Rewari Railway Heritage Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rewari Railway Heritage Museum

रेवाड़ी रेल संग्रहालय
Rewari Railway Heritage Museum
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Former name	Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed
Established	2 February 1893 (1893-02-02)
Location	North end of Rewari railway station, Rewari, Haryana, India
Type	railway museum
Key holdings	Fairy Queen
Collections	steam locomotive
Owner	Northern Railway zone of Indian Railways

The Rewari Railway Heritage Museum is a cool place to visit in Rewari city, Haryana, India. It used to be called the Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed. This museum is special because it's the only place in India where old steam engines were kept and fixed.

It was built way back in 1893. Today, it's home to some of India's last working steam locomotives. You can even see the Fairy Queen here. This engine was built in 1855 and is one of the oldest still working in the world! The museum is about 400 meters north of the Rewari railway station. It's also about 50 km from Gurgaon and 79 km from the National Rail Museum in New Delhi.

A Look Back: The Museum's Story

When it Started: The Steam Shed

The Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed was built in 1893. For many years, it was the only place in North India where steam engines were kept. It was an important part of the railway line that connected Delhi to Peshawar.

By the 1990s, steam engines were not used much anymore. In 1994, steam trains stopped running on meter-gauge tracks. The old shed was left alone for a long time. But in May 2002, it was opened again.

Becoming a Heritage Museum

The Indian Railways decided to turn the Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed into a special place for visitors. They fixed up the old building and added a museum in December 2002. The museum showed off old items from the Victorian era that were used on Indian trains. You could see old signal systems, gramophones, and seats.

The new and improved heritage museum opened in October 2010. The old engines are still there, and sometimes they even run for demonstrations!

Amazing Engines: What You Can See

The museum has 11 of the world's oldest steam locomotives. These engines have been fixed up and can still run! Here are a few of them:

• Baldwin AWE: This engine was built in 1945 by an American company called Baldwin Locomotive Works.
• Akbar WP1761: This engine is named after the famous Mughal Emperor, Akbar. It was built in 1963 and started working in 1965. It can go up to 110 km/h, but now it's limited to 45 km/h for safety. The Akbar engine is now used for the 150UP Delhi Cantt – Alwar Steam Express heritage train.
• Shahanshah WP/P: This engine is one of the original "bullet-nosed" American engines. It was fixed up to be used for special steam train rides. It even ran a special train in 2009 to celebrate the 153rd birthday of the Royapuram railway station, which is the oldest railway station in India. This engine is often used for film shoots and can be rented for a lot of money each day!

Future Plans: More Fun Ahead

In 2018, Indian Railways made a plan to build a big railway heritage theme park next to the museum. This park will be like other famous railway parks around the world. The plan is to work with the Government of Haryana and India's Ministry of Tourism.

They want to include this museum in a special tourism plan. This plan will connect other historical places like Madhogarh, Mahendragarh, Narnaul, and Rewari. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is also working to tell more students about this amazing museum.

What You Can Do at the Museum

The museum is open every day. There are lots of cool things to do:

• You can try a 3-D steam loco simulator. It feels like you're riding a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway steam locomotive!
• There's also a 3-D virtual reality coach simulator.
• Kids can enjoy a toy train ride.
• You can see a model train system that shows how a railway yard works.
• There's an indoor exhibition gallery with small engine models, old railway tools, and old photos.
• You can even see a dining car that is over 100 years old!
• There's a cafeteria and a souvenir shop.
• The museum also shows short movies about the history of Indian railways. These movies are about 30 minutes long and are shown in a special conference room.

The famous Fairy Queen steam-locomotive also takes tourists from Delhi to Rewari. This special trip happens every second Saturday from October to April.

Images for kids

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  Rewari Railway Heritage Museum

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