Joshi’s Museum Of Miniature Railways – Pune
Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railways located In kothrud area of Pune city , it is located in a small factory named Soudamini Instruments, where a special hall of 26′ x 26′ area has been built to house the Museum of Miniature Railways.
Mr. B. S. Joshi, known as Bhau Joshi, was the originator and founder of the Museum. Collecting train models was his hobby, or rather his obsession, from childhood. In India during the festival of Diwali, it is a popular pastime among children to build “Killas” or small layouts depicting the fortress strongholds of Shivaji, the King of the Marathas.
Mostly these are extremely crude attempts with no knowledge or attempt at proportion.Even during his childhood, Bhau used to build “Killas” with a lot of movements, like a fire engine which used to actually put out a fire, moving cars on roads etc. These were controlled by strings.The houses etc. were made of cardboard.
There used to be long queues to see these Killas, which were famous in his neighbourhood. In the 1980’s he started work on a layout which, he visualised, could be taken from town to town like a circus or fair. This layout, which was the result of a 40 year obsession, was first displayed in Pune at the “Gokhale Hall” in 1982 and was a huge success.
In 1984 the layout was displayed in Bombay and in 1986, in Pune at ” Dastur High School “. From these three experiences it was found that to make it a mobile layout, required too much manpower and expenditure, to the detriment of regular activity at Soudamini Instruments. The permissions etc. required at each location were very frustrating. Thus he took the decision of creating a permanent Museum of Miniature Railways . Once this decision was taken the entire concept of the layout is changed. Since it was no longer necessary to dismantle the layout, much more detailed work could be done. The hall was constructed in 1991 and the present layout was created, which was opened to the public on 1st April 1998 . The work and dedication behind this layout can be appreciated by fellow rail modellers.
There are nearly 1000 wires coming out of the control panel, adding to a length of 5 km. There are 65 signals, fences, lampposts, flyovers etc. which have been manufactured by hand, using chemical etching techniques. The control panel has been designed so that the entire layout can be operated manually or can be computer controlled. All this has been achieved due to the single minded devotion and hard work of one man, Bhau Joshi. Hats off to you sir 🙏 For your Contribution.
For Timings: https://www.minirailways.com/timings/
Rail Museum Chennai
The Chennai Rail Museum is a Rail Museum Located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The museum opened on 16 April 2002 in the Furnishing Division of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) near Perambur . The Museum is built in Span of 6.25-acre, Museum has both technical and heritage exhibits, with a sizable collection of steam engines from the British India Rule. It also has vintage coaches ,Most of the older models were manufacture by the North British Locomotive Company, with some trains in the collection dating back more than a century. Toy-train rides are available, and a renovated indoor art gallery is open to the public. The museum is managed and maintained by the ICF.
The Regional Rail Museum was Esta- blished in March 2002. The Railway Board had a strong interest in its development, since it would be a model for other RRMs planned for Kolkata and Pune. The Chennai museum was first proposed in a 1993-94 suggestion by the Railway Board secretary to the ICF general manager, followed by meetings between the museum’s future director and the ICF CE. It was inaugurated by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar on March 31, 2002, and opened to the public on April 16. The Regional Rail Museum was renamed the Chennai Rail Museum to commemorate the 377th Madras Day on August 22, 2016.
The Museum is remain Open all The Day From 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM and in Saturday and Sunday The Closing time is 7:00 PM
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Indian RailBuff 