Steam Up LIRR 39

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Steam Up LIRR 39

We need your help, please donate TODAY! THANK YOU Long Island Railroad #39 is a G5s class steam locomotive with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement.

Long Island Railroad #39 is one of three remaining 4-6-0 G5s locomotives left in the world. #39 was built in June of 1929 by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Altoona Pennsylvania. She was one of 31 G5s locomotives built in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Juniata shops for Long Island commuter service. The G5s class locomotive was originally designed by the Pennsylvania Railroad for the rigorous job of com

muter service. Commuter service requires locomotives that can start and stop trains often. The G5s is designed to rapidly accelerate a train of ten or more passenger coaches to over 70 mph, then, after running several miles, bring the train to a stop at the next station. This must be done over and over again, and G5s handled this task well. This locomotive class first entered commuter service for the Pennsylvania Railroad on branchlines around Pittsburgh, PA in 1923. At this time the Long Island Railroad, the largest commuter railroad in the country, was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary. The Long Island was undergoing a modernization that would make it the first US operator of an all steel passenger car fleet by 1927. This growth meant heavier trains. The G5s was a perfect fit for the Long Island's needs. In January, 1924, the Pennsylvania Railroad built four class G5s locomotives, #20 - #23, for the Long Island Railroad. In January, 1925, five more were built, #24 through #28. #29 though #38 were delivered in 1928 and #39 through #50 arrived in 1929. These Ten-Wheelers provided the bulk of Long Island's motive power until dieselization in 1955. Our G5s, #39, primarily served the Oyster Bay branch in Nassau County. She was the last steam engine to travel to Greenport in June, 1955, and was one of two steam engines to participate in the official "end of steam" ceremonies on October 8, 1955. Also participating in this ceremony were two Alco RS-3 diesel locomotives. One of these diesels was RS-3 #1556, also in the Railroad Museum of Long Island's collection!

09/02/2026

🚂HEAD TO HEAD!🚂

We are THRILLED to invite YOU, to join us at the Williams Grove Historic Steam Engine Association THIS Thursday-Sunday (Sept. 3rd-6th) for FOUR WHOLE DAYS of fun; alongside our good friends at the Williams Grove Railroad! We have been graciously invited by Josh Ozio, and the team behind the ONLY OPERATIONAL PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD STEAM LOCOMOTIVE (PRR #643); to join in on the fun at their FALL STEAM SHOW!

Our team is excited to announce that not only will we be doing our promotional “BLOW THE WHISTLE FOR LIRR #39” event (where for a donation of $5 YOU can blow LIRR #39’s Pennsy 3-chime whistle, using the STEAM of PRR #643), we will be pulling out ALL the stops; and will be offering a vast assortment of other opportunities to support the project!

🎪Under The BIG TENT Beside The WGRR Station Will Be🎪

🚂 Our FULL Steam Up LIRR #39 Display (Including Our 45lb Bronze #39 Keystone)

🧢 Our Promotional Steam Up LIRR #39 Merch

🦆 Games For The Kids (WITH PRIZES)

🍪 A Promotional BAKE SALE
(Grab A Snack AND Support Steam Preservation)

🛤️ OPERATING Model Trains

🖍️ HOMEMADE Train Crayons Given As A Premium For Donations (ON-SITE) Of $5 Or More

We truly appreciate the friendship of the Williams Grove Railroad, and their support for our ongoing efforts to restore Long Island Rail Road #39 to OPERATION! We are looking forward to a GREAT 4 days at their Fall Steam Show and GREATLY RECOMMEND you check it out for yourselves! There is PLENTY to do on the grounds for EVERYONE, and we are excited to be a part of it!

If You Are Unable To Attend But Still Want To Support The OPERATIONAL RESTORATION Of A Pennsylvania Railroad Built STEAM LEGEND, Please Consider Making A Tax-Deductible Donation Today Online At:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!❤️

08/31/2026

🚂THANKS FOR COMING TO RAILFEST!🚆

We are greatly appreciative to everyone who came out to this year’s RIVERHEAD RAILROAD FESTIVAL! We had a great time celebrating Long Island’s RICH RAILROADING HISTORY, and making memories with all of YOU!!!

