Greenport Express service temporarily halted over engine glitch

Service on the Greenport Express, the miniature railroad attraction in Greenport Village, is temporarily suspended over a mechanical issue, Mayor Kevin Stuessi said.

“There is a minor glitch…with the engine,” Stuessi said in an email, adding he was hopeful the railroad would be up and running by the weekend.

This is the second iteration of a mini railroad in the village, after the Peconic County Miniature Railroad shut down in 2012. The $1 million Greenport Express opened in July 2024 as a joint effort between the village and The Rotary Club of Greenport, Newsday previously reported.

“The train was in everybody’s heart,” Rich Israel, of the Rotary cCub, told Newsday last year. “It’s been a tradition in our village and would be a shame to have lost it.”

Rides on the train cost $5 and include two loops that last for about 10 minutes, Newsday has reported. The train can hold 18 adults or 36 children and chugs across a small bridge and behind the village skate park. The route is about a quarter-mile.

It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., according to the village's website. It will also be open Oct. 31 from 3 p.m. through 8 p.m.

The village’s original mini railroad was founded by the late Frank Field, a former mechanical engineer for the Long Island Rail Road, and ran in his backyard from 1985 until 2012. The Rotary Club purchased the train from Field in 2017.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.