OYSTER BAY RAILROAD MUSEUM

 
Oyster Bay Railroad Museum

 

OBRM Bayview Ave - View W 6/03/2023
Photos/Archive: Steve Torborg

LIRR 35 3/12/2024 - OBRM
Photo: Javier Lopez

Oyster Bay Station aerial view NE - 4/23/2023 Photo/Archive: Brandon Kulik

On June 1, 2024, Javier Lopez installed the "National Register of Historic Places" plaque onto the street-side wall of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum building.

GS-1 Dinky #26 Cab

Dinky #26 Cab Controls: The throttle lever is directly connected via cable to the engine governor. It has a return spring and no notches.  The direction lever simply selects forward, neutral, or reverse.  This particular locomotive is only equipped with an independent brake.  There are no train brake or hoses as it was only meant to move non-functional locomotives throughout the shop.  The primary gauges are oil pressure, water temperature, air pressure in the main reservoir and brake cylinder, battery voltage, current draw by the traction motor, and an engine hour gauge.  John Petsche
 

These were two of three four-wheeled, chain driven, GE 25T 25 ton diesel locomotives that toiled away in the backshops of the Long Island Railroad from 1958 through the early 2000s. Used for shuttling locomotives and coaches to and from the shops, these engines served the railroad well, working in virtual anonymity. Preferred by the employees who used them, they were affectionately known as Dinky's. Dinky #26 has been restored and is open for visiting.  More information: GE GS-1 25 ton diesel locomotives

In the early 1920's, the LIRR ordered a fleet of Class N52A wood bodied, steel-framed cabin cars to bring up the rear of its freight trains. Built by American Car & Foundry, these cars served well for many years. Most were not retired until the late 1950's. At that point, a few were sold to private individuals and moved off of Long Island.

One of these cars, #12 built in 1927 for a cost of $17,880, found its way to the Shore Line Trolley Museum in Connecticut, where it was used for sleeping quarters by their volunteers. With alternate sleeping accommodations later available in the area, the Trolley Museum had little need for a caboose in their collection, at which time they offered to sell the car to the Railroad Museum for return to Long Island, where its historic significance would be realized.  In 2002, after years of fundraising and hard work by our volunteers, #12 returned to Long Island.  This is open for viewing.

The one-quarter length model of an M-7 was used to simulate operating rail conditions for training and certifying Long Island Rail Road engineers.  This unit was acquired by the LIRR in the early 2000's and saw usage until 2017, when the carrier switched over to computer based training.

The M-7 simulator employs the same exterior appearance and interior components as an actual M-7 MU passenger car. These cars were delivered to the LIRR beginning in 2002 and are the current mainstay of the electrified fleet.   This is open for viewing.

The one-quarter length model of DE-30AC Diesel Locomotive was used to simulate operating rail conditions for training and certifying Long Island Rail Road engineers.

This unit was acquired by the LIRR in the early 2000's and saw usage until 2017, when the carrier switched over to computer based training.

The DE simulator employs the same exterior appearance and interior components as an actual DE-30AC Diesel Locomotive. These locomotives were delivered to the LIRR beginning in 1997 and are the current mainstay of the diesel fleet.   This is open for viewing.
 

To the average commuter on the LIRR during the middle of the twentieth century, there is probably nothing that symbolized their hours spent riding the rails more than the inside of a Ping Pong coach.  The P54 class coach operated on the LIRR from 1923 to 1974. The nickname "Ping Pong" was given to them due to the rougher ride they provided, particularly when compared to the heavier wooden coaches they replaced.

This car, #7433, was rescued from the scrap yard thanks to the hard work of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum leadership and the generosity of Island Rail, LLC, a corporate sponsor of the project. To the best of our knowledge, #7433 is the last of its kind to be preserved with original seating and equipment.
 