🚂 Our STEAM UP LIRR #39 table was VERY PRODUCTIVE, in raising funds for the OPERATIONAL RESTORATION of Long Island Rail Road #39 (Fundraising Update Coming Soon)! Commemorative bricks (to be installed at the Railroad Museum of Long Island), raffle chances (which were pulled Sunday), and other pieces of LIRR #39 merchandise were sold, which will help further us towards our goal of $1.5M for a FULLY OPERATIONAL LIRR #39!!! A BIG THANKS to our very own George Walsh for manning the table, and for having many discussions about our beloved #39 with our honored guests!

⭐️DONATE TODAY TO BE A PART OF HISTORY!⭐️
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
ALL DONATIONS Towards LIRR #39 Are Tax-Deductible To The Fullest Extent Of The Law

🎙️ We were honored to have WLNG owners and WABC TV personalities, Bill and Sandra Evans do a LIVE SHOW at the Railroad Museum of Long Island on Saturday! We hope you enjoyed listening in with them as much as we did hosting them!

🔧 Our yard tours this year by Matt Cunningham and Raph Snow were a BIG SUCCESS, with many guests getting a full yard tour of our EXPANSIVE rolling stock collection! Thank you to them, and to all that continue to restore these pieces of history (such as our very own LIRR #39, and #1556)!

❤️ It was a PLEASURE to host such an event for our community, and for ALL who love railroads (and their history)! We hope to see all of you again next year, and for our other exciting events (at the museum, and abroad)! A GREAT BIG THANKS to ALL the volunteers who make it all happen; whether with our Lionel Visitor Center, Gift Shop, Restoration, our G16, Garden Railroad, and ALL ELSE!!! It’s the RMLI family that continues to make MAGIC HAPPEN!

08/29/2026

📰HEAD ON OVER TO RAILROAD FESTIVAL!🗞️

We wanted to both THANK the “Suffolk Times” and HIGHLIGHT their recent publication about the Railroad Museum of Long Island’s “RIVERHEAD RAILROAD FESTIVAL” that is occurring NOW, and throughout the weekend! We appreciate this article, and the support for this MOMENTOUS EVENT, where we are not only celebrating Long Island’s RICH RAILROADING HISTORY; but 250 years of America!🇺🇸

Be sure to head on over to the Railroad Museum of Long Island TODAY (or tomorrow) to join in on the celebration! Riverhead Railroad Festival goes from 10am-4pm August 29-30th, and includes all the attractions the museum offers AND MORE!!!

We will also be pulling our WINNING RAFFLE TICKETS for our summer STEAM UP LIRR #39 raffle on Sunday at 3:00pm AT THE EVENT! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to enter to win!

🏆 AN HO MODEL KIT OF G5s LIRR #39
🥇 A STEAM UP LIRR #39 BACHMAN HO BOXCAR
🥈OUR NEW RMLI/STRASBURG LIRR #39 HAT
🥉OUR RMLI LIRR #39 WOODEN TRAIN WHISTLE

CHANCES COST ONLY $5 EACH, And Can Be Purchased Online At:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT LIRR #39’s RESTORATION!🔧

08/28/2026

🎪ALL READY FOR THE RAILROAD FESTIVAL!🔧

With this year’s RIVERHEAD RAILROAD FESTIVAL starting TOMORROW (and continuing through the whole weekend), we wanted to share a glimpse of all the preparations being made for the event!!! The tents are up and ready for vendors (as well as multiple local railroad preservation organizations); and the Railroad Museum of Long Island’s rolling stock in the Riverhead LIRR Yard, has seen much work done by our dedicated volunteers!

ALCO built LIRR RS-3 #1556, (a VERY significant locomotive to our museum and LIRR #39 herself… more on that in the future.😉) has been in midst of an updated cosmetic restoration; with great progress being made throughout the week. A team of volunteers have repainted the locomotive into the blue/yellow MTA Phase One scheme, and replaced rusted sheets of metal. We encourage everyone to check it out, and see our work done on LIRR #39 done earlier this year!

