|
|
|
Imagine a large steam locomotive running down the track puffing up steam from the engine, with the bright blue sky and large cumulonimbus clouds in the background. Now the only place you can actually see one of these black trains set in a summer background like this is the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum.
The Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum is composed of the Reference Materials Library and the fan-shaped train shed where the steam locomotives are kept. Back in the Meiji Period, these trains carried passengers and freight all over Japan, but since the 1960s they have all but disappeared, and in 1972, the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum was established to preserve these steam locomotives for future generations.
In 2004, an electric ceiling crane used for repairs, the railroad siding, and the fan-shaped train shed, where the steam locomotives are kept, were specified as important national cultural properties. In 2006, the Reference Materials Library, the fan-shaped train shed, the preserved steam locomotives, and a set of inspection and repair tools were all designated as quasi-railroad monuments by the West Japan Railway Company.
At the museum, you can experience boarding one of the steam locomotives, and there are railway goods for sale. The museum is designed so that even people new to steam locomotives can enjoy the facilities. In addition, Umekoji Park, which is an oasis of shade during the hot summer months, is located just next to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum.
Why not come to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum this summer, and see a real steam locomotive running down the tracks? |
|
|
|
|
|
Open: |
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
(last entrance: 4:30 PM) |
Closed: |
Mondays (when Monday is a national holiday, closed the following day), end and beginning of each year, There are no holidays in the following periods: March 25 - April 7 and July 21 - August 31 |
Entrance fees: |
Adults 400 yen,
Children (4 years old or older) 100 yen |
Contact: |
075-314-2996 |
|
|
|
|
One of the Umekoji steam
locomotives in action |
|
|
|
Reference Materials Library |
|
|
|
Fan-shaped train shed |
|
|