The National Rail Museum in

Chanakyapuri Chanakyapuri () is a neighbourhood and diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s in New Delhi, India. It is also a sub-division of the New Delhi district and plays host to the majority of foreign Embassy, embassies in New Delhi. Chanakyapuri, ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, displays exhibits on the history of

rail transport in India Rail transport in India consists of primarily of passenger train, passenger and Rail freight transport, freight shipments along an integrated rail network. Indian Railways (IR), a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways ...

. The museum was inaugurated on 1 February 1977. The museum spans over an area of over and the indoor gallery comprises an octagonal building which houses six display galleries and a large open area is laid out to simulate the atmosphere of a railway yard. It is open every day except Mondays and national holidays.

History

A ''Transport Museum'' was first proposed in 1962, under the advice of rail enthusiast Michael Graham Satow. The proposal took a concrete shape in 1970 and on 7 October 1971 the foundation stone was laid at the museum's present site in

, by the then-President of India, V. V. Giri. The museum was inaugurated as the ''Rail Transport Museum'' in 1977 by Kamalapati Tripathi, the minister for public transportation. The museum was originally intended to be a part of a larger museum that covered the history of railways, roadways, airways, and waterways in India; however, this never happened and it was officially renamed the ''National Rail Museum'' in 1995.

Ticket Fare

Ticket price of National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

Facilities

Auditorium: The museum has a state of the art auditorium with seating capacity of 200 persons. VIP Lounge: The museum has a state of the art air-conditioned conference hall with seating capacity of 20-25 persons. The Rails: The Rails is a restaurant situated in the museum. It is housed in a replica the

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), also known sometimes as Victoria Terminus (VT), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The ter ...

main building dome. The restaurant depicts the formation of Indian Railways through unification of 42 independent railway companies held by the princely states of India and British East Indian Company. The Maharaja of Gwalior had a silver model train that ran along the banquet table and served food to the royal guests. The restaurant replicates this by making a steam locomotive chug around the restaurant and serve food at tables named after historic stations in the country. Souvenir shop: There is a souvenir shop where small scale models of rolling stock, books, apparels, frame and prints, etc. are available for sale.

Exhibits

Locomotives

* Patiala State Monorail Trainways: This unique steam monorail was built in 1907. The train is based on the Ewing System and connected the town of Bassi with the city of Sirhind-Fatehgarh, approximately apart. This unique train system consists of a single-rail track on which the load-carrying wheel runs, while large iron wheels on either side keep the train upright. The train was built by Orenstein & Koppel of Berlin and ran until October 1927 when the line was closed. The engine and the chief engineer's inspection car remained in the railways' scrapyard where they were discovered by railroad historian Mike Satow in 1962. One of the engines was restored to full working order by the Northern Railway Workshops in Amritsar. The Chief Engineer's private inspection car was also reconstructed on an old under-frame. The two are now in working condition and are on display at the museum. * Fairy Queen: The world's oldest working steam locomotive in operational service. It is taken out on heritage runs several times a year. * Electric locomotive 4502 '' Sir Leslie Wilson'': This 1928 WCG-1 locomotive belonged to the

Great Indian Peninsular Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...

(presently Central Railway). It is one of India's first generation 1,500 V DC electric locomotives, which were known as ''khakis'' (English: crabs) since they make a curious moaning sound when at rest, and while in motion the linkage emits an unusual swishing sound. Its unusual features included an articulated body, which made it ideal for use in heavily curved sections of the Ghat mountains. The WCG-1 was in operation as a shunting locomotive until 1994 at Mumbai's

* Electric locomotive 4006 '' Sir Roger Lumley'': This WCP-1 locomotive has a unique wheel arrangement. These locomotives were supplied by the Vulcan Foundry, UK, in 1930. They were electric locomotives operating under 1,500 V DC. They are known for hauling the Mumbai–Pune Deccan Queen in its early years. A prototype of this locomotive is also on display at the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai. * Fireless steam locomotive: A 1953 manufactured locomotive that worked without any fire required normally for steam engines to function. Instead of using fire to create high pressure steam, the steam was prefilled in the pressure vessel by a static boiler. * Steam locomotive A885 HASANG * Steam locomotive X37385: This locomotive was used for trains to

Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...

