Phoenicia station

Phoenicia station

Company type	Former railway station
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1870
Fate	Passenger service ended in 1954; now a museum
Headquarters	Phoenicia, New York , United States
Products	Passenger and freight rail services (historical)
Parent	Ulster and Delaware Railroad (until 1932), New York Central Railroad (1932–1976)

Phoenicia station is a former railway depot situated on High Street just south of Phoenicia, New York. Constructed in 1899 by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, this wooden structure replaced an earlier facility and primarily catered to travelers visiting hotels in the Catskill Mountains region.

Following the acquisition of the U&D by the New York Central Railroad on February 1, 1932, the station remained operational for approximately 55 years until its final passenger service concluded on March 31, 1954. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 under the name Phoenicia Railroad Station, it currently serves as the home of the Empire State Railway Museum.

Station design

Positioned just south of High Street, which connects Phoenicia to NY 28 state highway, the station rests on the floodplain adjacent to Esopus Creek near Mount Tremper. To its south lies a parking area, while a kiosk and a small sandwich shop are located to the north.

This single-story frame building is supported by a stone foundation and clad with wooden shingles. Its peaked roof, covered with asphalt shingles, includes a stone chimney on the western side.

A continuous wooden trim runs around the building at the junction where the bluestone ashlar foundation meets the shingle siding. The walls slightly flare between this molding and another decorative band located beneath the windows. A pronounced roof overhang with exposed rafters and ornamental brackets provides shelter over a raised wooden platform facing the tracks.

Inside, much of the original floor plan remains intact except for an added closet housing electrical equipment. The former waiting and baggage rooms have been repurposed as exhibit spaces for the museum, featuring narrow beadboard yellow pine paneling that extends up to a vaulted ceiling. The flooring consists of three-inch tongue-and-groove planks.

Between these rooms sits the ticket agent’s office, which still retains brass window grilles and coffee-glass panes. Original furnishings such as benches, a water fountain, sink, and heating grate are preserved within the waiting room. A cast iron pedestal for air distribution was repositioned slightly to accommodate new electrical wiring.

The adjacent track is standard gauge—the sole remaining one out of five tracks that once existed at this location.

History

The Ulster and Delaware’s predecessor company, Rondout and Oswego, was established in 1866 by Thomas Cornell to facilitate freight transport from Central New York to Kingston, then connected to the Delaware and Hudson Canal—the principal coal shipment route from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City via the Hudson River. Phoenicia acted as the southern endpoint for its narrow-gauge lines for many years. In 1882, the Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad branch was inaugurated through Stony Clove Notch toward Hunter.

The original Phoenicia station was a masonry structure built in 1870 near Plank Road and Lower High Street. Following increased traffic after the branch line’s opening in 1882, porticos were added on both ends of this building. By 1900, Ulster and Delaware extended service to Oneonta. Due to rising passenger volumes heading to mountain resorts, the branch line was converted from narrow gauge to standard gauge in 1899.

The present prefabricated building—a close replica of Oneonta’s station (currently operating as "The Depot," a bar and restaurant)—became the busiest stop along the route, serving both mainline and branch line trains. In its busiest year, 1913, it accommodated 676,000 passengers. Its five-track configuration and relocation eliminated train congestion that had previously spilled onto Esopus Creek bridge.

A freight house supported operations for both mainline and branch services. In 1906, it was utilized by Biograph Studios for filming Holdup of the Rocky Mountain Express, an early nickelodeon film now preserved by the Library of Congress. After Ulster and Delaware ceased operations, ownership transferred to New York Central Railroad in 1932; passenger services ended in 1954, while freight operations continued under Penn Central until ceasing in 1976.

Prior to demolition plans, local rail enthusiast John Ham acquired the station from Penn Central. Since 1985, it has been occupied by the Empire State Railway Museum.

The museum temporarily closed after sustaining flood damage during Hurricane Irene in 2011 but reopened following restoration efforts. It currently offers self-guided tours on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Columbus Day.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York