Port Jervis Railroad Museum to reopen on July 4

The Port Jervis Railroad Museum will officially reopen to the public on Saturday, July 4.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum’s historic Erie Turntablesite, located at 86 Pike Street in Port Jervis, N.Y. Admission to the reopening event will befree. The event will also feature the unveiling of a new signature Erie Lackawanna barbecue sauce, professionally produced and bottled using the railroad’s original 1965 recipe and sold asa unique fundraising initiative celebrating the region’s railroad heritage

Guests will have the opportunity to explore all-new exhibits highlighting more than 170 years of railroad history in Port Jervis, while learning about the museum’s plans for the future.

A highlight of the reopening celebration will be the public debut of Erie Lackawanna Railwaycaboose C380. Restored and repainted by TOYX volunteers this spring, the caboose now wears the Erie Lackawanna’s original 1976 bicentennial paint scheme. This red, white, and blue scheme has been brought back to life in 2026 to honor the nation’s semiquincentennial andrecognize a unique moment in local railroading history from half a century ago.

The museum’s reopening comes after a period of uncertainty and a series of significant changes for the non-profit organization. Amid fears that the organization would be forced to leave its home at the historic Erie turntable site in Port Jervis, the former Tri-States Railway Historical Society was acquired by TOYX, Inc., in November 2025, becoming a subsidiary of the larger non-profit organization.

In April 2026, the Tri-States organization formally adopted the new name “Port Jervis Railroad Museum,” a change intended to better reflect its mission, its geographic focus, and its role as the primary institution dedicated topreserving and interpreting the railroad history of Port Jervis and the surrounding tri-state region.

“Our name has changed to better reflect our commitment to preserving local railroad history,” said museum president Rudy Garbely. “The museum’s collections, artifacts, and stories have been completely remodeled to better tell the history of the railroads that built the City of Port Jervis and connected this region to the rest of the nation.”