The Regional Railway Museum founded in the year 2002 is located in Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the sites of Integral Coach Factory Perambur. The museum was started to represent the rich heritage of the Indian Railways. The building of the museum began in the year 2001 and it was finally completed in the year 2002. The, then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the museum in March 2002.
Attractions of Regional Railway Museum
The Regional Railway Museum exhibits an array of objects to the visitors. It comprises of both indoor and outdoor displays. The museum has a huge collection of steam engines that belong to the different decades of the British rule. Different types of vintage coaches of the Indian Railways like the Ooty trains have been displayed here. Many other ancient models that had been constructed by the North British Locomotive Company can also be seen here. Few of these models date back to more than one hundred years. The indoor galleries of the Regional Railway Museum also display striking photographs depicting the formative years of the Indian railways and the Integral Coach Factory. Visitors are guided about the functioning of the trains through the working scale model of trains in the museum. It exhibits relics of the colonial days as well as video based on the Neal`s ball token system that was employed to between trains and a coach.
Almost 40 models of trains of different types can be seen in the outdoor space of the museum. The museum displays Fowler steam ploughing engine that dates back to 1895, made by Sir John Fowler and Double Decker coaches of the 1860s. Some of the other models that are visible here are the Crane Hercules, Coaches of Inspection car RA 30 made by Metropolitan Carriage and Finance Co. Ltd. and luxury trains coaches. Recently a joy ride has been constructed for the children to impart knowledge to them about the history of the trains. The museum is visited by many tourists from different places interested in deriving knowledge about the ancient history of the Indian Railways. The Regional Railway Museum celebrated their 10th anniversary in the year 2012 on a grand scale.
