A narrow-gauge steam loco built in 1889 by Atlas Works of Sharp Stewart & Co. Ltd for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Attached to it is a first-class coach that ran between Siliguri and Darjeeling before it was brought here
A drawing room and a bedroom in the salon car
Howrah: The Rail Museum near Howrah station has got a makeover over the past four months, making it one of the must-go places in the city.
From a 129-year-old steam loco to a coach of one of the first Metro rakes, all the exhibits have got a facelift.
The interiors of a metre-gauge inspection carriage, built by the Junagarh Workshop. The carriage is a wooden structure and has bogie wheels. The two rear windows are for the inspectors to see the condition of the tracks
A four-wheel broad-gauge salon car built by the Carriage and Wagon Workshop in Liluah in 1911
The open-air museum, spread across five acres off the Foreshore Road connector, less than a kilometre from the station, was opened in 2006. The museum has 19th-century steam locomotives, carriages, salon cars and other vintage exhibits that show how the railways have evolved over the years.
All the exhibits have got a fresh coat of paint. Some of them had broken parts or missing components, which have been replaced. A layer of grass has been laid on the ground and LED lights have been installed.
One of the oldest exhibits — a hand-operated crane built in 1859 at Oldbury, an industrial town in West Midlands, England. The one-tonne capacity crane was used at the loco unit in Katwa
A lathe machine powered by steam engine, built by H.W. Ward & Co, Birmingham, in 1908. It was one of the items found lying unattended during the renovation
The broad-gauge steam locomotive belonged to the erstwhile East Pakistan Railways. It entered the Indian territory during the 1971 Liberation War and was captured by the Indian Army. It was kept at the Bandel yard before being brought to the museum
During the renovation, four items were found lying unkempt. A lathe machine powered by steam engine, more than 100 years old, was one of them. “These items are priceless. Many of them are worthy of a Sotheby’s auction,” a railway official said.
“We plan to turn it into an interactive museum, one that is entertaining, engaging and educational. Our main target will be children. If they come, they will bring adults along,” said Manu Goel, the divisional railway manager of Howrah, who supervised the revamp.
The museum is open from 10.30am to 5.30pm every day, barring Thursday. The authorities plan to extend the closing time.
The driver’s cabin of one of the first Metro rakes
The sprawling museum compound with the Howrah bridge in the background
Source - Telegraph India
