More vintage exhibits are to be added to the Rail Museum in Tiruchi to showcase the glorious heritage of the Railways.
A narrow gauge steam locomotive will soon become yet another prized outdoor exhibit at the museum - said to be the first of its kind in the Southern Railway zone - which became functional in 2015.
The Railway Board, New Delhi, has allotted a vintage narrow gauge steam loco which is to be brought from the Western Railway in the coming days for display at the museum.
The museum authorities here are making arrangements to transport the steam loco by road from Western Railway to Tiruchi. The loco is expected to arrive at the museum next month, said a senior railway official here.
A dedicated platform would be created within the sprawling five-acre museum premises to showcase the narrow gauge steam loco after giving it a fresh coat of paint.
A Swiss-made 'X' class metre gauge steam locomotive built in 1953 which was being operated in the scenic Nilgiri Mountain Railway between Mettupalayam and Coonoor until 2011 is already on display at the museum entrance.
Plans were also afoot to bring in a couple of narrow gauge coaches which were no longer in service from the Western Railway. A requisition has already been made by the museum authorities to the Railway Board, New Delhi to allot the old coaches, the official said.
Different kinds of wheels which were lying unused at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop at Tiruchi have been brought to the museum for display. The official said a condemned rail bus - a self-propelled vehicle lying at the Tiruchi Yard would also be cleaned and given a fresh coat of paint and kept on display at the museum in the coming months.
An array of vintage railway equipment, including hand signal lamps used during the colonial era; different types of rails, rare photographs highlighting important milestones during the British era and post Independence are already on display inside the museum.
The park within the museum premises established to attract children is getting a makeover, said another official. The museum attracts around 2,000 to 2,500 visitors on an average every month. Officials concede that visitors turn out was more only during weekends and holiday season during summer. Vintage artefacts are being added in order to attract more number of visitors.
