Dozens of North Fork parents and young children gathered Saturday for the grand opening of the Greenport Express Miniature Railroad – the culmination of years of volunteer work, financial donations, support from local businesses and sheer persistence on the part of the Greenport Rotary Club.
Rotarian Richard Israel said in a speech at the ceremony that it actually took a whole village.
“Without the perseverance of the people in our small town … the project would not have been successful.
“Make no mistake, what you see here today is the result of the generosity and hard work of hundreds of people. I have personally witnessed the generosity and kindness of each and every one of these people – people who were willing to help without hesitation. What you see here today is not just a building and a train ride. It is a testament to our village, to the people who make it special.”
Now that the facility is operational, the village will staff and operate the trains from the new Moores Lane “station” next to the skate park.
Mayor Kevin Stuessi thanked both the Greenport Rotary Club for “this absolutely incredible gift to our village” and former Mayor George Hubbard, “who really helped pull this off.”
“Without you we wouldn’t be here,” the current mayor said to his predecessor.
Mr. Hubbard beamed as he waited with his young grandson for the maiden voyage on the miniature railway.
“It’s incredible to be here,” he said. “The Rotary Club has done a great job building it, putting it together and working with the village.”
“My grandson is here – he’s one year old – I want him to be able to experience what my other children have experienced before. This is a great thing for the community.”
As veteran Rotarian Richard Israel looked back earlier this week on the Rotary Club’s years-long campaign to relocate and revive Frank Field’s legendary Peconic County Miniature Railroad, he had to laugh.
“It was originally the idea of a Rotarian couple who asked themselves, ‘How hard can this be?'” recalls Mr. Israel. “‘He built it himself in his backyard.'”
That was almost eight years ago, or as Mr Israel described it: “Seven or eight years in which everyone – every time there was an obstacle – managed to find a solution and there was always someone who came to our aid.”
This week, as Mr. Israel prepared for the culmination of all that work, which culminated Saturday with the grand opening of the Greenport Express Miniature Railroad on Moores Lane, he reflected on an odyssey through government regulations, material shortages, bureaucracy and fundraising.
Mr. Field, a Long Island Railroad engineer who moved to Greenport in the 1970s and built the miniature railroad behind his Webb Street home, offered free rides to local children on Sundays from 1985 to 2012.
“He did it out of the goodness of his heart,” Mr. Israel said.
When he decided to retire, Mr. Field turned to the Greenport Rotary in hopes of keeping the tradition alive. In late 2016, plans were put into action. Rotarian Joe Cherepowich, who died in 2019, led the first campaign, and the revived train was named the “Joe Cherry Choo Choo” in his honor.
Working closely with village officials, including former Mayor George Hubbard Jr., the Rotary Club explored several sites where the rail line could be rebuilt. Mitchell Park was considered, as was the parking lot near the North Ferry Terminal and the Long Island Railroad Museum, but neither option came to fruition.
The planners finally decided on a plot of land owned by the village next to the skate park on Moores Lane.
Because the area includes a small wetland in the form of Moores Drain, a ravine that stretches from Silver Lake to the bay, the state Department of Environmental Protection was called in. One stumbling block was the access road that runs through the area, where the railroad tracks were eventually laid.
“The village said, ‘Just put it on the street.’ Then other people said, ‘That would block my access.’ So we went through an agonizing time between the DEC, the environmentalists and everyone else, but finally we got (the DEC) permit … four and a half years later.”
The Rotarians took it easy and continued to push forward.
“At the same time, we were talking to people about what it means to run a railway, how it should be built and everything else,” Mr Israel explained.
“Rob Brown, a local architect from Greenport, said he would help us draw up the plans. The village helped us design and lay the tracks at the time.”
Mr. Field sold one of his three trains to the Rotarians for “minimal money,” Mr. Israel said.
From there it went “to Riverhead Brake (Services) and they rebuilt the engine and electrical system.”
The momentum increased.
“Many people in our community have stepped forward and said, ‘I want to be part of this. I want to get this (train) moving again, for my children, for their children,'” Mr. Israel noted.
When it came to building the new mini-station, “we essentially paid for the materials and everyone donated their labor – and some even did both.
“Riverhead Building Supply gave us a very generous donation and a discount on all the lumber. The roofers, the siding workers, the carpenters, the concrete workers, the guy who built the fence around it – everyone understood the value of what we were doing. This was not a commercial project. It was a labor of love for everyone involved.”
Each of the donors, which include financial supporters, local businesses and civic groups, will be recognized on plaques at the new mini rail terminal.
As construction began, supply disruptions caused by the pandemic took their toll. “What we thought would cost $1 was $2.50,” Israel said.
But in the end the work was done and the railway will finally be open this Saturday 29 June on Moores Lane from 11am to 3pm.
In the future, Mr. Israel said, the Rotary Club will hand over operation of the railway to the village.
Mr Israel, who together with his family made generous donations to the project and who has a plaque dedicated to him in front of the station, said the project was ultimately a celebration of collaborative teamwork.
“I’ve always thought of Greenport as a wonderful place to live,” he said. “And that’s a good thing. We don’t raise money because someone has experienced a tragedy – the Rotary Club does that too. But to do something good that helps to enhance the village and continue to be what makes the village so special is great.”
