Physical / Mobility

 

The pathway to the locomotive shop from the Roundhouse. A train car is being worked on next to it.

NPS

Programs and Tours

Cab Tours

Visitors can tour some of the cabs of our engines. Cabs open to the public have stairs leading up to them, which are not accessible. For visitors who would like to see the inside of our Union Pacific “Big Boy” No. 4012 locomotive’s cab, a video tour is available: Union Pacific “Big Boy” No. 4012 Cab Tour

Handcar Rides

The handcar is not wheelchair accessible.

Cutaway Exhibit Tour

Our “How Does a Steam Engine Work?” ranger program is accessible. Additionally, a video of our program can be found on our website: How Does it Work: Steam Engines

Train Rides and Excursions

• Train cars have stools and stairs for boarding, but steps are steep and can be challenging to navigate.
• There is a passenger car that has a wheelchair lift available for most train rides, which can only hold two wheelchairs during rides due to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) standards.
• The other historic train cars have narrow doorways and walkways that are not suitable for wheelchair passage. Our wheelchairs that are available to borrow at the Visitor Center are 29” wide. The dimensions of our historic train cars are as follows: 25” W walkways, 27” W doorways, and a 21” W doorway connecting the wheelchair-accessible car to the passenger car.
• Only a couple station platforms have a designated area for disembarking wheelchairs and other wheeled mobility devices from the train.
• While there are restrooms on the train, they are not wheelchair accessible.

Locomotive Shop Tour

• The pathway to the locomotive shop on our shop tour includes a walkway that runs alongside a train inspection pit. When there is an engine or train car positioned over the pit, the walkway becomes quite narrow (pictured at right).
• Shop tours are approximately an hour long, and seating is generally unavailable during the tour.
• The tour brings you into our working shop, and sometimes equipment is parked on the usual tour route. When obstacles are on the route, visitors may have to walk near or around equipment that could potentially be sharp, greasy, etc.
• Visitors will be walking over tracks during the tour, and surfaces are uneven.

 

Park Facilities

• The entrances and exits to our Visitor Center, History and Technology Museums, Theater, Roundhouse, and Park Store have push-button doors. The walkway in the Roundhouse is accessible via a ramp. NOTE: The Theater building is currently closed to the public.
• There are 2 heavy-duty manual wheelchairs available; power wheelchairs are not available. Wheelchairs may be checked out at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis (no reservations) in the Visitor Center. Wheelchairs must not be removed from the site property.
• Most of the ground surrounding the site buildings and in the Core Complex is made of brick and/or cobblestone embedded with tracks. These surfaces can be uneven and slippery when icy or wet.
• The concrete floors of the History and Technology Museums have tracks embedded in them, making for an uneven walking surface. The tracks that run through the locomotive shop are not entirely level with the ground and can be difficult to navigate.
• We have picnic areas with universal access picnic tables around the site, including in front of the Visitor Center, Park Store, Railyard, and next to the bus drop off. NOTE: The picnic tables by the bus drop off and Railyard are all either partially or fully on top of grass or gravel.
• There are benches near the Ticket Booth and Park Store, as well as along the boundaries of the Core Complex. Benches can be found indoors in the History and Technology Museums, Visitor Center, and Roundhouse.

Getting Around the Site

• The route to the boarding platform for train excursions is less than 0.1 miles long. There is a wooden boardwalk with tracks running through it that connects the parking lot to the platform. The boardwalk has many loose boards that cause uneven and rough surfaces and can be slippery when icy or wet.
• The mall ramp that goes from the boardwalk to The Marketplace at Steamtown is 0.25 miles one way. It is also made of wood and can have the same uneven surfaces as the boardwalk. Additionally, it has a long, single continuous run with an over 5% grade. NOTE: The majority of the mall ramp is outside of park boundaries.
• Some surfaces surrounding the park buildings are made of gravel. The Railyard is primarily made up of gravel and tracks, and has a very uneven surface.