The cab unit came from a former New Haven Railroad FA-1 diesel locomotive numbered 0402, built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1947. In 1963, the New Haven traded in 0402 to Alco for the purchase of newer locomotives.  ALCO cut off the head end of the locomotive and sold the cab unit to the LIRR for display at the 1964 World's Fair. The public was allowed to climb up into the cab and have their photos taken while looking out the engineers window.

After the fair closed, the LIRR sold the cab unit to the Tanglewood Day Camp in Lynbrook, NY, where the unit was part of a children's playground. When the camp closed in 1988, the unit was made available
to the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum.   This is open for viewing.

LIRR #35 constructed in 1928 in the Juniata PA shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad for service on its subsidiary, the Long Island Rail Road.  This Class G5s locomotive employed the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and was specifically designed to meet the demands of commuter passenger service. It was capable of rapidly accelerating large trains of passenger cars from the many stations encountered on each trip.

After 27 years of faithful service, Locomotive #35 was formally retired in 1955, as the railroad replaced its steam locomotives with more efficient diesel-electric locomotives.  The very last steam locomotive to operate on Long Island, Locomotive #35 was donated by the Long Island Rail Road to Nassau County, and was exhibited for many years in Salisbury (later Eisenhower) Park.

Twenty-three years later, the locomotive was removed from the Park. Today, Steam Locomotive #35 is maintained for Nassau County by the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum in historic Oyster Bay. Currently, the Locomotive is entering phase 1 of its restoration, for which it will be transported to Steam Operations Corp. of Birmingham, AL.  For the latest news on restoration at the Museum, particularly the rolling stock, be sure to visit our LIRR Steam Locomotive #35 Facebook page!
 

More Info:  LIRR Class N22

The one-quarter length model of an MU1 was used to simulate operating rail conditions for training
and certifying Long Island Rail Road engineers.

This unit was acquired by the LIRR in 1995 and saw usage up until a few years ago, when the carrier began using the current Model M7 cars, phasing out all M-1 equipment.

The M-1 simulator employs the same exterior appearance and interior components as an actual M-1 MU passenger car. These cars were delivered to the LIRR beginning in 1969 and were the mainstay of the electrified fleet until retired in the early 2000's.   This is open for viewing.

OBRM "Station" office building 2023

The repurposed building redone in classic
board and batten style siding, trim, station signage, LIRR hanging lantern, and a switch stand with red target. 2023

A LIRR DE30AC diesel engine and C3 Bi-level cab car built from a golf cart and utility trailer donated by John Specce, OBRM President.  It occasionally appears in local village parades.

OBRM Garden Railroad Sign

OBRM Garden Railroad live plantings
by Dave Morrison

Garden Railroad- Coaling Tower
Passenger and Freights Stations

Yard Tower - Engine House - MOW Shanty

OBRM's operating Lionel Layout was designed for young folks to enjoy model trains in action!

Three 4x8 pieces of plywood were placed together for the amazing portable layout by George Schlicter which we painted and installed 3 loops.  The outer loop is 72” radius, the second loop is 54” radius and the interior loop is 42” radius.  In addition, a center figure eight will feature a Peanuts based operating Handcar going around.  Almost all our trains are modern Lionel/MTH/K-Line and accessories donated by
Dr. Tim Howell from Madison, WI.

To date, we have wired up vintage post-WW II block and semaphore signals, as well as grade crossing gates and three crossing gatemen. Additionally, we have more additions this year planned, such as lighting and utilization of donated trains, to be able to change the configurations every few months.

Plans call to run a full set of LIRR BB1’s hauling the passenger train on the larger outer loop with two different freight trains on the inner loops featuring LIRR ALCO RS-1 and RS-3 freight engines. We also have a LIRR 2-6-0 Camelback steamer and a LIRR GP38-2 for additional freight operations.

The Wilkinson foundation donated an MTH G5s model of #35 with the tender from #21 painted with the Sunrise Special Logo, as well as a set of 70 foot Madison cars.  Info: Gary Farkash