Non-profit prepares to move local railway exhibit

TOYX, Inc., the nonprofit organization that has transformed the historic Erie Turntable site into a vibrant railroad heritage attraction over the past four years, announced on Dec. 3 that it will suspend all operations within the City of Port Jervis and remove all 27 of its historic railcars, related exhibits and artifacts from the city over the next eight months. The announcement follows a notification from the City of Port Jervis that all leases and agreements on the 8.67-acre property will be terminated effective July 26, 2026, TOYX, Inc. said, as the city plans to pursue sale and redevelopment of the site.

The Erie Turntable property — once a central hub of the Erie Railroad’s extensive shop and roundhouse complex — has been a cornerstone of Port Jervis’s heritage since the railroad arrived in 1848. TOYX spent the last four years revitalizing the long-abandoned property, restoring historic railcars tied to the city’s past, installing public exhibits, partnering with local businesses and nonprofits, and bringing thousands of visitors to the site.

According to a TOYX, Inc. press release, City officials have informed the organization that they now intend to seek a New York State brownfield remediation grant for the heavily polluted property, then sell the land for private redevelopment.

TOYX’s collection includes four historic Erie, Erie Lackawanna, and Conrail cabooses, one-of-a-kind Erie Lackawanna and Conrail boxcars, and the only operational surviving Erie Lackawanna dining car. Together, these railcars represent the most complete collection of original-to-Port Jervis railroad rolling stock ever assembled. Most of these railcars are regularly open to the public, with two rare Erie Railroad cabooses currently under restoration and originally slated to open in 2026.

The Tri-States Railway Preservation Society, founded locally in 1985 and now a subsidiary of TOYX, will also be forced to vacate the site and relocate its boxcar museum, which is filled with an extensive collection of artifacts donated by Port Jervis residents and families over the past four decades. TOYX and Tri-States are working to relocate this important collection elsewhere in Orange County to keep Port Jervis’s heritage accessible to local residents, but they estimate that it may be at least a year before a new museum facility can reopen.

“This is where these artifacts belonged,” TOYX President Rudy Garbely said. “The decisions of the City Council will result in these irreplaceable pieces of Port Jervis history being permanently removed. Unfortunately, it seems the history of the City of Port Jervis is best preserved outside the reach of City officials whose actions serve to erase the storied past of the community they represent.”

TOYX’s popular Operation Toy Train initiative — which has collected more than 40,000 toys annually, with over 7,000 of them benefitting the less-fortunate children across Orange County — will bypass Port Jervis this year.

The Port Jervis Soap Box Derby will also lose its home, as the organization’s custom-built derby cars have been stored in one of TOYX’s boxcars that must now leave the city along with the rest of the railroad equipment.

“We’re working to make sure the Soap Box Derby cars find a new home before we leave,” said Garbely. “We’re doing everything we can to mitigate the negative effects the City Council’s decision will have on the city’s own residents. The local kids that enjoy the Derby every year don’t deserve to be caught up in this.”

As TOYX’s activities in Port Jervis wind down over the next several months, volunteer work at the site will be limited to completing in-progress restoration efforts and preparing the antique railcars for movement. Most of the equipment has already been repositioned for departure, the release said.