FAQ

What is this site all about?

In the early 1990s, I had been compiling a database of existing railroad stations in New York. After gathering about 200 stations, I decided to construct a web site. While researching these stations has been personally rewarding, I feel that sharing this information on the Internet helps others who are interested in the history and preservation of classic railroad stations.

What do you consider a station?

A building used for the transfer of passengers and/or freight between a railroad and a town. Different railroads traditionally may have used other designations, depending on the railroad or how large the building or town is. This list contains all buildings designated by railroads or historians as stations, depots, and freight houses. The stations on this page represent classic stations built before the advent of Amtrak and not including modern stations, platforms, or commuter shelters.

Why are some counties missing?

The county table is organized by county and contains all 62 counties of New York State. Almost every county is linked to a page containing all of the known stations in that county. There are a few counties that do not have links; these are some of the counties that make up and surround the New York metropolitan area. I have not included the Metro NY area because of the large number of hard-to-classify commuter, subway, and train stations.

Why don't you have Penn Station and GCT?

Apart from being part of the New York metropolitan area (see #3), these large stations have enough books and web pages dedicated to them. People around the world are familiar with them and know of their existence.

How can I see my photos used on this site?

If you have any photos you'd like to contribute, please email me. Let me know what stations you have photos of.

You forgot the station in Somewhere, PA!

I didn't forget it. It's not there because the site only deals with New York State -- not Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Ohio. There are other sites for those. See my Links Page.

You only have 3 stations listed on that rail line. I happen to know there were many more.

As the title implies. the site only covers stations that are still standing.

How much does it cost to travel from Penn Station to Los Angeles on Amtrak?

I am not a travel agent so I don't know. Try contacting your local travel agent, or search the web for travel agencies or Amtrak itself. I only list stations as an historical aid.

I think that XY Railroad's station still exists in Backwoods, NY.

In this case, I will put the station on the Verify Page until I can get confirmation that it really is still there.

What is that station graphic on the main page?

That is the end of a classic "Pagoda" station of the DL&W. The photo was provided by Scot Lawrence.

Can you put a link to my page from yours?

The list of links on this site pertain only to stations and structures in New York State. Also included are some other sites dealing with stations in general around the U.S. I do not link sites that are just general railroad sites.

If you have a link you'd like to see on the Links Page, please email me.

Railroad employee records.

Please do not e-mail me concerning railroad employee records. I have no knowledge about what happened to the a particular railroad's employee records, nor do I even know if they still exist. I have no way to help you find your long-lost grandfather who worked for the railroad in any state, so please don't waste my time and yours by asking me--I don't know.

Why does the site look so strange?

There's nothing wrong. You're probably using an older browser without Cascading Style Sheets support. As of 2/19/2001, Existing Railroad Stations in New York State relies upon Cascading Style Sheets (better known as CSS) for the majority of its look and feel; this means you'll need to use a CSS-enabled browser to get the full effect. Style sheets allow me to make changes and enhancements much more easily than I was able to with the previous design, and allow me to bring my code up to current information-sharing standards. Browsers that don't support CSS are still be able to interpret and display the site; they'll just present it in a comparatively humdrum fashion.