Railroaders museum upgrades get grant

State set to give $505,776 in funds for improvements

The Railroaders Memorial Museum is planning to initiate up to $1 million in improvements after the anticipated receipt of a $505,776 state grant.

Blair County commissioners are voting today on an agreement with the Altoona Blair County Development Corp. that will pave the way for the museum to accept the state grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

Museum Executive Director Joe DeFrancesco told the Mirror Wednesday that the grant will mostly go toward utility, lighting and flooring improvements to three bays of its roundhouse -- where rail cars and other items are stored -- and toward seating improvements in the museum auditorium.

Those efforts, he said, are aimed at making the bays and the auditorium more suitable for hands-on training and on-site educational activities.

Because matching funds to secure the state grant have already been identified, DeFrancesco described the roundhouse and the auditorium improvements as guaranteed, with construction targeted to begin in 2024.

In the meantime, efforts will continue, he said, to identify additional money or assets that can match a portion of the state grant designated for a new roof on the Horseshoe Curve Museum and for trimming overgrown trees next to the Curve's tracks.

"The state's money is definitely forthcoming," DeFrancesco said Wednesday. "But we are working on a business development plan ... and we're looking at non-state grants that could qualify as a match ... Overall, there's a potential for a $1 million investment through this project."

ABCD Corp. representative Rachel Prosser described the proposed project to commissioners on Tuesday and asked for approval of the indemnity agreement routing the state's grant through ABCD and Blair County without risk to those entities.

"It's certainly a worthwhile project and the museum has been working hard to raise the money for it," Commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb said.

DeFrancesco said this project will be independent of the outdoor rail yard renovations that started last year and continue. He also said that no portion of the RCAP grant will go toward the museum's ongoing K-4 1361 restoration work.

"We are thankful for the opportunity that this grant provides," DeFrancesco said. "From the museum's perspective, it's going to provide us with an opportunity to show off the results. People will be able to see how the money was used to bring tourists, students and adult learners to the site."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.