Phoenicia Railroad Station
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Phoenicia Railroad Station | |
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(National Register of Historic Places) | |
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Location: | Phoenicia, New York |
Nearest city: | Kingston, New York |
Coordinates: | |
Built/Founded: | 1882 |
Added to NRHP: | 1995 |
Governing body: | private |
The old Phoenicia Station, MP 27.5, was a masonry building built for the Ulster & Delaware in 1870, and was located near the present intersection of Plank Rd. and Lower High St. in Phoenicia. The station's business increased when the Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad (SC&CMRR) was built in 1882; this led to two porticos being added, one on each side. However, the old station was torn down when the SC&CMRR was standard gauged, and replaced with a new one a few hundred feet away.
This new pre-fabricated structure was the now the busiest station on the line, serving both the main line and the branch line (being the branch line was busier than the main line), and was 27 miles (43 km) from Kingston Point Station. It also had a freight house, which served both the main line, and the branches, just like the station. The depot even had a good life under New York Central rule, and was on the route of many tours, like the 1936 Wonder Trip, and the Kaaterskill Excursion. This station enjoyed a busy life until the end of passenger service, when it was left to become an eyesore.
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. 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 they 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.