Israel Railway Museum facts for kids
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| Museum | |
| Industry | Museum |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Haifa, Israel |
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Area served
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Israel |
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Key people
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Paul Cotterell (Curator) |
| Parent | Israel Railways |
The Israel Railway Museum (Hebrew: מוזיאון רכבת ישראל) is the main museum about trains in Israel. It is located in Haifa. This museum is owned by Israel Railways, which is the national train company. You can find it at the old Haifa East Railway Station, which doesn't serve passengers anymore.
Contents
What You Can See at the Museum
This museum shows you the exciting history of trains in Israel. It also covers trains from countries nearby, going all the way back to 1892. The museum itself is in a special place. It used to be the shed for the Jezreel Valley branch of the old Hejaz Railway.
Inside, you'll find a cool collection of old trains, called rolling stock. There are also old signs, tickets, and many other items related to trains. The museum has both indoor and outdoor areas. The indoor part was updated in the year 2000.
Cool Trains and Items to Explore
- Palestine Railways saloon coach No. 98: This fancy train car was built in England in 1922. It was used to carry very important people, like Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, and even Sir Winston Churchill. Imagine riding in a train car used by kings and queens!
- Coach No. 4720: This coach was built in Belgium around 1893 for the Egyptian State Railways. During World War I, it was changed into an ambulance car. It helped carry injured soldiers. Later, it was used by Israel Railways for special breakdown trains.
- Hejaz Railway tank locomotive: This is a small train engine, called a shunter, built in Germany in 1902. It was used for moving train cars around the station.
- Tender of Palestine Railways P class locomotive No. 62: A tender is a special car that carries fuel and water for a steam locomotive. This one was built in Scotland in 1935. The locomotive it belonged to was a powerful steam train. It used to pull long trains between Haifa and the Suez Canal. By 1960, most steam trains in Israel were replaced by newer diesel trains.
- Steam crane no. C-25-1: This large crane was built in England in 1918. It was used by the Royal Engineers to lift heavy things, like train parts.
- Steam crane no. C-30-1: Another steam crane, this one was built in 1950 for Egyptian State Railways. It was later used by Israel Railways.
- EMD G12 diesel-electric locomotive no. 107: This is a powerful train engine that uses both diesel fuel and electricity. It was built in 1954.
- EMD G16 diesel electric no. 163: This even more powerful diesel-electric locomotive was built in 1961 for Egyptian Railways. It was later used by Israel Railways to move freight trains in the Negev desert.
Visiting the Museum
The Israel Railway Museum is open from Sunday to Thursday. You can visit from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. You can pay for your ticket with cash or a cheque when you arrive.
Even though the museum is at Haifa East railway station, regular passenger trains don't stop there anymore. However, if you are part of a group of 25 people or more, you can arrange with the museum manager for an intercity train to make a special stop at Haifa East just for your visit!
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Ferrocarriles de Israel para niños
- List of railway museums
- List of transport museums
