Records better footfall with illumination during Dasara month

Mysore/Mysuru: With the Rail Museum, located opposite the CFTRI Main Gate on KRS Road, glittering with special illumination during the 10-day Dasara festival, the decades’ old Museum attracted a good number of tourists and visitors in October.

The Museum, that features rare pictures, models and replicas of the old Railway networks during the times of the British and the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas, saw as many as 7,000 people visiting it during the 10-day Dasara festivities, which was held in a simple manner this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Museum saw more than 10,000 footfalls in October, even amidst the pandemic, with people still scary to come out of their homes.

The Museum recorded a good collection of Rs. 3.6 lakh as entry fee during Navarathri.

The Museum was established in a three acre area facing KRS Road opposite the CFTRI Main Gate in 1979 and is touted to be the oldest Railway Museum of its kind in the country. 

During the period prior to COVID-induced lockdown, the Museum used to record over a lakh visitors every year. The Museum, which was shut for about a year for renovation, taken up at a cost of Rs. 9 crore, was re-opened for visitors on Mar. 14, 2020. But unfortunately, it was closed for public only a few days later following the outbreak of the deadly pandemic. 

But after the relaxation in lockdown regulations, the Museum was re-opened a couple of months ago, much to the delight of the visitors and Rail travellers. 

The Museum is open on all days from 10 am to 6 pm. However, the closure timings was extended to 8 pm during Dasara.

The Museum features a toy train network, with a four-bogie toy train zooming around in a circle covering 600 metres. The toy train is driven by a miniature diesel engine and 30 passengers can hop on to it for a trip. The other features include a Maharani Saloon, a special bogie. This bogie was used by the wife of the erstwhile Mysore Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

The Saloon is decorated with rosewood carvings and features a reading room, a servant room, a foldable wash basin, a bath room etc., This bogie was then considered as a Luxury bogie during the times of the Maharajas decades ago. 

Apart from glittering during Dasara, the Museum has a view  tower with lift facility from where a visitor gets a full view of the Museum. The Museum located amidst the lush greens, with over 190 plant species, used to draw 4 to 5 thousand visitors every day prior to the lockdown days.

However, all said and done,  it may take some more time for the Museum to regain its past footfalls, as people are still afraid to come out due to the pandemic.