Riverhead Railroad Festival is full steam ahead for 2026
The 22nd annual Riverhead Railroad Festival is pulling back into town, celebrating the Railroad Museum of Long Island’s 30th year in Riverhead.
The museum first opened in Greenport in 1990 before expanding into Riverhead in 1996.
“The history of railroading on Long Island is so rich and colorful,” Don Fisher, the long-serving president of the railroad museum, said.
Festivities will be held at the museum — at 416 Griffing Ave. — on Aug. 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And the festival is much more than trains.
There will be food, drinks, live music, simulators, vendors, races, gifts, several toy train layouts, and much more. Festivalgoers will have the chance to get up close to toy trains in all scales, including a historic Lionel layout, and can also ride a restored 1964-65 World’s Fair park train.
The LIRR “Greenport Scoot” train will also take riders from Riverhead to Greenport — then back to Riverhead — to visit the museum’s other location. Rides will be leaving at 9:50 a.m. and 3:05 p.m., and returning at 12:50 and 5:17 p.m.
A “scoot train” is a short, single-car or very small self-propelled shuttle train that runs on a branch line.
“It’s a big amalgamation to celebrate everything railroad,” Mr. Fisher said.
Festival tickets cost $15 for adults and $8 for children. Small kids younger than 5 can enter for free.
Tickets for the “scoot train” can be purchased separately from the conductor while onboard.
“Young children love trains; their families love trains, and for the older people, the grandparents and such, it brings back memories of riding on the railroad,” Mr. Fisher said. “It’s just fun. It’s a great time to come out and enjoy the East End, get a dose of our history, which is so important, and celebrate 30 years in Riverhead.”
The celebration comes a few weeks after the museum unveiled a historic marker on Aug. 13 to commemorate a century since one of the worst wrecks in the history of the LIRR at Golden’s Pickle Factory site in Calverton, which killed six people.
The marker — provided by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation — commemorates the derailment caused by a defective switch, which killed four of the 387 passengers aboard and two crew members. The sign stands at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and River Road.
