Bulawayo Railway Museum

Bulawayo Railway Museum (established 1972) is a railway museum located at Bulawayo railway station in Zimbabwe that houses several exhibitions on the history of the railway system in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia.[1][2] Its oldest exhibits date back to 1897,[3] and include Cecil Rhodes' personal railway coach.[4] The museum is owned by National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).[5] Due to the severe shortage of rolling stock, some steam locomotives from the museum have, in the past, been refurbished and returned to service.[6]

Bulawayo Railway Museum
Steam locomotives at the museum in 1990
Established1972
LocationBulawayo, Zimbabwe
Coordinates20°09′49″S 28°34′27″E
CollectionsSteam Locomotives, Diesel electric locomotives, coaches, saloons, wagons, trolleys, railway cranes
CuratorGordon Murray
HistorianGordon Murray
OwnerNational Railways of Zimbabwe
Nearest parkingOn site (no charge)

Exhibits

Main exhibits are grouped into seven different classes namely:

  1. Steam Locomotives
  2. Diesel Electric Locomotives
  3. Coaches and Saloons
  4. Wagons
  5. Trolleys
  6. Railway Cranes
  7. Other Miscellaneous Items[7]

Steam Locomotives
  • Lawley. 4-4-0. Falcon.
  • Small Class #1. 0-6-0 Tank. 'Rhodesia'.
  • Small Class #7. 0-6-0 Saddle Tank. 'Jack Tar'.
  • 6th Class #19. 4-8-2 Tank. .
  • 7th Class. #43. 4-8-0.
  • 9A Class. #122. 4-8-0.
  • 9B Class. #115. 4-8-0.
  • 10th Class. #98. 4-8-0.
  • 11th Class. #127. 4-8-2.
  • 12th Class. #190. 4-8-2.
  • 14th Class. #507. 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt.
  • 16th Class. #600. 2-8-2+2-8-2 Garratt.
  • 19th Class. #330. 4-8-2. Henschel.
  • 20th Class. #730. 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt.
  • 20th Class. #736. 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt.
  • 20A Class. #740. 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt.

Diesel Electric Locomotives
  • Class DE1. #0106. Davenport.
  • Class DE2. #1200. English Electric.
  • Class DE3. #1314. English Electric.
  • Class DE4. #1407. Brush.
  • Class DE5. #1531. David Poole (Jung).
  • Class DE7. #1708. SGP.
  • Class DE8B. #1837. Sorefame.
  • Class DE8B. #1845. Sorefame.

Coaches
  • Dining Car #660. Chimanimani.
  • C6 - Enginemens Caboose #21
  • Enginemens Caboose #25
  • Guards Van #89035
  • C5 - Eye Surgery Coach #1823
  • C3 - Rhodes Private Saloon
  • C2 - Chaplain's service coach #872
  • First Class coach #1045.
  • First Class balcony coach #1058.
  • Second Class balcony coach #2024.

Goods Wagons
  • Short open wagon (wood)
  • Short Livestock Wagon. (wood).
  • 4 Wheel wooden underframe (Oldbury Rly Carriage Co Ltd.)
  • Short explosives wagon EOZ 134167
  • Short wooden 'K' wagon. RRKUK 843429
  • Long Aluminium 'K' wagon. URR KHB
  • Short metal 'K' wagon. URR KOZ

Trolleys
  • T3 - used by Engineers to inspect the railway line
  • Victoria Falls Trolley

Railway Cranes
  • Booth Bros Crane
  • Ransomes & Rapier Crane

Artifacts, Art and Photography

There are also a number of items and pieces of art related to the railway industry at the museum. These include pictures of the day the queen of England visited Rhodesia, pictures of the "white train", a chronicle of Rhodes' death with his furniture in his coach, typewriters, train ticketing machines, train tickets, train passes, train destination boards, models of locomotives and coaches.

Buildings

There are two key buildings at the Bulawayo Railway Museum. The first one, right by the entrance, is the Shamva Station and the other is the Main Hall which houses many of the special exhibits.

Shamva Station

This is a typical Rhodesian Railways station building, dismantled and moved from Shamva to the museum to serve as the main reception. It consists of a ticketing office with most of the notice boards and equipment (rain gauge, fire extinguishers, etc) a railway station was expected to have during Rhodesian Railway times.

Main Hall

This hall was once the mechanical workshop of the Bulawayo station. In it can be found much of the mechanical equipment used there and at the station. There is also a wall of fame of Chief Mechanical Engineers since the start of Rhodesia Railways until 2013. This hall houses the most important exhibits at the Museum.

Management and Ownership

The Museum is owned by National Railways of Zimbabwe, but before that it was owned and formed by Rhodesia Railways. It is managed by Mr Gordon Murray, a long serving member of the company but subsequently a pensioner.

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References
  1. "Bulawayo's Railway Museum". 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  2. "Railroad Museums: AFRICA". 2 March 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  3. "Places to visit in Bulawayo, Bulawayo Tourist Guide, Bulawayo1872.com". 3 July 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  4. "How to travel by train in Zimbabwe - a complete guide". 8 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  5. "Bulawayo Railway Museum". 12 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  6. "Zimbabwe — Last Of The Beyer Garretts". 30 January 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  7. "Rhodesia Railways preservation". Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2019.

Further reading
  • African Museums in the Making: Reflections on the Politics of Material and Public Culture in Zimbabwe. Cameroon: Langaa RPCIG. 2015. ISBN 978-9956-792-82-5.
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