Phoenicia Railroad Station
Encyclopedia
The Phoenicia Railroad Station is located on High Street just south of Phoenicia
, New York, United States. It is a frame building dating to the end of the 19th century.
It was built by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad
to replace an earlier station, serving primarily the patrons of hotels in the surrounding Catskill Mountains
. It remained in use throughout the 20th century, as the Ulster and Delaware eventually was absorbed into the New York Central Railroad
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1995, and today is home to the Empire State Railway Museum
and a stop on the Catskill Mountain Railroad
.
state highway
. It is situated in an open area on the flood plain of nearby Esopus Creek
across from the southwestern foot of Mount Tremper
. There is a parking lot to the south, and a kiosk to the north, but no other buildings in the area save a small sandwich shop. The track currently used by the CMRR is on the east side of the station. It is included in the Register listing as a contributing resource
.
The building itself is a one-story rectangular frame
structure on a stone foundation
sided in wood shingles. Its peaked roof, shingled in asphalt, is pierced by a stone chimney on the west side.
Continuous wooden molding
runs around the building where the foundation, of bluestone
in an ashlar pattern, gives way to the shingles. The wall flares outward slightly between it and another molded course
below the windows. The roof has a deep overhang, with exposed eaves and decorative brackets
. It shelters a wooden platform, raised so that boarding stools would not be needed, at trackside.
Inside, the station retains its original layout except for one closet that was built for electrical control equipment. Both the waiting room and the baggage room are now given over to museum displays. They are sided in narrow beadboard yellow pine, laid both horizontally and vertically, up to the vaulted ceiling. The floors have three-inch (7.5 cm) tongue and groove
planking.
Between the two rooms on the track side is the ticket agent's office, which retains its brass window bars and milk glass windows. The original benches, water fountain and sink are still in the waiting room along with an original heating grate. A cast iron
air distribution pedestal was moved slightly from its original location to make room for a new electrical outlet.
The track next to the station is standard gauge
. It is the only one of five that were once here.
to what is now Kingston
, already the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal
, which had already established itself as the main route carrying coal from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City via the Hudson River
. Phoenicia would be for a long time the western terminus of its narrow gauge lines, with a branch, the Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad, going up Stony Clove Notch
to Hunter
in 1882.
The first Phoenicia station was an 1870 masonry
building located near the present intersection of Plank Road and Lower High Street in Phoenicia. The station's business increased when the branch was built in 1882; this led to two portico
s being added, one on each side. Eventually the Ulster and Delaware would reach Oneonta
. In 1899 the line was converted to standard gauge
due to steady growth in its passenger service to mountain resorts.
This new pre-fabricated structure (a near duplicate of the still-extant Oneonta Station, now a local bar) was the now the busiest station
on the line, serving both the main line and the branch. In 1913, its busiest year, 675,000 passengers passed through. Its five tracks and relocation prevented the backups that had been caused by the trains stopped at Phoenicia to load and unload passengers, since trains extended onto the nearby bridge.
It also had a freight house
, which served both the main line, and the branches, just like the station. In 1906 it was used as a location by Biograph
for Holdup of the Rocky Mountain Express, an early nickelodeon film shot on paper
, since transferred to film by the Library of Congress
. Even after the Ulster and Delaware collapsed and was sold to the New York Central Railroad
in 1932, the station remained busy. After passenger service was ended in 1954, the station was left to deteriorate. In 1976 Conrail ended freight service.
But before it could be destroyed, John Ham, a local railroad buff, purchased the station from the New York Central, and it is currently the home of the Empire State Railway Museum
, which opened there in 1985. It is also a station on the Catskill Mountain Railroad
, a local tourist line that goes from Phoenicia to Cold Brook Station. The railroad is planned to go all the way to Kingston
in the future, where it is are currently restoring a 2-8-0
steam locomotive
. There are even plans for the CMRR to go to the site of the old Grand Hotel Station.
After the Esopus flooded following Hurricane Irene
in 2011, the museum building suffered damage and closed indefinitely. The museum's staff intend to repair it and reopen.
Phoenicia, New York
Phoenicia is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 381 at the 2000 census.Phoenicia is located in the northeast part of Town of Shandaken, on Route 28. It is the largest community in the town...
, New York, United States. It is a frame building dating to the end of the 19th century.
It was built by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad Company was a Class I railroad located in New York State, headquartered in Rondout and founded in 1866. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route To the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D ran from Kingston Point, on the Hudson River,...
to replace an earlier station, serving primarily the patrons of hotels in the surrounding Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
. It remained in use throughout the 20th century, as the Ulster and Delaware eventually was absorbed into the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1995, and today is home to the Empire State Railway Museum
Empire State Railway Museum
The Empire State Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station, Phoenicia, New York....
and a stop on the Catskill Mountain Railroad
Catskill Mountain Railroad
The Catskill Mountain Railroad , is a heritage railroad based in Shokan, New York, United States that began operations in 1983. It leases from Ulster County the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad tracks from Mile Post 2.8 in Kingston to MP 41.4 in Highmount, where it connects with the Delaware...