On the opposite row of rolling stock in the yard, Patrick Voorhees, Curator and Project manager of our 9/11 Memorial murals begins work prepping the surface of the museum’s BM60 baggage mail car; for a 25th Anniversary 9/11 Memorial Mural. This car will be entirely repainted in September to remember the loss of life on 9/11, less than 80 miles away. We look forward to seeing this MASTERPIECE completed, and will definitely share its progress in the future.

It’s shaping up to be a VERY EXCITING year, with lots of new projects showing great progress; so be sure to head on out to the Railroad Museum of Long Island THIS WEEKEND! We will be pulling the winning tickets for our Steam Up LIRR #39 raffle (to win an HO G5s MODEL KIT, and several other prizes), with these raffle tickets being sold at the door of the event! We encourage everyone to buy one to show their support for our work to restore LIRR #39 TO OPERATION!

🎟️ Tickets Cost A Donation $5 Per Chance And Can Be Purchased Online At:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚨ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE RESTORATION!🚨

08/25/2026

🚂Come Out To See LIRR #39!👀

With the Railroad Museum of Long Island’s Riverhead Railroad Festival RAPIDLY approaching us, we thought it was a PERFECT opportunity to reflect on work done on Long Island Rail Road #39’s components in the RIVERHEAD YARD; and INVITE YOU to come see it for yourself!

⭐️THIS WEEKEND (Aug. 29-30th - 10am-4pm)⭐️

Back in late April over TWENTY RMLI VOLUNTEERS came together with one goal in mind, to repaint what we could of #39 as she awaits her FINAL REASSEMBLY once a full $1.5 million is raised; and her parts shipped off to the skilled Strasburg Rail Road Mechanical shops.

🚨DONATE TODAY TO STEAM UP LIRR #39!🚨
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!🚂

Over a span of 3 days the locomotive’s frame, 68” drivers, front truck, and 10,000 gallon tender were sanded, primed, and fully repainted into her “as built” color of Pennsylvania Railroad D.G.L.E. (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel). It was a collective labor of love for the engine that means so much to many of us; and while we can’t go starting the FULL PROCESS of her rebuild, this will help preserve those components from the elements (until her time comes for reassembly). We NEED your help to see this historically IMPORTANT steam locomotive RESTORED TO OPERATION, and ask that you would join us on this journey!

08/22/2026

🚂One Week Till RAILFEST!⭐️

We are excited to share the full details about this year’s Riverhead Railroad Festival, celebrating 30 YEARS of the Railroad Museum of Long Island! We definitely encourage everyone to come on out to Riverhead New York to partake in the festivities, with the event taking place
⭐️Aug. 29-30th (10am-4pm both days)⭐️

This year’s event will be FULL of exciting activities which include but are not limited to…

🚂 Our Steam Up LIRR #39 Promotional Table, offering our merchandise, and IN PERSON raffle ticket sales (to win an HO model Kit #39). Come out and see LIRR #39’s KEYSTONE, and our OPERATION CHANGEOVER: diorama!

🎁 Various Railroad Themed Vendors

🍔 Food Available For Purchase By: Fat Boys Bar-B-Que Bus and Restaurant

🪕 LIVE MUSIC Performed By: "Iron and Smoke" Bruce "Doc" Macdonald On Guitars and "Uncle Dan" On Fiddle

🛤️ VARIOUS Model Railroad Layouts

🚆 RIDES Onboard Our 1964-65 G16 Worlds Fair Train

💺 EXPLORE Our Vast Collection Of Historic Rolling Stock (including FULL TOURS of the interior of several cars)

🚞 Fully Experience Our “LIONEL VISITORS CENTER” O-Gauge Layout

⭐️ EVERYTHING ELSE The Museum Has To Offer Including, Our Garden Railroad, Our Train Simulator, The EXPANSIVE Gift Shop, and other HISTORIC DISPLAYS!

