 Phoenicia Railroad Station, home of ESRM | |
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| Established | 1960 |
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| Location | Phoenicia Railroad Station |
| Type | Railway museum |
| President | Dakin Moorehouse |
| Website | http://www.esrm.com/ |
Established in 1960, theEmpire State Railway Museum is a non-profitrailroad museum currently located in the historicUlster & DelawarePhoenicia Railroad Station,Phoenicia, New York. The station was built in 1899 by the U&D, and is one of the few surviving examples left along the line. The museum owns a small collection of historic railroad equipment. The museum was formerly the publisher of the annualSteam Railroad Directory until the 2006 edition, when the title was taken over byKalmbach Publishing and now released as theTourist Trains Guidebook.
The museum was established byrailroad enthusiasts from the New York metropolitan area in 1960. The organization sponsored many steam excursions and other railfan activities throughout the region, but was working towards the goal of establishing a permanent home.[1] The possibility of purchasing a segment of theNew York CentralPutnam Division was considered, as the middle portion of the line was abandoned in 1962. Member Jay Wulfson took ownership of theMiddletown and New Jersey Railroad, and ESRM equipment began to gather inMiddletown, New York. Member Stephen D. Bogen purchasedBaldwin Locomotive Works 2-6-2 #103 from theSumter and Choctaw Railway in Alabama and had the engine shipped to New York on a flatcar. Additional equipment including coaches and a caboose were purchased and excursions began operating under the name Middletown & Orange Railroad.
In 1964, Wulfson moved on to launch theVermont Railway, and the M&NJ was acquired by ESRM member Peter Rasmussen. In 1965, ESRM began publishing theSteam Passenger Service Directory, an annual listing of tourist railroads and museums around the country. Regular excursions on the M&NJ ended in 1966 due to deteriorating track conditions and vandalism, and the equipment was stored. The search for a permanent home to run steam excursions began again.
Around the same time, efforts to launch a steam tourist railroad in Connecticut were gaining momentum. The collection of equipment that was housed in Middletown was moved to Essex, Connecticut, between 1970 and 1971, finding a new home on theValley Railroad.[2] Many former ESRM members began to volunteer on the Valley Railroad, and went on to form a group that would become the basis for theRailroad Museum of New England. As a result, membership in ESRM diminished.
The remaining members of ESRM continued to meet, but steam excursions were no longer operated on the M&NJ. Looking for a new home, the organization considered relocating toUlster County, along tracks to be operated by the newly-formedCatskill Mountain Railroad. In 1985, the station inPhoenicia, New York, was purchased by ESRM and a local community redevelopment organization. Built in 1899 by theUlster and Delaware Railroad, it is one of only two surviving examples located along the line in its original location. The structure was restored and renovated by volunteers to serve as the new home of the museum.
FormerLake Superior & Ishpeming2-8-0No. 23 was purchased from the bankrupt Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad and moved toKingston, New York, in 1985. Members of ESRM had planned to operate thesteam locomotive on tracks leased byCatskill Mountain Railroad to create an attraction similar to theStrasburg Railroad.
At the same time, a number of ESRM members joined the Connecticut Valley Railroad Museum and negotiated the release of several pieces of equipment from the Valley Railroad for return to New York State. It was anticipated that the tracks would be in regular operation to bring visitors from Kingston up to the new museum in Phoenicia.
The museum has seasonal exhibits in the station related to the history of the railroads in the Catskill Mountain region. The station was the western terminal of theCatskill Mountain Railroad until the end of 2016. Without the trains to bring a steady stream of visitors, museum attendance is down.
The museum is the owner of several pieces of vintage railway equipment, including formerLS&I No. 23, a2-8-0 steam locomotive that has been the subject of restoration efforts over the last 20 years. A rebuilding and extension of the tender was completed in 2002. When CMRR was forced to vacate its storage yard inKingston, New York in 2016, the steam locomotive was moved to Phoenicia, and placed inside a new barn constructed on museum property.[3]
The Empire State Railway Museum owns a small collection of historic railroad equipment, currently none are on display to the public. Some items have been placed inside the barn for possible future restoration and display.
42°04′49″N74°18′30″W / 42.08028°N 74.30833°W /42.08028; -74.30833
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