About the Empire State Railway Museum

From the late 1800's through the 1940's the rugged steam locomotives of the Ulster & Delaware, Catskill Mountain Railroad, New York Central, New York Ontario & Western and Delaware & Northern climbed their steep and winding mountain grades bound for the grand hotels and humble boarding houses of the Catskills Mountains. They returned with lumber, bluestone, dairy and agricultural products of the region for transport to the New York City metropolitan area.

ESRM is dedicated to bringing alive the history of these railroads, their people and the towns they served, to the residents and visitors of the Catskill Mountains and the greater Hudson Valley.

Chartered by the New York State Department of Education in 1960, the ESRM established residence in the former Ulster & Delaware station in Phoenicia, New York in 1984. Built in 1899, the historic structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the Museum's summer exhibition of photos, films and artifacts and is the center of our restoration of rolling stock. Three antique railway cars are currently being restored in Phoenicia - a 1900's Boston & Maine wooden baggage car, a 28 foot Pennsylvania RR 1890's wooden bobber caboose and a 54 foot Central Vermont 1929 wood/steel auto-carrying box car (one of the earliest of its kind).

The ESRM founded and licenses the publication "Guide to Tourist Railroads and Museums", North America's definitive guide to tourist railroads and museums. Museum members are invited to learn railroading firsthand by attending seminars and participating in work sessions on locomotive and rolling stock resotration. Work continues on the restoration of our 1910 Alco 2-8-0 Consolidation-type steam locomotive located near Kingston, New York. We anticipate in the near future that the #23 will be running on the tracks along the Ashokan Reservoir offering spectacular vistas of the Catskill Mountains.