AN INITIATIVE OF CRAFT REVIVAL TRUST.  Since 1999
Regional Rail Museum, Howrah

Regional Rail Museum, Howrah

Regional Rail Museum, Howrah

Howrah, West Bengal
India

E: [email protected]

W: www.er.indianrailways.gov.in

The Regional Rail Museum at Howrah, among the first Railway Museums of its kind in India,was set up on the banks of the river Hooghly in 2006. The museum highlights the unique history and heritage of railway in the eastern part of the country. It showcases the rich heritage of Eastern Railway (erstwhile East Indian Railway), the iconic Howrah Railway Station as well as other Zonal Railways of Eastern India. Also displayed are pictorial histories of erstwhile East Indian Railway and current zonal railways like Eastern Railway, East Central Railway, East Coast Railway,South Eastern Railway, North Frontier Railway as well as historical workshops like Chittaranjan Locomotive Workshop, Jamalpur Workshop, Kanchrapara Workshop and Metro Railway, Kolkata.
The objectives are:
• Promoting awareness about India’s rich and diverse rail heritage.
• Preservation of important artefacts and objects including century old locomotives, coaches, saloons, documents, drawings, photographs, equipment etc.
• Display of the preserved artefacts in an aesthetic manner.
• Arranging the displays to form a historical narrative showcased in an attractive format to enable dissemination of knowledge and awareness.
• Preservation of important records and documentation and facilitating further research on Rail heritage by students, scholars and historians.
• Providing an open and attractive cultural space in the urban setting for engagement and utilisation by the common public.

About the collection: Some examples of the special exhibits of this museum are as follows
• Fairy Queen (prototype) – the world’s oldest working steam locomotive.
• The first electric locomotive built by Indian Railways at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, named ‘Lokmanya’, which was dedicated to the nation by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
• A Steam locomotive belonging to East Pakistan Railway which was captured during the 1971 war with Pakistan for creation of Bangladesh.
• First WDS4 diesel locomotive.
• Century old original drawings of the Howrah station buildings by the British Architect Mr. Halsey.