Review: Narrow Gauge Rail Museum – The Only One in India

The Narrow Gauge Rail Museum at Kamptee Road (near Kadbi Chowk Metro Station) in Moti Bagh (Nagpur) is spectacular.

It was inaugurated on 14th December 2002 on the eve of the 150th anniversary of Indian Railways by the then Hon’ble Union Minister of Railways (India), Shri Nitish Kumar.

The entry ticket price is Rs. 25 for adults, Rs. 10 for children (03-12 years), and the timings are as follows:

October to March: 10:30 am to 7:30 pm

April to September: 11:30 am to 8:30 pm

Narrow Gauge Rail Museum houses British-era engines – a legacy of the Indian Railways, which used to run in the Bengal-Nagpur Railway zone.

This museum is a great place to visit with kids as there is a park with swings & slides. Children can learn about the narrow gauge and see how the railways have progressed. The museum and the park are perfectly interlinked.

The toy train ‘Orange City Express’ is like the cherry on the cake. It runs along the museum’s outer perimeter (500 meters long).

This is a great place to learn how the great journey of Indian Railways began. It has all the information about the history of the trains. It is for those who want to experience and learn about rail travel of the bygone era, the 70s-80s-90s.

The museum has locomotives, trains, and steam engines. It shows the history of the development of locomotives.

There are photographs and real exhibits from the last hundred years.

If you want to know more about railways in India and historical things fascinate you, then this is one of the best places to visit.

This is the only narrow gauge museum in India. A good place to relive the old era of railways. The engines have been well preserved.

It displays all the old system mechanical & electrical equipment used before the latest electronic & gadget era.

One of the main attractions of the museum is the collection of narrow-gauge locomotives.

You can also see the statue of ‘Bholu‘, the beloved mascot elephant of Indian Railways.

The biggest attraction here is a revolving restaurant. A narrow gauge coach can be seen rotating on the turntable.

The heritage gallery exhibits cardboard tickets, German-silver cutlery used in the royal carriages, a foldable wash basin, a collection of postage stamps on Indian & foreign railways, a vintage cash box built in 1897, a printed card ticket punching machine, an old water hand pump, etc., etc.

C.C. Class Engine (1907), Bagnall Engine (1916), Shahi Saloon (1899), and Diesel Engine (1964) are on display – worth watching.

Many spare parts and signal systems used in the railways can be seen up close.

It is a good tourist spot for visitors. It is the best place for photography. The best museum in Nagpur is about 19th-century trains.

It is a good place for a one-time visit. The only minus point – the museum does not have a canteen, in case the visitors get hungry.

This museum is closed on Mondays and national holidays. Parking of vehicles is not a problem.

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the Narrow Gauge Rail Museum. You must visit it if you are in Nagpur. Highly recommended.

Note: Residents of nearby areas can also easily get their outstation train tickets from the reservation counter present here.