Railway Museums India
Railway Museums India
Overview
Indian Railways preserves its 170-year heritage through a chain of exclusive museums located in the very loco-sheds, carriage-repair depots and heritage terminuses where the first steam locomotives once hissed. From the oldest working steam loco “Fairy Queen” (1855) to the bullet-train simulator of Hyderabad, these museums double up as “living archives” for RRB examinees who are expected to match loco-numbers, years, nick-names and pioneer zones.
Key Facts & Figures
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1. First railway museum of India | National Rail Museum, New Delhi (opened 1 Feb 1977) |
| 2. Largest rail museum by area | Howrah Rail Museum (4.5 acre) |
| 3. Oldest preserved steam loco | “Fairy Queen” (EIR-22, 1855) – Delhi |
| 4. Fairy Queen’s retirement | 1908 (then kept at Howrah; moved to Delhi 1972) |
| 5. India’s first rail-built museum outside Delhi | Mysore Rail Museum (1979) |
| 6. Only museum inside a still-working loco-shed | Chennai Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Heritage Centre (2002) |
| 7. Museum with highest number of working heritage locos | Rewari Steam Centre (7 working steam) |
| 8. First bullet-train simulator in any rail museum | Hyderabad Rail Museum (built 2018) |
| 9. Narrow-gauge specific museum | Matheran Hill Railway Museum (Neral, 2014) |
| 10. Smallest rail museum | Jamalpur Rail Museum (0.25 acre) |
| 11. Only rail museum inside a UNESCO site | Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Museum at Ghum |
| 12. Heritage joy-ride ticketed by IRCTC | Delhi – Alwar on Fairy Queen (fare ₹4,320/- in 2025) |
| 13. Museum located inside original 1888 terminus building | Albert Ekka Chowk Rail Museum, Ranchi |
| 14. Only museum displaying royal saloon of Nizam | Hyderabad Rail Museum (built 1930) |
| 15. Museum with 3D virtual reality coach ride | National Rail Museum, Delhi (installed 2022) |
| 16. Annual foot-fall leader | National Rail Museum, Delhi (~7 lakh) |
| 17. Only rail museum run by Metro authority | Kolkata Metro Rail Museum at Park Street |
| 18. Latest opened rail museum | Bilaspur Rail Museum, SECR (15 Aug 2023) |
| 19. First rail museum in North-East | Dibrugarh Rail Heritage Park, NFR (2021) |
| 20. Common colour code for heritage locos | Chocolate-brown with yellow lining (since 1995) |
Important Points
- Delhi’s National Rail Museum was conceptualised by Rail Minister Kamlapati Tripathi on the silver-jubilee of Indian independence.
- “Fairy Queen” hauls a 60-seat tourist rake between Delhi Cantt. & Alwar every 2nd & 4th Saturday (except monsoon).
- Rewari Steam Centre is the nominated hub for all working steam locomotives of Indian Railways; it hosts the “Steam Express” to Alwar.
- Hyderabad museum’s Nizam Saloon weighs 62 t, has teakwood panelling, a library and an on-board generator—still runs on demand.
- Mysore museum exhibits the Maharani’s “Silver Saloon” built by Beyer-Peacock (1899) and a hand-cranked rail-bus of 1925.
- Darjeeling museum displays the original 1881 B-Class loco “Green Arrow” and the 1878 summit photo of Ghum station (altitude 2,258 m).
- Matheran museum has a 1907 “Baby B” 0-6-0T loco that is still steamed once a year for heritage run.
- Kolkata Metro Museum is the only one to showcase an underground tunnel boring cutter (6.5 m dia) along with 1984 rolling stock.
- Jamalpur museum is located inside the first loco workshop of Asia (1862) and preserves the 1863 “Lady Curzon” steam crane.
- Bilaspur museum is SECR’s tribute to the Bengal-Nagpur Railway; its star attraction is the 1897 “WN” class 4-6-0 loco.
Frequently Asked in Exams
- Location & year of opening of National Rail Museum.
- Oldest preserved steam loco of India and its present home.
- Which museum is inside a UNESCO World-Heritage site?
- Rewari Steam Centre—zone & number of working steam locos.
- Fairy Queen’s heritage run route & frequency.
BETA