.
Property
The station is located just south of High Street, a road that leads into Phoenicia from the NY 28New York State Route 28
New York State Route 28 is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major routes, including Interstate 88 , U.S. Route 20 , and the...
state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
. It is situated in an open area on the flood plain of nearby Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties. Many tributaries...
across from the southwestern foot of Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek....
. There is a parking lot to the south, and a kiosk to the north, but no other buildings in the area save a small sandwich shop. The track currently used by the CMRR is on the east side of the station. It is included in the Register listing as a contributing resource
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
The building itself is a one-story rectangular frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
sided in wood shingles. Its peaked roof, shingled in asphalt, is pierced by a stone chimney on the west side.
Continuous wooden molding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
runs around the building where the foundation, of bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
in an ashlar pattern, gives way to the shingles. The wall flares outward slightly between it and another molded course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
below the windows. The roof has a deep overhang, with exposed eaves and decorative brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
. It shelters a wooden platform, raised so that boarding stools would not be needed, at trackside.
Inside, the station retains its original layout except for one closet that was built for electrical control equipment. Both the waiting room and the baggage room are now given over to museum displays. They are sided in narrow beadboard yellow pine, laid both horizontally and vertically, up to the vaulted ceiling. The floors have three-inch (7.5 cm) tongue and groove
Tongue and groove
A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded...
planking.
Between the two rooms on the track side is the ticket agent's office, which retains its brass window bars and milk glass windows. The original benches, water fountain and sink are still in the waiting room along with an original heating grate. A cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
air distribution pedestal was moved slightly from its original location to make room for a new electrical outlet.
The track next to the station is standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. It is the only one of five that were once here.
History
Thomas Cornell started the Ulster and Delaware's predecessor, the Rondout and Oswego, in 1866 to get goods from Central New YorkCentral New York
Central New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
to what is now Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, already the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Delaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which later developed the Delaware and Hudson Railway...
, which had already established itself as the main route carrying coal from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City via the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Phoenicia would be for a long time the western terminus of its narrow gauge lines, with a branch, the Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad, going up Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch is a narrow pass, roughly 2,220 feet in elevation located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. It is traversed by New York State Route 214, although in the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad went through it as well.The notch divides...
to Hunter
Hunter (village), New York
Hunter is a village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 502 at the 2010 census.The Village of Hunter is in the northwest part of the Town of Hunter on Route 23A.- History :...
in 1882.
The first Phoenicia station was an 1870 masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
building located near the present intersection of Plank Road and Lower High Street in Phoenicia. The station's business increased when the branch was built in 1882; this led to two portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s being added, one on each side. Eventually the Ulster and Delaware would reach Oneonta
Oneonta, New York
Oneonta is a city in southern Otsego County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, had a population of 13,901. Its nickname is "City of the Hills." While the word "oneonta" is of undetermined origin, it is popularly believed to mean "place of open rocks" in the Iroquois language...
. In 1899 the line was converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
due to steady growth in its passenger service to mountain resorts.
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the line, serving both the main line and the branch. In 1913, its busiest year, 675,000 passengers passed through. Its five tracks and relocation prevented the backups that had been caused by the trains stopped at Phoenicia to load and unload passengers, since trains extended onto the nearby bridge.
It also had a freight house
Freight House
The Freight House is a historic railroad building just north of Union Station in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri. The renovated Freight House is now home to three award-winning restaurants: Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, Grunauer and Lidia's...
, which served both the main line, and the branches, just like the station. In 1906 it was used as a location by Biograph
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
for Holdup of the Rocky Mountain Express, an early nickelodeon film shot on paper
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
, since transferred to film by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. Even after the Ulster and Delaware collapsed and was sold to the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
in 1932, the station remained busy. After passenger service was ended in 1954, the station was left to deteriorate. In 1976 Conrail ended freight service.
But before it could be destroyed, John Ham, a local railroad buff, purchased the station from the New York Central, and it is currently the home of the Empire State Railway Museum
Empire State Railway Museum
The Empire State Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station, Phoenicia, New York....
, which opened there in 1985. It is also a station on the Catskill Mountain Railroad
Catskill Mountain Railroad
The Catskill Mountain Railroad , is a heritage railroad based in Shokan, New York, United States that began operations in 1983. It leases from Ulster County the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad tracks from Mile Post 2.8 in Kingston to MP 41.4 in Highmount, where it connects with the Delaware...
, a local tourist line that goes from Phoenicia to Cold Brook Station. The railroad is planned to go all the way to Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
in the future, where it is are currently restoring a 2-8-0
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
. There are even plans for the CMRR to go to the site of the old Grand Hotel Station.
After the Esopus flooded following Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene (2011)
Hurricane Irene was a large and powerful Atlantic hurricane that left extensive flood and wind damage along its path through the Caribbean, the United States East Coast and as far north as Atlantic Canada in 2011...
in 2011, the museum building suffered damage and closed indefinitely. The museum's staff intend to repair it and reopen.