The Sullivan family is making the surrounding community better one train ride at a time.
For about the past decade, those operating the Sullivan Railroad in Horseheads have taken donations in exchange for a ride on the miniature train and passenger cars. Monies collected, in turn, are given to organizations that are near and dear to the Sullivan family's heart, such as the Arctic League, Camp Star and rotary clubs. On Saturday, funds were raised for the American Diabetes Association.
"It was one thing to run the train, and for everyone to enjoy riding it, but then we got an idea, 'well, why don't we run it for a reason,'" Art Sullivan explained.
They never know exactly how many people to expect or how much they may raise, but seeing how much people enjoy the ride makes it worth it, Kevin Sullivan said.
"It's a labor of love for all of us, I think," Kevin Sullivan explained. "It's part of our family. We're a family of givers, really, it's been instilled in me since I was a kid. You have to give back to your community."
Sullivan Railroad passengers enjoy a trip on the one-mile loop Saturday in Horseheads. (Photo: KELLY GAMPEL / Staff Photo)
Sporting blue overalls with white pinstripes, both Art and Kevin Sullivan take passengers on rides around a one-mile loop at the rail yard, located at 61 Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads, behind The Diner restaurant.
Rides are scheduled sporadically throughout the summer because family memebers maintain day jobs, and several are Horseheads firefighters.
Upcoming train rides will be given from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 17; noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 15; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 27. Art Sullivan said the best way for the public to keep tabs on happenings at Sullivan Railroads to visitwww.facebook.com/sullivanrailroad.
Sullivan Railroad began in 1963 when brothers George and Art Sullivan purchased an amusement park train engine and two passenger cars, and began setting up the tracks around their Horseheads trucking business on Old Ithaca Road.
Now, the family owns three locomotives and numerous passenger cars, among other articfacts.
"(George and Art Sullivan) wanted to do it as a hobby, and they never wanted to really do it as a business because when they were small, they remembered growing up poor and they couldn't go on the rides and things like that," Art Sullivan said. "So when they established this, they said they never wanted to have a charge for anybody to go on it."
And the family has kept to that promise.
Follow Kelly Gampel on Twitter @theSGphotos or on Instagram @kelly.gampel
Conductor Art Sullivan steers a 15" gauge train at Sullivan Railroad in Horseheads with giddy children - and adults - in tow. Sullivan Railroad offers train rides sporadically throughout the summer to raise funds to organizations dear to the Sullivan family. (Photo: KELLY GAMPEL / Staff Photo)
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