. * Betty Tramways (Fowler Diesel): This locomotive ran in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

and was owned by Rajkot-Beti Tramways. * DHR Locomotive E-207 * F1-734: India's first indigenously built Locomotive * SMR 37302 Locomotive * BB&CI Locomotive 162 M * Locomotive Sentinel * JR Locomotive HP 31412 * Bengal Nagpur Railway Locomotive RD 688 * BNR Beyer Garatt Locomotive: A locomotive that functioned on the Bengal Nagpur Railway, this was among the longest locomotives ever used in India. It was used in the Ghat sections, and was reputed to carry heavy loads at high speeds, even on inclines. It was an articulated locomotive, and hence could navigate steep turns easily. * DHR B777 Locomotive * ER 775 CS Locomotive * Locomotive WR 594 WT * BB&CI Locomotive 31652

Saloons/ coaches

* Saloon of The Maharaja of Indore: This was the saloon car of Maharaja of

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

. * Saloon of The Maharaja of Mysore: This was the saloon car of the Maharaja of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. The saloon is designed using teak, gold, ivory, and other materials. * Viceregal Dining Car: The Dining car of the Viceroy * Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Saloon: A saloon built for the Gaekwars of the state of Baroda in the present day Gujarat. It was built in the Parel Locomotive Workshop in Bombay of the BB&CI Railway, in the 1880s. * Saloon of The Prince of Wales: This saloon car was built for the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

) for his visit to India. * Barshi Light Railway Coach * Bhavnagar State Railway Coach *

Matheran Matheran is a partially automobile free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat, Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropo ...

and DHR Coaches * EIR Sheep Van * GIP Railway Dynamometer Coach * Presidential Saloon

Miscellaneous

* 65t Capacity Crane * John Morris-Belsize Fire Engine: built by the fire engineers John Morris and Sons Salford/John Morris and Sons Ltd of

Salford, Greater Manchester Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, on a Belsize chassis, in 1914. The only other John Morris-Belsize fire-engine known to exist is a larger 6 cylinder model which is preserved by the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Enfield. London. This is in full working order - it was converted to use pneumatic tyres,(as this was required by British traffic regulations in the early 1930s), whilst the fire engine in Delhi runs on the original type of solid rubber tyres.

Gallery

File:Locomotive E-207 at NRM.jpg, Locomotive E-207 at NRM. File:Locomotive E-207 at NRM- Cabin view.jpg, Interior of E-207 File:Prince of Wales Saloon Coach at NRM.jpg, The Prince of Wales Saloon File:F1-734 Locomotive at NRM.jpg, Locomotive F1-734 File:F1-734 Cabin view.jpg, F1-734 Interior File:Southern Mahratta Railway Locomotive no. 37302 at NRM.jpg, Locomotive SMR no.37302 File:BB&CI Locomotive no. M2 162 at NRM.jpg, BB&CI Locomotive no. M2 162 File:Viceregal Dining Car at NRM.jpg, Viceregal Dining Car File:Locomotive Decauville, at NRM.jpg, Locomotive Decauville File:Decauville Locomotive Cabin View.jpg, Locomotive Decauville Cabin interior File:65t Capacity Crane at NRM.jpg, 65t Capacity Crane at NRM File:Bhavnagar State Railway coach at NRM.jpg, Bhavnagar State Railway Coach File:BNR Locomotive no. RD 688.jpg, BNR Locomotive no. Rd 688 File:BB&CI EMU Coach no.35B, at NRM.jpg, BB&CIR EMU Coach no. 35B at NRM File:BB&CI EMU Coach 35B Plaque.jpg, Plaque of the BB&CI EMU Coach File:BNR Beyer Garatt Locomotive at NRM (middle view).jpg, Beyer Garatt Locomotive at NRM (middle view). File:BNR Beyer Garatt Locomotive at BNR (rear view).jpg, BNR Beyer Garatt, housed at the National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, India. File:Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Saloon, at NRM.jpg, The Saloon Coach of the Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway. File:Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Saloon interior.jpg, Interior of the Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Saloon Coach. File:Restoration works at NRM.jpg, Restoration works at NRM.

References

External links

Official Museum WebsitePhotographic tourIndia’s First Railway Museum Marks Legacy of Nation’s Rail Heritage
{{authority control 1977 establishments in Delhi Museums established in 1977 Museums in Delhi National railway museums