Danbury Railway Museum

Danbury Railway Museum
Established1994
Location120 White Street, Danbury, Connecticut
Coordinates41°23′52″N 73°27′02″W / 41.397842°N 73.450461°W / 41.397842; -73.450461
TypeRailroad History
Public transit access Danbury
HARTransit: 2, 7, 8
Websitedanburyrail.org
Union Station
Coordinates41°23′52″N 73°27′02″W / 41.39784075086171°N 73.4504619225587°W / 41.39784075086171; -73.4504619225587
Area1.3 acres (5,300 m2)
Built1902
ArchitectA. Malkin
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.86002750
Added to NRHPSeptember 25, 1986
Danbury
Former services
Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station
Bethel Danbury Branch Terminus
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Bethel Pittsfield Branch Brookfield
toward Pittsfield
New Haven Railroad Danbury Turntable
Railway Turntable in October 2016
Coordinates41°23′49.9″N 73°26′46.6″W / 41.397194°N 73.446278°W / 41.397194; -73.446278
Area3 acres (12,000 m2)
Built1916
ArchitectNichols, Geo. P. & Bro.; American Bridge Co.
Architectural styleCenter-bearing deck girder
NRHP reference No.05001048
Added to NRHPSeptember 15, 2005

The Danbury Railway Museum (reporting mark DRMX) is a railway museum housed in the former Union Station on the east end of downtown Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It was established in the mid-1990s following the closure of the station by the Metro-North Railroad in favor of a new station nearby, and primarily focuses on the history of railroading in southern New England and neighboring New York. In addition to the former station building, the museum has a collection of heritage railcars in the neighboring rail yard it shares with Metro-North.

The station was built in 1903 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in response to local pressure for a new station after the three railroads that served the city were merged into the New Haven. At its peak, 125 trains stopped there each day. By 1993, that had dwindled to a few commuter trains, and the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which by then owned the neglected building, closed it in favor of a newer station on the other side of the block. Within two years the museum was formed and restored the station to its former appearance.

It is architecturally distinctive, with Colonial Revival touches on a Richardsonian Romanesque structure. Alfred Hitchcock filmed station scenes for Strangers on a Train on its distinctive curved platform. In 1986, prior to the museum's use of the building, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was joined on the Register in 2005 by the former turntable, the only intact one in the state.