Install the Batavia New York Central Sign at RGV

The tracks through Batavia, New York, were once part of the mighty New York Central main line between Albany and Chicago. Dozens of freight and passenger trains thundered through the city day and night. Unfortunately, the tracks crossed many streets, and automobile accidents became more frequent. In the years following World War Two, the city and the railroad devised a plan to route the railroad around Batavia to eliminate the numerous grade crossings.

Construction on the bypass route started in 1951, and opened to traffic in 1957. A new passenger station was built on the south side of Batavia at Lehigh Ave. A simple brick structure, the street-facing side was adorned with large, three-dimensional letters made from aluminum that spelled out "New York Central."

The Batavia station stop was discontinued in 1970. By this time, Penn Central operated the railroad, and maintenance workers used the station. Even after Conrail took over in 1976, and CSX in 1999, the "New York Central" letters remained outside the building, though a couple were lost to severe weather and age.

The remaining letters were removed from the building in August 2008, and unceremoniously tossed into a scrap dumpster. Fortunately, one of our members was in the area and salvaged the letters to bring them to our museum, where they have been in storage for the last 14 years.

To get more of our artifacts out of storage and into the open where our visitors can enjoy them, we decided the best place to display the letters would be mounted to the front of our Restoration Shop. Included will be a sign identifying the building as our Restoration Shop, which was constructed in 1998.

We have hired a local sign shop to fabricate the missing letters, make the Restoration Shop sign, and install them on our building. A generous donor has stepped forward with a donation matching challenge. We are raising $4,000 to complete this project. Your donation will help us meet our goal! The money raised will be used to fabricate the missing letters, fabricate the Restoration Shop sign, and also have the signs professionally installed on our building.

Tracing its roots back to 1937, the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum is New York State's largest operating railroad museum, with more than 40 historic trains in its collection. All donations to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.