Welcome to the Empire State Railway Museum

Come and celebrate the rich history of the Catskill Mountain Railroads at the historic Phoenicia Railroad Station located in the heart of the Catskills.

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Our Mission

The Empire State Railway Museum's mission is to preserve the history of the Catskill Mountain and surrounding railroads and their impact on our culture, society, economy and communities through education, interpretation, restoration and preservation of not only railroad records, photographs, equipment, cars and locomotives, but also that of the personal histories and recollections of those involved with and affected by the railroads.

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Railroad Communication Artifacts

Railroad Communication Artifacts come in many forms such as visual and auditory. Railroads in the United States were founded around 1826 with photography following in 1839. Then in 1844 came the telegraph and in 1868 it was the typewriter. All of these inventions helped to shape our country during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Of course, there were people involved every step of the way.

The Empire State Railway Museum has many artifacts of these forms of communication on display throughout the historic Phoenicia Station (an artifact itself) built in 1899. Station Agents kept the trains running and on time with the help of kerosene lanterns, marker lights and the telegraph plus various outside signaling devices. In the 1909 picture below is the photographer (left), the station agent (sitting) and the telegrapher. The bottom right on the picture is the typewriter we have on display which has to be at least 115 years old.

Visit us to see and discover more!


Our Address:

70 Lower High St
Phoenicia, NY 12464

Our Hours:

Open 10am-4pm, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from Memorial Day through Columbus Day.

Site by Pioneer

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