Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum facts for kids

The Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum (often called RGVRRM) is a cool place where you can see and learn about old trains! It's located in Industry, New York, which is a small area in the town of Rush. The museum started in 1971 when it bought an old train station from the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.

Since then, the museum has grown a lot. It now has a one-mile train track where you can take rides! This track even connects to the New York Museum of Transportation nearby. This makes RGVRRM one of the few train museums in New York State where you can actually ride on the trains.

The museum used to be part of a bigger group called the Rochester Chapter National Railway Historical Society until 2011. Today, the museum has more than 40 pieces of historic train equipment. This includes powerful diesel and old steam engines, electric trolley cars, freight cars (which carry goods), cabooses (the cars at the end of freight trains), passenger cars, and special work equipment.

You can also see several old train buildings at the museum. There's the 1909 Industry Depot, which was built by the Erie Railroad. There's also a waiting shelter from the Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo Railroad and a small building where a crossing guard used to work for the New York Central Railroad.

The museum is open to the public on certain weekends from June through October. You can even take train rides! Everything at the museum is run by amazing volunteers who love trains and history.

Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum

Established	1971
Location	Industry, New York
Type	Railroad museum

The Museum's Story

How the Train Site Began

The land where the RGVRRM sits has been important for trains since 1851. That's when the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad was first created. An early train station here served the nearby village of Scottsville from 1853 to 1874. People in Scottsville used to get their daily mail, packages, and ride trains from this station. They would even take a special bus called an "omnibus" to get to the station.

Later, in the early 1900s, the Erie Railroad made a part of its line electric. This was the only part of the Erie Railroad that was electric! Electric trains ran from Rochester to Mount Morris, New York, starting in 1907. The trip took about an hour and ten minutes, and trains ran almost every hour. However, this electric service didn't make enough money, so it stopped in 1934.

Passenger train service at this station ended in September 1941. But freight trains, which carry goods, continued to use the line for many years. The Industry depot (station) was used for freight until the mid-1950s, then it was just used for storage.

Over the years, the train lines changed hands many times. Eventually, a short line called the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad took over the route north of Avon in 1996. They still operate this old Erie branch today.

The train station itself had a few different names over time. First, it was called Scottsville, after the village. Then, it was named Oatka, after a nearby creek. In 1902, a school for boys moved to the area. So, when the current station was built around 1909, its name was changed to Industry to match the new community the school created.

How the Museum Started

Industry
The old Erie Railroad station in 2010. You can see the signal and milepost.
Location	282 Rush Scottsville Road (NY 251), Rush, New York 14543
Coordinates	43.0035, -77.721
Owned by	Erie Railroad
Line(s)	Rochester Branch
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Other information
Station code	3975 (Erie Railroad)
History
Opened	1853; 172 years ago (1853)
Closed	September 30, 1941; 83 years ago (September 30, 1941) (passenger service) November 20, 1950; 74 years ago (November 20, 1950) (agency)
Rebuilt	1909; 116 years ago (1909)
Previous names	Scottsville (1853–1903) Pixley (1903–1906) Oatka (1906–1909)
Former services
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station West Henrietta toward Rochester Rochester Branch Gannett toward Avon

The Rochester Chapter, a group of train enthusiasts, was formed in 1937. By the late 1960s, they had collected so many old train items that they decided to start a museum! After looking at several places around Rochester, New York, they chose the old Erie Depot in Industry.

This station was built in 1909. It had two waiting rooms, separated by the agent's office. Back then, it was common to have separate waiting areas for men and women. Later, one waiting room was used to keep students from the nearby state school separate from the public.

The last passenger train stopped at Industry on September 30, 1941. The station officially closed in 1950. The Rochester Chapter found out the abandoned station was available. By December 1969, they decided it would be their new home. They bought the station in 1971 for a symbolic price of just $1.00! Many volunteers worked hard for years to restore the station to look like it did in the 1930s.

