Gary Farkash has a mission: to spread the word about a new railroad museum for Oyster Bay. He sees it as strenghening the tourism base in this historic town.

"Tourism is probably the number one industry on Long Island, and Locomotive No. 35 is part of it," said Mr. Farkash as he spoke at Rotary of Oyster Bay recently. He and Steven Torborg are the lead people for the Locomotive No. 35 Restoration Committee: the group that is working to bring No. 35 to Oyster Bay.

Mr. Farkash, who has been running Peninsula Wines, in Hewlett, since 1980, got interested in No. 35 in around 1994. He brought his message to Oyster Bay, that a new railroad museum will give tourists another reason to visit. The combined historic sites will attract visitors who while here, will spend money.

Tourism dollars are seen as "new dollars" to an area. They would not be traded here, unless they were brought here by the visitor.

The plan is to not only operate the railroad museum to bring people to Oyster Bay, but to hook up the operation with the LIRR and using their passenger cars, have tourist rides that would go to Mineola. The next phase of the plan would be to head east to hook up with the wineries on the North Fork and with the activities in the Hamptons.

Mr. Farkash said the LIRR has told them they are willing to have a steam locomotive run from Oyster Bay to Mineola. Fortuitously, an engineer from the LIRR also holds a steam license. He runs the steam line in Essex, Connecticut during the summer months.

Locomotive No. 35 is a coal burning engine - the coal heats up the steam that propels the engine. It was one of a fleet of cars that used to come to Oyster Bay. Milt Zipper remembered when they did, saying: "They dirtied all the wash. Women ran out and pulled the sheets in when they heard the train coming."

That won't be a problem with the new locomotive. It will be retooled to use oil. "There will be no smoke or cinders that can start a fire," said Mr. Farkash - no pollution and no safety hazards. There will however be sound effects - the noise and action of the engine chugging along, he said.

Smoke is a problem, he conceded. The engine was for coal, and unfortunately or fortunately, the Fire Marshals of Nassau County and Suffolk County said they can't burn coal. To solve the problem, No. 35 will be converted to oil which is cleaner, with no ash and no flyby. It will smoke a little, but is not enviromentally endangering.

At the present time there are about a dozen locomotives in the United States that are exempt from pollution ordinances because there is so little smoke that comes from them, he said.

Mr. Farkash is excited about what is happening along Railroad Avenue, where the LIRR is cleaning up the tainted soil. It is all part of their total cleanup of the yards. The LIRR station house will eventually be turned over to the town. How it is operated will depend on how the railroad and the town interacts on the plan.

Locomotive No. 35 should be up and running in about 18 to 20 months, said Mr. Farkash. They expect to have the locomotive, which currently has been disassembled, to be moved from its location at Mitchel Field in about six to seven months. They already have a machine shop donated for their use.

They are presently fund raising by seeking donations and federal grants.

As for the work to repair the locomotive, Mr. Farkash said, "I like the mechanical part. I like getting my hands dirty and seeing things working well and in good condition."

Besides No. 35, they are trying to acquire another locomotive for display. Interestingly, they have found an audience in cyberspace willing to help them.

"On the Internet, people are offering parts." They received an offer from Tannersville, Pennsylvania and went with a list of parts to see what was available and returned two weeks later with trailers and trucks to fill with material. One of the problems they face is that they don't have the blueprints for No. 35 and that parts have been lost over time. The trip helped in that area.

But things are coming together. Where the restoration work will begin is still not decided. There was a possibility of being located at one of the buildings at Jakobson's, but so far that hasn't happened. So, they are looking elsewhere, and may even end up working outside. Bill Bleyer of Newsday did an article on the volunteers working in the snow! They will do what has to be done said Mr. Farkash.

Even the LIRR is working in favor of the railroad museum. The Real Estate division of the MTA- LIRR has paperwork ready to donate to both the Oyster Bay Railroad Station House, and the turntable located behind the Oyster Bay Pump Works building, to the town. They are also willing to have the two landmarked, but the town still needs to do that said Sam Zambuto, a spokesperson for the LIRR.

Mr. Farkash sees the railroad as an integral part of Oyster Bay's history. Theodore Roosevelt was a frequent passenger. There was a railroad track that went to the ferry slip at the Oystermen's Dock where the Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. oyster company is located. There was a train that went to the lumber yard. The Jakobson Shipyard used to get deliveries by train. When the town was bustling, the railroad was chugging in with needed supplies.

With a little effort it is possible to turn the end of the rail road line into a functioning museum, a functioning piece of Oyster Bay's history.

For more information about the train, you can write to: Locomotive # 35 Restoration Committee, c/o Steven R. Torborg, chairman; 15 Cammerer Ave., East Rockaway, NY 11518-1905. Both Gary Farkash and Steven Torborg are chairmen of the organization.