I just came back from visiting this museum located in Riverhead, NY. It’s a moderately large place with lot’s to see and do. But what this visit different was that it had lots of equipment that was not in the best of condition. This isn’t the muesum’s fault but that of time.
Time is the enemy of old equipment that either wasn’t adequately preserved or that no thjought might be of interest to someone in the future. An example of this is one lone exhibit which stand juts behind the building that house the museum gift shop. This locomovive was built by Porter and once worked for one of Brooklyn’s best known waterfront railroads. In fact it worked for that railroad until 1963 and was probably the last steam locomotive east of the Mississippi still in revenue service.
It’s wheels and drive train are long gone. It’s cab is a shambles. If the plaque that sits in front of it is correct, The huld was saved from scrapper’s torch by a matter of hours.
It sits there derelict but not quite forgotten, yet it is ignored by just about everyone who walks by it with just a passing glance if at all.
It isn’t the only such derelict at the museum. There is a turntable which is not located in a pit. There are drivers of what was once proud steam locomotive there in the grass behind the tent they used to shelter those who stopped by for a meal or snack.
In another part of the museum along the tracks there sits the chasis and wheels of what was once a another steam locomotive. If one looks at for a while one can see that was 4-6-0 but it has no boiler, no rods or cab. it doesn’t even have its leading truck attached. The truck is there but the chasis is supported by steal and wooden beams. Behind it one sees a tender off its trucks. The trucks are located on an adjacent track but need some work.
Further down the line one sees some old baggage cars. One of these looks to be a refugee from a circus train while another may have once held some exhibits bu
Unfortunately it’s not the only museum with stuff falling apart! The Steamtown National Historic Site, in Scranton Pa has dozens of pieces of rolling stock in deplorable condition on the property and in plain sight for everyone to see!! There is a small air museum at Teterboro Airport in NJ that also haas a lot of stuff in bad condition - sad to see! [:(]
I’ll have to check this out next time I the family doe one of our NY journeys. I can recall doing LIRR trips between Kings Park, NY and Penn Station many, many times back in the 70s when I was growing up and we would visit family. Jamie
I can understand that. Museums like that rarely have enough funding and manpower. But they still seem to be trying to get money from various functions and tourism. For example, this past weeked were billed as “family days” and they had good attendance at least from what I could see. The kids loved it but really don’t know how many of the adults who were there did.
Some of the things they had there were well maintained but some of the other things were really not in anything near good condition. I doubt that was the museum’s fault because it seems to me that the site was used to store many of the LIRRs relics as well.
Unfortunately, like Number 16, these relics are beyond any reasonable hope of restoration.
I can recall visiting an undle who used to live in Long Beach by riding the LIRR too. I rarely get to see the LIRR these days except when the tracks cross over the Long Island Expressway on trips into Manhattan on the express bus. I don’t do that very often these days because I no longer work in Manhattan.
I can understand that, but it seems that they do have some nice exhibits that one can enter. Unfortunately, unless the LIRR cooperates, these exhibits total the 1964 World’s Fair train exhibit, an old freight house that houses an O-Scale model railroad, an old bay window caboose, some speeders, the derelicts I spoke about ealier and the gift shop (also housing another O-Scale layout).
To bad they don’t offer guided tours or more information about their exhibits. Surely there must be some retired ex LIRR folks who could add color and information to what is on display.
The 4-6-0 with no boiler is a LIRR G-5. The boiler is off site being re-tubed. Money and volunteers are always limited. This is a very long running project but is seems to be getting close to being completed. There are plans of running the loco and some coaches to Greenport and back. The plan has support of the local governments. There is a turntable and another museum building out there.
There is another G-5 in Oyster Bay (also in pieces) that is being worked on. They are also restoring the station and have gotten grant money. They also have some equipment that needs TLC.