It’s definitely an event you are not going to want to miss! So be sure to join us NEXT WEEKEND, at the Railroad Museum of Long Island! To purchase your raffle tickets ahead of time (to win one of our SEVERAL EXCLUSIVE PRIZES), please visit our donation page at:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂THANK YOU For Your Support, We Truly Appreciate It!⭐️

08/20/2026

⭐️THANK YOU STRASBURG MODEL RAILROAD CLUB!⭐️

⭐️ We had a GREAT WEEKEND at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and are extremely grateful to the STRASBURG MODEL RAILROAD CLUB for inviting us to set up for the event; and for their support for seeing the ACTUAL Long Island Rail Road #39 RUNNING ON THE STRASBURG RAIL ROAD! We were very fortunate to meet many individuals who were excited to hear about our mission to restore LIRR #39 to OPERATION, and decided to contribute towards that goal!

🛤️ We had a blast watching Tim Barger run his HO (DCC EQUIPPED) LIRR #39 on the club’s Strasburg layout… and even had a chance to run her up to Paradise and back ourselves (which was a very fulfilling experience). We hope you enjoy all the pictures provided below of our adventures there, and the wonderful displays that were present. THANK YOU to everyone who came out, and to ALL our friends for their continued assistance in this IMPORTANT PROJECT!

🚂 To Help See LIRR #39 RETURN TO STEAM And Operate On Strasburg’s FAMOUS ROAD TO PARADISE, We Ask That You Would Consider DONATING TODAY At:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PRESERVE HISTORY!

08/18/2026

🚨RIVERHEAD RAILROAD FESTIVAL 2026!🚨

🗓️ MARK YOUR CALENDARS for our annual Riverhead Railroad Festival is ALMOST HERE!!! Thanks to the efforts of the Railroad Museum of Long Island and Suffolk County, we are excited to celebrate the 30TH ANNIVERSARY of the opening of our museum in 1996!

🚂 This year’s Railroad Festival will take place:
Saturday-Sunday August 29-30th (10am-4pm)
At the Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead, New York.

STAY TUNED for more exciting details… including a (potential) SPECIAL GUEST that is sure to excite many! There will also be multiple opportunities to support the ongoing Steam Up LIRR #39 project, to see the FIRST EVER Long Island Rail Road steam locomotive RETURN TO OPERATION!

⭐️ YOU can help make this happen TODAY by donating online at: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂THANK YOU, we hope to see you there!❤️

08/16/2026

🚂A PICNIC AT STRASBURG🧺

It’s been an exciting weekend up at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, alongside our friends at the Strasburg Model Railroad Club! Expect a full post SOON, of all the images we took of LIRR #39 running on their HO Scale Strasburg Rail Road layout (and everything else at the event); but in the meantime we hope you enjoy this clip of LIRR #39 pulling into pick up picnickers at Groff’s Grove!

To help make a difference and bring Long Island Rail Road #39 BACK INTO STEAM, to pull these excursions on the famed Strasburg Rail Road; PLEASE consider making a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE contribution TODAY! We need YOUR help to make shots like this a reality, for ALL to enjoy!

🚂Online Donations Can Be Made At:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
❤️THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!❤️

08/14/2026

🚂JOIN US AT THE RMPA!🛤️

We are all set up and READY TO GO for another exciting weekend promoting the restoration of Long Island Rail Road #39; alongside our good friends, at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania!

We will be on site at the museum TODAY and TOMORROW (Aug. 14-15th) from 10am-4pm; and are excited to have a chance to chat with many railroad hobbyists, modelers, and historians alike, about the project! We continue to STRIVE DAILY in our mission to bring LIRR #39 back INTO SERVICE for the first time since 1955, to run excursions across the street at the famous STRASBURG RAIL ROAD!!! Come on out to see our team, and all the exciting displays by the model railroad groups; INCLUDING THE STRASBURG MODEL RAILROAD CLUB that have graciously allowed us to join them for this event!

We ask that you would consider supporting this historically important project TODAY; for ANY donation of ANY size, goes a LONG WAY to bring Pennsy designed steam back, for ALL TO ENJOY!

🚨Donate ONLINE Today At:🚨
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML8TY6YHNF9E6/checkout/2YODEM2XVQBSBAQA5PFOWSNT?src=embed
🚂THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!❤️

Address

416 Griffing Avenue
Riverhead, NY
11901

Opening Hours

10am - 4pm

Telephone

+16317277920

Website

http://www.rmli.org/our-collection/lirr-steam-locomotive-39/

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