LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — All aboard! The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania will depart on a new project soon.

The PA Historical and Museum Commission announced plans to break ground this month on a new roundhouse at the Smithsonian Affiliate museum.

“This project is about more than bricks and mortar,” said Reggie McNeil, secretary of the Department of General Services. “It’s about preserving the stories and engineering marvels that helped to shape and build our Commonwealth.”

The new roundhouse will feature a classic fan-shaped layout, optimizing space within the museum’s outdoor yard. The structure will incorporate brick, steel and glass, along with a clerestory-style roof to maximize natural lighting.

Philadelphia-based Erdy McHenry Architecture of Philadelphia designed the roundhouse, while Dillsburg-based eciConstruction will construct the structure.

Upon completion, the 16,000 square-foot roundhouse will feature a viewing space for exhibits and a climate-controlled environment to aid the long-term preservation of six Pennsylvania Railroad historic steam locomotives, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“This roundhouse project is a monumental step forward for the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and for preserving our state’s rich industrial heritage,” said Andrea Lowery, executive director of the commission. “Protecting these locomotives in a state-of-the-art facility ensures they can be enjoyed and studied by generations to come.”

A Ready For The Roundhouse fundraising campaign, spearheaded by the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, has already raised more than $300,000 to fund restoration work associated with the locomotives that will be housed on exhibit in the new structure.

The museum’s 1928 Reading Company turntable will also undergo complete refurbishment.

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on July 29, 2025. The museum expects to complete the project by late 2026 or early 2027.

Its outdoor yard will close during construction, but that shouldn’t derail any plans to visit. The museum is home to 100 historic locomotives and railroad cars, a vast research library and archives, an education center, a working restoration shop, special events and programs and a museum store.