FunnyNews.today — Sunday, September 6, 2026
All Aboard the Costume Contest: Railfest Gives Railroad Style a Day in the Spotlight
At Steamtown in Scranton, the outfits have an itinerary of their own.
SCRANTON, Pa. — A steam locomotive is already scheduled to take a turntable turn at Steamtown National Historic Site on Sunday. So are visitors with a flair for railroad history.
The National Park Service’s Railfest schedule lists the site’s first Life on the Railroad Costume Contest for 1 p.m. on September 6. The categories invite railroad employees, railroad mascots, railroading-era personalities and themed pairs; adult and child winners are planned in most categories. In other words, there is a formal place on the timetable for an engineer’s cap, a mascot costume or a carefully coordinated pair of historic travelers.
Railfest runs from September 4 through 6, and the park says the 1929 Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 26 is the featured engine for its “No. 26 in ’26” celebration. Sunday’s program includes No. 26 rolling out on the turntable during the 9:15 a.m. opening ceremony, plus scheduled yard shuttles, photo run-bys and a late-afternoon turntable demonstration. General admission is free; some rides have separate charges.
The contest is a small but wonderfully specific bit of the weekend’s larger railway celebration: a historic site making room for people to show up as a conductor, a character or a mascot—and then judging the effort, presentation and creativity. The park notes that contestants must be present to receive prizes and that non-service animals cannot take part.
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