Reliving journeys of a bygone era
Located adjacent to the Mysore Railway Station, the Railway Museum, is an outdoor exhibit of vintage locomotives and was established in 1979 by Indian Railways. This is the second such museum after the National Railway Museum in Delhi.
Entry to this place is ticketed which is quite nominal. In fact, the ticketing counter is a train coach that sells tickets and rail memorabilia like key chains, models of train engines and so on.
The Museum is an excellent place to visit for both adults and children and displays a host of locomotives and a gallery of photographs and paintings depicting the growth of railways in India at the Chamundi Gallery. Various railway signals and lights are also displayed.
The Museum has a battery-operated mini-train that gives you a short ride on the ground and you can also see the City Railway Station while you are on the toy train. This is the perfect place to learn about the spectacular journey of the Indian Railways, spanning over 150 years and is worth every penny.
Occupying a place of pride inside the Museum is the first steam engine built in India. The engines are all displayed in the open and you can even climb inside and take a look around.
The best part is that the exhibits are well maintained and have plaques that describe them in detail.
One of the highlights here is the Maharani Saloon Carriage that has a kitchen, dining car unit and a royal toilet dating back to 1899 and two royal coaches that belonged to the Maharaja of Mysore.
A blue coloured Austin rail motor car is something that catches your eye here and the best part is that it still works. This is a 1925 model Austin that was originally built to run on road and scrapped. But a railway employee restored it by fitting it with rail wheels and detaching the steering wheel. This converted the automobile into a railcar with a seating capacity of six people and was used to carry inspection officials.
On the premises is a huge and priceless collection of rare black and white photographs, paintings, signalling signs, lights, tickets, ticketing machines, clocks and several other objects that depict the growth and development of Indian Railways and demands your full attention.
Among the many interesting exhibits are a steam water pump of 1934 and a hand-operated crane of 1885.
A wooden pillar and doors from the old Srirangapatna Railway Station are also on display. A WG Bagnall 1625 that was built in 1900, a Class E 37244 4-4-4T from Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) built by North British Locomotive Co in 1920 which was one of the three superheated locomotives, a Class TS/1 37338 2-6-2T from Southern Railway (SR), made by WG Bagnall in 1932 for Mysore State Railways and a YP 2511 made by Telco in 1963 can be found here.
This place is a must-see simply because it gives you a rare glimpse into a bygone era. The Museum opens to visitors at 9 30 am and closes the doors at 6 pm. It is closed on Mondays.
You can contact the Museum at0821-2866955.