different locale, the yard was acquired through donation via Lackawanna County and the city of Scranton. The yard itself has been in continuous commercial use since 1851 and includes a selection of steam-era buildings including part of the original Locomotive Shop (1865), a portion of the second Roundhouse (1902/1917/1937), the Sand Tower (1912), as well as other buildings. The combination of the large collection of locomotives and rolling stock from the heyday of steam railroading, and a reasonably complete railroad yard, made Scranton a good location for a National Park telling the story of steam railroading in America.