Since getting the station, the museum has been growing. Volunteers built new train tracks, even though the Erie Lackawanna track was still used for freight trains. In 1979, they built enough track to bring in their first piece of equipment: a Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway caboose (car #280). In 1981, the museum got its first locomotive (train engine), EK 6, which used to work for Eastman Kodak.

Volunteers kept adding more train and construction equipment. This led to the completion of a one-mile demonstration railroad in 1993. At first, small "track cars" (also called speeders) were used to give visitors rides. Now, for special events, larger diesel-hauled trains are used. In 1998, the museum started its popular "Diesel Days" weekend, showing off their working vintage diesel engines.

Regular track car rides ended in 2010. Now, all rides are given by diesel-hauled trains using restored cabooses. The museum continues to grow and plans to build more storage space for its amazing collection. It's special because it's one of the only train museums in New York State where you can actually ride on the trains. The museum is proud to keep most of its collection in working order, which makes visiting even more fun!

What You Can See: The Collection

The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum has a very large collection of train equipment. They have 10 locomotives (train engines), 13 freight cars, 15 passenger cars, and many other pieces of rail equipment.

One special train engine is the "Hammerhead" Lehigh Valley Railroad RS3m 211, which is part of the working collection. The museum is also home to the only remaining trolley car (Car #60) from the old Rochester Subway system. This car came back to Rochester in 1998 after being away for many years. In 1998, a large steel building was built to help protect and restore the equipment. In 2007, seven special passenger cars arrived. These were built in 1941 for the famous Empire State Express train.

Because Rochester is known as the "World's Image Center" and is famous for photography (thanks to Eastman Kodak), the museum also has a huge collection of photos. A notable part is the collection of old steam-era pictures from Robert Carper, a Rochester native who wrote a book called "American Railroads in Transition." Many photos from his book are now at the museum and on display.

The museum also has a big collection of signaling equipment. Rochester was home to a company called General Railway Signal, which made these signals. So, a long-term goal for the museum is to set up and operate signals on their railroad. They have a working semaphore (an old-style signal with a moving arm), searchlight signals, and parts of other old signaling machines.

Train Engines (Locomotives)

LV 211 and USA 1843 parked in the Industry Yard.

Passenger Cars

Erie C254 and 1654 at night next to the Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo Waiting room.

The museum has many different passenger cars. In 1988, the museum and some members bought five stainless steel passenger cars built in 1941 by the Budd Company. These cars used to belong to the New York Central Railroad. They bought more cars in 1990 and 1992. These cars have been used for scenic train trips. As of 2008, they are being fixed up with new windows and better heating.

Another interesting car is the "Pine Falls," which is a 1939 Pullman sleeping and lounge car. It was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The museum also has the very last car from the last electric train that left Hoboken Terminal in 1984.

Two baggage cars are also part of the collection. One old baggage car from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is used as a tool car and workshop. Another old baggage car from the Lackawanna Railroad has been fixed up to hold displays. An old Railway Post Office car from the Pennsylvania Railroad is also being restored to hold more displays.

Freight Cars

The museum has 13 pieces of freight equipment. Two cabooses are used most often. Erie C254 was restored in the mid-1990s and is used regularly. It was built by the Erie Railroad in 1946. Penn Central 18562 was built in East Rochester, New York, in 1969. It was given to the museum in 1996 and restored to look like it did when it was new.

MDT 14053 is a special refrigerated boxcar that used ice to keep things cold. It was built by Pacific Car and Foundry. This car now holds displays about the Despatch Shops in East Rochester, where thousands of cars like it were built until 1970.

An old Lehigh Valley Railroad caboose, 95100, was bought in 2011 from a local scrap yard and is being restored to working condition. In 2014, a flatcar that used to belong to the U.S. Army was acquired. It was turned into an open-air car where visitors can ride! This conversion was finished, and the car started carrying passengers in August 2017.