Oyster Bay Station

Work is underway towards our goal of turning the Oyster Bay railroad station into a museum

 Paperwork is being finalized to turn the historic Oyster Bay station over to the town of Oyster Bay and is to be turned into the Railroad Museum of Oyster Bay.  Oyster Bay is the end of the line for the LIRR's very scenic, lightly traveled, non-electrified Oyster Bay branch and includes a small yard and turntable.  Oyster Bay also happens to be where LIRR steam made its last stand.  Right up to the end of steam, 35 and a few of her sisters pulled commuters from Jamaica to Oyster Bay. It also does not hurt that President Theodore Roosevelt many times traveled from his nearby home, Sagamore Hill, to the Oyster Bay station to start his journeys around the country and world.  Lastly, Oyster Bay is in the midst of an historic revitalization program in which the waterfront area, located in close proximity to the current station and yard, is to be upgraded to increase tourism.  An operating steam locomotive is a natural fit and many in the community feel that locomotive 35 should be included in these plans.

With these factors, it seems that Oyster Bay has the makings to be a perfect spot for 35 to come home to. Thanks to the positive response we received from our neighbors and friends to our 2003 Capital Fund Raising plan we raised enough money for the exterior renovation of the station to begin. The leaking roof was replaced in 2003and in 2004, work began on stripping off many layers of old paint and repairing the many sections of wood where time and the elements have taken their toll. A historical conservator who has worked on many high profile restorations, Walter DeGroot, has completed this work and the exterior looks better than it has in many decades. Copper gutters and downspouts have also been added giving a crowning touch to the restoration. In addition our own volunteers have removed a historically inappropriate light fixture from the west end of the building and have gotten a no longer needed phone line and pay phones removed from that end.

To make sure the building stays looking good, we contracted with Knock-Out Pest Control to add an inconspucuous bird abatement system to the building. Pigeons and other birds had taken up residence under the eaves of the roof and left their droppings everywhere. The system has been installed and the exterior of the building is now a much more pleasant place. To commemorate the completion of this work, Arthur Katz, owner of Knock-Out Pest Control, arranged a ceremony which also acted as the formal turning over of the station from the LIRR to the Town of Oyster Bay. The ceremony was held on February 18, 2005 where a number of speeches where made and LIRR President Jim Dermody presented a key plaque to Town Supervisor John Venditto.  In addition Jim Foote, Theodore Roosevelt impersonator, was there and said some words in typical Teddy Roosevelt fashion, commemorating the fact the Oyster Bay railroad station was the home station of that famous president.

With the building will sound and dry and our attention can turn towards the next major hurdle, restoring the interior. This will be no easy task as the LIRR ripped out most of the original interior during moderizations and there are no known interior photos prior to modernizations of the 1960's and 1970's . In the summer of 2003 a hardy group of our own volunteers as well as other from the Oyster Bay community removed many of these moderizations, lots of blue tiles and aluminum ceiling grid tiles among other things, and revealed the beautiful ceiling timbers and second floor windows. Once restored the building will be quite a showpiece and a building the town will be proud of. Along these lines, we are requesting that you consider making a donation to the station restoration effort. Checks should be made out to: "Oyster Bay Railroad Museum - RR Station." In this way, railroad station restoration donations will not be mixed with ordinary contributions to our organization. Please keep in mind that all donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your anticipated generous support.

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