Museum of Miniature Railways

In the Kothrud area of Pune,  is located a small factory : Soudamini Instruments. Here a special hall 26' x 26' has been built to house the Museum of Miniature Railways. Mr. B. S. Joshi, known to all as Bhau Joshi, is the originator and founder of the Museum. Collecting train models has been his hobby, or rather his obsession, from childhood..

In the 1980's he started work on a layout, which he visualised could be taken from town to town like a circus or fair. The layout was first displayed in Pune at the `Gokhale Hall' in 1982 and was a huge success. It was kept open for a month with an average attendance of 1200 people a day. In 1984 the layout was displayed in Bombay at two locations, a month at each place and then in 1986 it was again displayed in Pune at `Dastur Girls High School' for a month.

Later he took the decision of creating a permanent Museum of Miniature Railways.

The work and dedication that is behind this layout can be appreciated by fellow rail modellers. There are nearly 1000 wires coming out of the control panel. The entire Wuppertal Railway has been hand built from photographs. There are about 85 signals, all of which have been constructed by hand. All the fences, the lampposts, the flyovers etc have been constructed 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 you will find here :

  • 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.
  • Steam trains, Diesel engines, Highspeed Inter City Express, underground train, Local shuttle train, Trolley bus, Rope Railway, Funicular Railway, Wuppertal Hanging Railway.
  • Two-lane Highway with moving cars.
  • Fairground with a circus which has changing shows, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, a toy train and a lot of similar attractions, all with special sound effects.
  • Swimming pool with people swimming in it.
  • Fire engine which will actually put out the fire in a burning house.
  • Complete business centre in the city with hoardings and flashing signs.
  • The houses have been built from kits, made by German companies like Vollmer, Faller, Preiser etc. There are about 2000 human figures in different poses.
  • Night sky with stars and planets as seen on 16th April 1853, with lightning effects and April showers.
  • All actions are with full sound effects

The Museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. throughout the year. Batches are scheduled every half hour. Ticket sales close at 7.45 p.m. Group bookings and other timings on enquiry. Admission : Family pass (admits 4) Rs. 50/- Additional single ticket Rs. 20/-.

For Address Details, send an e-mail to info@puneonthenet.com

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