Rail Musuem In pune - Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railways

Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railways

About us  In the Kothrud area of Pune, India, is located a small factory:

Soudamini Instruments, where a special hall 26’x 26’ has been built to house the Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railways.  Mr. B. S. Joshi, known to all as Bhau Joshi, was the originator and

founder of the Museum.  Collecting train models was his hobby, or rather his obsession, from

childhood.  In India during the festival of Diwali, it is a popular pass time among

children to build "Killas" or small layouts depicting the fortress strongholds of Shivaji, the King of the Marathas.  Mostly these are extremely crude attempts with no knowledge or

attempt at proportion.

 Even during his childhood, Bhau used to build "Killas" with a lot of

movements, like a fire engine which used to actually put out a fire, moving cars on roads etc.  These were controlled by strings.  The houses etc. were made of cardboard. There used to be long queues to

see these Killas, which were famous in his neighbourhood.  In the 1980’s he started work on a layout which, he visualized, could be

taken from town to town like a circus or fair.  This layout, which was the result of a 40 year obsession, was first displayed

in Pune at the "Gokhale Hall" in 1982 and was a huge success.  In 1984 the layout was displayed in Bombay and in 1986, in Pune at “Dastur

High School ".

 From these three experiences it was found that to make it a mobile

layout, required too much man power and expenditure, to the detriment of regular activity at Soudamini Instruments.  The permissions etc. required at each location were very frustrating.  Thus he took the decision of creating a permanent Museum of

Miniature Railways. Once this decision was taken the entire concept of the layout changed.  Since it was no longer necessary to dismantle the layout, much more

detailed work could be done.  The hall was constructed in 1991 and the present layout was created,

which was opened to the public on 1st April 1998.

 The work and dedication behind this layout can be appreciated by

fellow rail modellers.  There are nearly 1000 wires coming out of the control panel,

adding to a length of 5 km.  There are 65 signals, fences, lampposts, and flyovers etc. which have

been manufactured by hand, using chemical etching techniques.  The control panel has been designed so that the entire layout can be

operated manually or can be computer controlled.  All this has been achieved due to the single minded devotion and

hard work of one man, Bhau Joshi.  What is the purpose of exhibiting this layout?

Railway Museum  The experience inside the Museum hall is one

that people remember for a lifetime.  Fully functional station yard with 6 platforms,

announcement systems, 3 main lines, plenty of sidings, goods loading facilities, hump shunting, a turntable, crane, etc. The layout has about 26 points and 65 signals.  The entire layout is in the HO scale (1:87) using Marklin

a.c. and Digital systems.  Steam trains, Diesel engines, High speed Inter City

Express, Underground train, Local Shuttle train, Trolley bus, Rope Railway, Funicular Railway, Wuppertal Hanging Railway.  Ghat section with reversing station for steam trains.  Two lane Highway with moving cars.

Museum of Miniature Railways  The experience inside the Museum Hall is one that

people remember for a lifetime.  The Entire Imaginary City is controlled from a panel

from which arises a network of over 1000 wires (a length of 5 kms).  There are 65 Signals, 26 Points, Fences, Lampposts,

Flyovers, etc. which have been manufactured by hand using chemical etching techniques.  The Entire Layout can be operated manually or can be

Computer Controlled.  Fully Functional Station Yard with 6 Platforms,

Announcement Systems, 3 Main Lines, Goods Loading Facilities, Hump Shunting, a Turntable, Crane, etc.  The Entire Layout is in the HO scale (1:87) using

Markin a.c. and Digital systems.

Trainz the hobby Station  As a logical extension of the museum, we have now

started a hobby shop for those ardent train lovers wherein you will find exclusive scale models from international brands like Fleishmann, Roco & Hornby.  You can start off with a basic starter set comprising of a

circle of track, a loco and a couple of wagons or coaches. An add-on component like additional tracks, points, engines, coaches, signals, etc to give you an opportunity for infinite expansion.  We also have other accessories like buildings, trees and

landscaping accessories, as well as aero plane models  In this shop we can show you how starting with a train

set can be an excellent introduction to the hobby.

Timings Monday

9.30 am to 5.00 pm

NA

Tuesday

9.30 am to 5.00 pm

Wednesday

9.30 am to 5.00 pm

Thursday

9.30 am to 1.00 pm

Friday

9.30 am to 5.00 pm

Saturday

9.30 am to 4.00 pm

5.00 pm to 8.00 pm

Sunday

5.00 pm to 8.00 pm

NA

NA NA

NA

NA

Note: Minimum FOUR visitors required for show to be conducted.

Contact us Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railways  Contact Person: Dr. Ravi Joshi  Mobile No: +91 9822048398  Web: www.railmuseum.in  Address: 17/1 B/2 G A Kulkarni Road  Area: Kothrud  City: Pune - 411038