Three railway tunnels show how generations of engineers dealt with the Allegheny summit at Gallitzin. The New Portage and Allegheny tunnels were both completed in 1854. The former reaches an elevation of 2,167 feet and has traditionally served mainly eastbound traffic. The Allegheny Tunnel extended 3,605 feet through the mountain. The portals give visitors a way to see where a long and difficult climb met the problem of carrying trains through the summit itself.
The railroad added the Gallitzin Tunnel in 1904. It remained part of the route until the Allegheny Tunnel was enlarged to accommodate two tracks in 1995. The three openings therefore represent different periods of investment and changing needs for capacity. The borough also notes that the tunnels were guarded during the war years. Their significance lay in what they made possible across the whole route. Interrupting a short tunnel could interrupt transportation across a much larger region.
The park exhibits a restored Pennsylvania Railroad N5C caboose from 1942. It adds the scale of a crew’s working space to a visit otherwise dominated by the dimensions of the tunnels and the surrounding slopes. During its working life, a caboose accommodated people whose duties included observing the train and keeping records. Look at the body of the car and consider how its space had to serve those tasks while traveling behind the freight.
Across the street, the museum in the Borough Community Building displays photographs and artifacts about railway work and local life. Its film covers the strategic importance of the tunnels and the surrounding town. The outdoor park gives views of a working railway, while the museum explains the successive construction projects that produced the present alignment. Volunteers determine indoor availability, and the open park can be visited separately when the museum is closed.
Visitor information
Researched November 2026.
Sources
More railroad museums in Pennsylvania
- Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site — Gallitzin: Railroad engineering and transport historic site
- Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark — Altoona: Railroad engineering landmark and visitor site
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania — Strasburg: Major railroad museum
- Steamtown National Historic Site — Scranton: Major railroad museum and national historic site
- Colebrookdale Railroad — Preservation Collection — Boyertown: Operating railroad preservation collection
- East Broad Top Railroad & Friends’ Robertsdale Museum — Rockhill Furnace / Robertsdale: Narrow-gauge railroad museum and preservation collection
- Harris Tower Railroad Museum — Harrisburg: Railroad signal-tower museum
- Lake Shore Railway Museum — North East: Railroad museum and equipment collection
- All 12 railroad museums and sites in Pennsylvania
Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — museums, stations and landmarks
- Northeast — the trains you can ride in the region