The Altoona Railway Museum Club had its beginnings at the time the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) ceased to exist and when many of the PRR’s historical sites in the Altoona, Pennsylvania, area were being dismantled. Although many local facilities were lost, the Altoona Railway Museum Club strived to preserve the heritage of our fore bearers who settled here. The Club was an informal organization formed in 1965 through the offices of the Blair County Tourist and Convention Bureau (with the assistance Mr. George Kelchner) following Altoona's loss in being designated the site for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's new railroad museum. The Altoona Railway Museum Club, initially a nucleus of approximately a half-dozen people, was formed to promote an awareness of Altoona's rich railroad heritage and to seek ways and means to develop a railroad museum for the greater Altoona area. Subsequently, the group became aware of an organization known as the National Railway Historical Society, and applied for a charter. This charter was granted and the Horseshoe Curve Chapter was officially recognized effective May 11, 1968. Overtime, the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS, had a significant role in the successful 1973 establishment of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum. Today, the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS, is a tax exempt, non-profit organization which engages in projects to preserve and maintain historical equipment and information relating to the rail transportation industry, particularly as it applies to the Blair County, PA area. The Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS, also plays an instrumental role in local heritage awareness. The Chapter owns and operates rail passenger equipment as well as restores rolling stock, and it supports all preservation projects of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum. In the following pages, you will find photographs and information collected regarding activities and events held by the Altoona Railway Museum Club and the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS,from 1966 to present.
This site is dedicated to the founders of the "Altoona Railway Museum Club” and the members of the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS.
