The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 Gap Road, Strasburg, will highlight the Reading Railroad during Reading Railroad Days on Wednesday, July 2, to Sunday, July 6, and Wednesday, July 9, to Saturday, July 12. Reading Railroad Days will take place during regular museum hours and be included in the regular museum admission.

 A detailed HO-scale model train layout of the Reading Railroad, operated by members of the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society, is a centerpiece in the museum's climate-controlled Rolling Stock Hall. Visitors also may view Reading Company equipment from the museum's collection, including the 107-year-old tank engine No. 1251, multiple unit commuter car No. 800, Crusader observation car No. 1, and the 187-year-old Rocket steam locomotive. Artist Peter A. Lerro Jr. will display and sell his original railroad paintings and reproductions.

In its heyday, the Reading Company was a multifaceted industrial giant. Originally established as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in 1833 to transport anthracite coal, the 94-mile line evolved into a large corporation serving eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Operations included coal mining, iron making, canal and sea-going transportation, and shipbuilding. With its complex of shops for locomotive and car building and repair, as well as constant advances in railroad technology, the company held a position of leadership in the railroad industry for over a century.

For more information about the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, visit http://www.rrmuseumpa.org or call 717-687-8628.