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, New York, 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 a fascinating 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: "Stanley A. Groman's museum in upstate New York was a pioneering example of railroad preservation. The railroad museum field is booming today, with scores of attractions welcoming millions of visitors each year. But back in the 1950's, 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"
This website is dedicated to the memory of Stanley A. Groman, MD and his passionate obsession to create a living memorial to the steam age of railroads - Rail City Museum.
Visitors to Rail City wave from the top of a 50,000 gallon RR water tank from Lowville, NY. Engineer, Ray Owens and Fireman, John Miller are in the cab of "Old 38" from the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad, Huntingdon, PA. Old 38 made the Final Steam Passenger Run in New York State on the NYC RR while enroute to Rail City on June 6, 1954. [RCHM Photo Collection]
"The first steam-operating railroad museum in the U.S.A."
Website owned and operated by the:
Rail City Historical Museum
162 Stanley Drive
Sandy Creek, NY 13145
Robert J Groman, Owner/Curator
Last updated
on April 18, 2013