Manheim and Lititz Study a Strasburg Excursion

Passenger trains between Manheim and Lititz are an idea, not a timetable. LancasterOnline reported on November 2, 2026, that steam engines could lead trips between the two boroughs on event days if the Strasburg Rail Road buys the line for its freight division. A working group called the Heritage Railroad Initiative is exploring that possibility with the railroad and with Lititz-area businesses. The paper said there is no timeline, that Strasburg representatives declined to comment, and that Norfolk Southern did not respond.

Strasburg Rail Road 2-10-0 #90 - the famous Great Western Railway of Colorado Decapod - is westbound nearing Strasburg, Pennsylvania on May 13, 2022. Doug Kroll photo.

Lines named in the proposal LancasterOnline said Strasburg has proposed buying several Norfolk Southern lines in Lancaster and Chester counties for freight use. The list in the story is the Lititz Secondary, the New Holland Secondary, the Mount Hope Industrial Track, the Parkesburg Industrial Track, and the Coatesville Industrial Track. The proposal also includes Norfolk Southern operating rights on the Amtrak Keystone Corridor from Lancaster to Coatesville. Before any sale, the working group and the railroad plan to study the cost to buy and run the line, what the infrastructure needs, and what grants might exist.

The passenger idea would use the piece between the Manheim Railroad Station and Museum, at 210 S. Charlotte Street, and the Lititz Welcome Center, at 22 N. Broad Street (Route 501). A concept proposal shared with municipalities says passenger trains could make three to six round trips on major event days, including the Lititz Fire and Ice Festival and the Fourth of July. The same proposal includes the possibility of a trail along the line. The paper said the partnership had shared the idea with more than 20 municipalities and hoped for their support.

Ted Faulkner, an organizer for the Heritage Railroad Initiative, told the paper, “We’re looking at almost changing direction for Lititz to have a railroad heritage site, which is going to be tremendous, and a sister facility to Strasburg.”

What local officials said The article said the group would present the plans in public for the first time that evening, November 2, at 7 p.m., at the Earl Township Municipal Building, 517 Railroad Avenue, New Holland, and that more meetings were expected. This draft does not report what the supervisors did that night.

Manheim Borough Manager Joel Mutschler said more visitors downtown would be welcome, and that the borough needs more information. He said municipal approvals would likely be required before service could begin. Lititz Borough Managing Director of Planning and Development Elijah Yearick said the borough has been told about the idea, and that it looks like a wish list until Norfolk Southern says it is interested. He pointed to the borough’s own experience. Lititz has been working for years to acquire Norfolk Southern rail east of Route 501 so the Warwick-Ephrata Rail Trail can reach downtown. The borough is about to start a $3 million project, paid with bond revenue and state grants, to add a parallel track north of the Lititz Rec Center. Norfolk Southern needs that track before it can abandon the rail east of North Broad Street. Yearick said that work shows these acquisitions do not move quickly. The $3 million project is the trail job. It is not a price for the excursion.

The Manheim Historical Society owns the Manheim station museum. Vice president Wes Geib told the paper he is excited about what a train could do for the area around the station. The museum keeps a working trolley from 1926. The Lititz Welcome Center is a modern reproduction of a station demolished in the 1950s, after passenger service on the corridor ended. Rich Motz, board president of the Lititz Springs Park Association, is part of the working group on his own, not as a representative of the park association. The paper’s editor note says the association focus is the park, and that the tracks are on a separate property.

Related reading on American-Rails.com Sources LancasterOnline, “Passenger train excursions between Manheim, Lititz under consideration,” published November 2, 2026, lancasteronline.com/news/local/passenger-train-excursions-between-manheim-lititz-under-consideration/article_32743333-9a72-45a7-bb03-60cd56b232ae.html. The editor note says Rich Motz serves on the working group independently, not for the Lititz Springs Park Association. Steam on event days is conditional on a Strasburg purchase for the freight division. No timeline. Strasburg declined to comment. Norfolk Southern did not respond. The five lines, the Keystone Corridor rights, the three-to-six round trips, the trail idea, the November 2 evening meeting, the $3 million Lititz track project, and the quotations above are from this article. No sale is final in the story.

Manheim and Lititz Study a Strasburg Excursion

Comments