Railway Museum (Saitama)

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Interior of Railway Museum

The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan^?) is a railway museum in Ōnari, Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Saitama, Japan, which opened on October 14, 2007. It was built and is operated by the East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of the East Japan Railway Company. It consists of a 19,800 m² building on a site covering 42,500 m², with a display area 9,500 m² in size.

The museum features about 30 railway cars, train cab simulators, railway model dioramas, mini trains, storage for artefacts and books, video booths, a multi-purpose hall, a gallery balcony, a cafeteria, a museum shop, and a research room.

1 History
2 Exhibits
3 Access
- 3.1 Address
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The old Transportation Museum (previously the Railway Museum) in Tokyo was closed in 2006

The present Railway Museum is the successor to the Transportation Museum (交通博物館 Kōtsū Hakubutsukan) in Chiyoda, Tokyo. This museum also opened as the Railway Museum under the elevated railway track near Tokyo Station celebrating the beginning of the 50th year of the railways in Japan on October 14, 1921. In 1936, the Railway Museum was relocated to the new facility built in the place of former building of Manseibashi Station, which station continued to operate until 1943 as an accessory of the museum. The museum was renamed to the Transportation Museum in 1948 to cover various means of transportation while the railway was still the main exhibit of the museum. On May 14, 2006 the museum was closed pending a move to the new Railway Museum in Saitama.

[edit] Exhibits

The following full-size vehicles are on display.

[edit] Locomotives

Class 150 steam locomotive – No. 1, the first locomotive to operate in Japan
Class 1290 steam locomotive – No. 1292 Zenko
Class 7100 steam locomotive – No. 7101 Benkei
Class 9850 Mallet steam locomotive – No. 9856, cut away to show internal workings
Class C51 steam locomotive – No. C51 5
Class C57 steam locomotive – No. C57 135
Class DD13 diesel locomotive – No. DD13 1
Class ED17 electric locomotive – No. ED17 1
Class ED40 electric locomotive – No. ED40 10
Class EF58 electric locomotive – No. EF58 89
Class EF66 electric locomotive – No. EF66 11
Class ED75 electric locomotive – No. ED75 775

[edit] Electric railcars

Hanifu1 passenger and luggage carriage (formerly car De963)
Class Nade6110 electric railcar – No. Nade6141
Class Kumoha40 electric railcar – No. Kumoha40074
101 series electric multiple unit car – No. Kumoha101-902
181 series electric multiple unit car – No. Kuha181-45
455 series electric multiple unit car – No. Kumoha455-1
485 series electric multiple unit car – No. Kuha481-26
485 series electric multiple unit car – No. Moha484-61
0 Series Shinkansen car – No. 21-25 (cab section only)
200 Series Shinkansen car – No. 222-35

[edit] Diesel railcars

Class Kiha41300 railcar – No. Kiha41056
Class Kiha11 railcar – No. Kiha11 25

[edit] Passenger carriages

Kotoku5010 Kaitakushi passenger carriage
31 series passenger carriage – No. Oha31026
Maite39 passenger carriage – No. Maite39 11
20 series sleeping car – No. Nahanefu22 1

[edit] Imperial carriages

Imperial Carriage No. 1 – first one of the cars so numbered
Imperial Carriage No. 2 – first one of the cars so numbered
Imperial Carriage No. 7
Imperial Carriage No. 9
Imperial Carriage No. 10
Imperial Carriage No. 12

[edit] Freight vehicles

Remufu10000 refrigerator wagon – No. Remufu10000
Koki50000 container wagon – No. Koki50000

The English class names of the cars and locomotives listed above are largely based on the English version of Floor Guide of the museum as of October 2007.

[edit] Access

The museum is located adjacent to Tetsudō-Hakubutsukan Station on the New Shuttle people mover, one stop from Ōmiya Station, a hub station of the JR East system. The museum has a limited number of parking lots.