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 special place in Rewari city, Haryana, India. It used to be called the Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed. This museum is unique because it's the only place left in India where old steam trains were kept and fixed.

It's home to some of India's last working steam locomotives. This includes the famous Fairy Queen, which is one of the oldest working steam engines in the world! The museum is about 400 meters north of the Rewari railway station.

History of the Museum

From Shed to Museum

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

By the 1990s, steam engines were no longer used much. The shed was left empty for a while. But then, in May 2002, it was reopened.

Becoming a Heritage Site

The Indian Railways decided to turn the Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed into a place for heritage tourism. They fixed up the old building and added a museum in December 2002. The museum showed off old items used on Indian trains. These included old signaling systems and even gramophones.

The improved heritage museum officially opened in October 2010. The old engines there can still be started up for special demonstrations.

Amazing Exhibits

The museum has 11 of the world's oldest steam locomotives. These engines have been restored and can still run! Here are a few of the cool ones you can see:

• Baldwin AWE: This engine was built in 1945 by an American company called Baldwin Locomotive Works.

• Akbar WP1761: This locomotive was named after the famous Mughal Emperor, Akbar. It was built in 1963 and started working in 1965. It has a special wheel setup called 4-6-2. It used to go up to 110 kilometers per hour, but now it's limited to 45 kilometers per hour. This 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 Baldwin prototype engines. It was fixed up to be used for special steam train rides. It has run several special trips, including one in 2009 to celebrate the 153rd birthday of Royapuram railway station. This is the oldest railway station in India. The engine is even considered lucky for film shoots! It can be rented out for a lot of money each day.

Future Plans

In January 2018, Indian Railway made a plan to build a big railway heritage theme park. This park would be right next to the Rewari Rail Museum. It would be built with help from the Government of Haryana and India's Ministry of Tourism.

The idea is similar to other railway theme parks around the world. These include the Devon Railway Centre in the UK and the Edaville Railroad Theme Park in the USA. The Railway asked the Haryana Government to include this museum in a special tourism plan. This plan connects several historical places in the area.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has also started a project. They want to teach more students about this amazing museum.

Things to Do at the Museum

The Rewari Railway Heritage Museum is open every day. There are lots of fun things to do and see:

• You can try a 3-D steam loco simulator. It feels like 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.
• You can see old railway equipment and hand-held brass signal lamps.
• There's a conference room where you can watch documentaries. These films are about the history of railways in India.
• You can also visit a century-old dining car, a cafeteria, and a souvenir shop.

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

See also