Pakistan Railways Heritage Museum
Encyclopedia
Pakistan Railways Heritage Museum is located at Golra junction railway station near Islamabad
, some 1,994 feet above sea level, in the southeast of the Margalla Hills and east of the cradle of Gandhara
civilization, the ancient city of Taxila
.
Tilley lamp
s, gate signal lamps, crockery, fans, arms and ammunition, surgical items used at railway hospitals, a 1904 hand pump
, long armed chairs used in waiting rooms and Dak bungalows, a Railway time table of 1943 and historic photographs.
A majority of the items displayed at the museum belong to the North West Railways, as Pakistan
Railways was called before Independence, dating back to year 1890. The attempt is to preserve and display vintage items and artifacts related to the history of railways at the Heritage Point.
engine accompanied by passenger coaches. The 110-year-old narrow gauge steam locomotive, steam cranes, 100-year-old hand crane, saloons, passenger and freight coaches. The saloon was said to belong to the Viceroy
-e-Hind but no name was mentioned on it.
An interesting fact about the 110-year-old steam engine is that, it was in regular use, as early as 1990 and was still in running condition. The narrow gauge steam engine was run on the less frequent lines. A display model of the lane changing and up and down signal had also been installed. Different kinds of hand railway carts were also put on display and would offer a unique photo-moment to picnickers.
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, some 1,994 feet above sea level, in the southeast of the Margalla Hills and east of the cradle of Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
civilization, the ancient city of Taxila
Taxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
.
Museum Hall
In the museum hall, there are rare items on display including watches, pendulums, keroseneKerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
Tilley lamp
Tilley lamp
The Tilley Lamp derives from John Tilley’s invention of the hydro-pneumatic blowpipe in 1813 in England. W.H.Tilley were manufacturing pressure lamps at their works in Stoke Newington in 1818, and Shoreditch, in the 1830s...
s, gate signal lamps, crockery, fans, arms and ammunition, surgical items used at railway hospitals, a 1904 hand pump
Hand pump
Hand pumps are manually operated pumps; they use human power and mechanical advantage to move fluids or air from one place to another. They are widely used in every country in the world for a variety of industrial, marine, irrigation and leisure activities...
, long armed chairs used in waiting rooms and Dak bungalows, a Railway time table of 1943 and historic photographs.
A majority of the items displayed at the museum belong to the North West Railways, as Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Railways was called before Independence, dating back to year 1890. The attempt is to preserve and display vintage items and artifacts related to the history of railways at the Heritage Point.
Outside Museum Hall
Items on display outside the museum include a hand pump of 1901, and a ‘Heritage Special Train’, driven by an ancient steamSteam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
engine accompanied by passenger coaches. The 110-year-old narrow gauge steam locomotive, steam cranes, 100-year-old hand crane, saloons, passenger and freight coaches. The saloon was said to belong to the Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
-e-Hind but no name was mentioned on it.
An interesting fact about the 110-year-old steam engine is that, it was in regular use, as early as 1990 and was still in running condition. The narrow gauge steam engine was run on the less frequent lines. A display model of the lane changing and up and down signal had also been installed. Different kinds of hand railway carts were also put on display and would offer a unique photo-moment to picnickers.