New York Museum of Transportation

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The New York Museum of Transportation (NYMT) is a nonprofit railroad museum in Rush, a suburb of Rochester, New York. It opened in 1975 at 6393 East River Road. Volunteers built a private two-mile rail line that links NYMT with the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, so visitors can ride trains from both collections. NYMT operates the state’s only electric trolley ride.

History in brief: The museum’s roots trace back to the Magee Transportation Museum near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. After Hurricane Agnes flooded the tracks in 1972 and founder Harry Magee died, the collection was sold in 1973. Henry Hamlin planned a Riverton light-rail project near Rochester and helped bring several preserved streetcars to a barn in West Henrietta. Formal organization as NYMT came in 1975, and volunteers began salvaging track for their campus rail line. In the 1980s, NYMT began offering trolley rides, and in 1993 the NYMT tracks connected with the neighboring Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, allowing longer demonstration runs. Over the years, the museum added notable vehicles, including two interurban trolleys from Philadelphia, a former SEPTA snow sweeper body, and a modern Newark City Subway car, all of which support ongoing restoration and passenger rides. Electrification progressed in stages, with regular trolley service beginning after the first section was completed in 2001 and expanding to Midway by 2006.

Today, NYMT houses a diverse collection of historic streetcars and related railroad equipment and continues to work toward restoring more pieces for operation.

Visiting: The museum is open Sundays from mid-May through late October, 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Trolley rides run on most open Sundays, using cars 161 or 168, from NYMT to Midway. Some December weekends offer Christmas-themed train rides.