It all started with an ad placed in the Altoona Mirror in 1966 with hopes of establishing a Railroad Museum in Altoona. Eventually, a plot was made available in 1975 and a grand opening was celebrated in September of 1980. The building seen above is the former PRR master mechanics building which was acquired in 1993 and is generally recognized as the facade of the Museum. A turntable and new roundhouse are to the left out of view. Well worth further research, one can not possibly imagine on their own the size of the complex and maze of tracks that had once existed here and made Altoona what it is today.