Train fans and history buffs alike will enjoy a visit to either branch (or both!) of the Railroad Museum of Long Island, located in Greenport and Riverhead, NY.
It’s natural that Greenport host a branch of the Railroad Museum of Long Island as Greenport is the reason the Long Island Railroad was built in the first place! While having a railroad on Long Island would have happened sooner or later, early Greenport’s buzz of commerce made the inevitability that much more of a going concern. While the rail link to Boston never materialized, the one from Greenport to Brooklyn was and, because of it, Long Island’s fame flourished and communities began to spring up along the tracks.
The Railroad Museum of Long Island details this long and fascinating history with exhibits, rolling stock, railway structures, and even a historic, pneumatic railroad turntable! While the Riverhead site contains the majority of the museum’s rolling stock, the Greenport site boasts a number of rare and historic railroad buildings and objects, such as the aforementioned turntable.
Greenport’s railroad turntable is a fascinating item. Used to turn locomotive engines around for the return journey up the line to Brooklyn, the turntable at Greenport is unique in that it is pneumatic: operated by use of compressed air, generated by the very steam engine that sat upon it needing turned around! This railroad turntable is one of only three pneumatic turntables thought to still exist in the world. Plans are in the works to get this fascinating piece of historical railroad equipment back up and running.
The Railroad Museum of Long Island contains many one-of-a-kind and rare attractions like this. From a steam engines to a double-decker passenger car, from historic railway structures to a miniature layout of the original Long Island line, the Railroad Museum of Long Island never fails to please.

The Railroad Museum of Long Island

444 Fourth Street, Greenport, NY
416 Griffing Avenue, Riverhead, NY
For more information, be sure to visit: www.rmli.us
Railroad Museum of Long Island Lodging
Long Island’s North Fork is a wonderful, historic community to visit – and a stay at locally owned and operated Arbor View House Bed and Breakfast is a great way to more fully immerse yourself in it. Our Long Island Wine Country B&B is proud to provide boutique hotel accommodations, award winning gourmet breakfasts, a wide range of spa services, and an insider’s knowledge of what to do and see during your Long Island getaway.