13. Rail City
Jeff and Meridith Major and cousin Brian Chard never had the opportunity to visit Rail City Museum when its railroad was still in operation, but during our Sandy Pond vacation in 1975 we found this train still on the tracks in what looked like an Old West ghost town.
Minus the short railroad and some amusement park-like attractions, Rail City Museum later returned to the Route 3 location north of Sandy Pond. I found the following information on the museum's website:
Rail City Museum was the first steam-operating railroad museum in the United States. Located at Sandy Pond on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario in the Town of Sandy Creek, NY, Rail City offered visitors an opportunity to view an extensive collection of actual railroad locomotives, rail cars, streetcars, interurbans, buildings, structures, and equipment that included 16 full-size steam locomotives. The highlight of the museum was a 1.5 mile train ride with No. 11, a 2-6-0 Baldwin locomotive formerly from the Bath and Hammandsport Railroad, at the head of the train.
The history of Rail City is an account of how an eccentric visionary, Dr. Stanley A. Groman from Syracuse, NY, single-handedly saved a score of locomotives, railroad cars, trolleys, track, original buildings and structures from the scrap heap.
The December, 1995, issue of TRAINS magazine stated: "Back in the 1950s, as the steam era faded fast, it took people like Stanley Groman and a few other visionaries to begin the work of saving locomotives, cars, and structures for generations to come. Rail City gave thousands of people a taste of steam railroading"
Rail City was conceived in December, 1952, while Dr. Groman and his family were on vacation in the Southwest. While driving through Gallup, N.M., Dr. Groman came upon a narrow-gauge 0-4-0 Porter locomotive (No. 1) for sale by the side of the highway. The locomotive not only hauled coal for the Defiance Coal Company, but also had appeared in two movies in the 1940s - "Kit Carson" and "The Desert Song."
Dr. Groman purchased the locomotive, renamed it the "Kit Carson," and had it shipped by rail from Gallup to Lacona, N.Y., 47 miles north of Syracuse. It traveled the remaining five miles on a flatbed truck to a 160 acre parcel of farm land owned by Dr. Groman. The purchase of this 1921 Porter locomotive was the catalyst for construction of Rail City Museum. Dr. Groman spent the next 2 1/2 years purchasing more equipment, dismantling many railroad structures and buildings, and reassembling them at Rail City.
Rail City opened July 4, 1955 and hosted over 30,000 visitors in its first year of operation. And even after its grand opening, Dr. Groman continued his quest for authentic railroad equipment and structures. Rail City Museum located on "Scenic Route 3" was a major tourist attraction not only in New York State but the northeast United States and Canada as well.
The Rail City Historical Museum is a museum of a museum. It houses a static display of thousands of steam-era railroad photographs and memorabilia from a multitude of railroads as well as the complete history of Rail City Museum during its construction and operation from 1952 to 1974. The museum is located in the former New York Central Railroad station from Deer River, NY.
Built in 1873, it was one of many original railroad structures dismantled and reconstructed by Dr. Groman at the site of Rail City Museum. After 21 years of neglect following the closing of Rail City Museum in 1974, the former Deer River Station was renovated in 1995 and re-opened as the Rail City Historical Museum in 1997.
For three years the Rail City Historical Museum had routine hours of operation from Memorial Day to mid-October of each year. However, the museum is currently open by appointment only from Memorial Day to September 30th. To make an appointment, email RCHM@railcitymuseum.com.
The museum is located approximately 50 miles north of Syracuse, NY and 30 miles south of Watertown, NY. Take Interstate Route 81 to exit 37 (Sandy Creek). Drive west to Main Street (Route 11), north on Ellisburg Road, west on Hadley Road and north on Rt. 3. The museum is 3/4 mile on the left side (south side) of Rt. 3. The museum can also be reached by mail:
Rail City Historical Museum, 162 Stanley Drive, Sandy Creek, NY 13145 |
