Kyoto Railway Museum

The Kyoto Railway Museum (京都鉄道博物館, Kyōto Tetsudō Hakubutsukan) (formerly the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum (梅小路蒸気機関車館, Umekōji Jōkikikansha-kan) until 2016) is a railway museum in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The original Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum opened in 1972, but was expanded and modernized in 2016, becoming the Kyoto Railway Museum.

Kyoto Railway Museum
京都鉄道博物館
The museum entrance in October 2016
Location of the museum
Kyoto Railway Museum (Japan)
Former nameUmekoji Steam Locomotive Museum
Established
  • October 10, 1972 (1972-10-10) (as Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum)
  • April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) (as Kyoto Railway Museum)
LocationShimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Coordinates34°59′13.98″N 135°44′35.24″E
TypeRailway museum
OwnerJR West
Public transit accessUmekōji-Kyōtonishi Station, JR West Sagano Line
Nearest car parkUmekoji Park
Websitewww.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/

The museum is owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and is operated by Transportation Culture Promotion Foundation.

Exhibition zones

The museum is divided into the following exhibition areas, including the 20-track roundhouse built in 1914.

  • Promenade
  • Main Hall
  • Twilight Plaza
  • Roundhouse
  • Former Nijō Station
  • The Promenade area in May 2016

Main Hall

This is a three-storey building completed in April 2016.[1]

  • Exhibits in the main hall in May 2016
  • The Main Hall viewed from the second floor in May 2016

Roundhouse

The roundhouse was built surrounding a turntable. It is an Important Cultural Property designated by the government of Japan as the oldest reinforced-concrete car shed extant in Japan.[2]

  • The roundhouse in May 2016

Former Nijo Station

This two-storey structure was formerly part of Nijō Station in Kyoto until March 1996, and was subsequently moved to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum where if formed the entrance building, housing the museum shop.[1]

  • The former Nijo Station building in February 2006

Exhibits

As of April 2016 a total of 53 rolling stock items are on display at the museum.[3][1]

Steam locomotives
B20 10 in February 2006
C61 2
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition area
JGR Class 71007105H.K. Porter, Inc. (USA)1880Roundhouse
JGR Class 18001801Kitson and Company (UK)1881Main hall
JGR Class 10701080Dubs (UK)1901Roundhouse
JGR Class 230233Kisha Seizo1903Main hall
JGR Class 86208630Kisha Seizo1914Roundhouse
JNR Class 96009633Kawasaki1914Roundhouse
JNR Class D50D50 140Hitachi1926Roundhouse
JNR Class C51C51 239Kisha Seizo1927Roundhouse
JNR Class C53C53 45Kisha Seizo1928Roundhouse
JNR Class C11C11 64Kawasaki1935Roundhouse
JNR Class C55C55 1Kawasaki1935Roundhouse
JNR Class D51D51 1Kawasaki1936Roundhouse
JNR Class C57C57 1Kawasaki1937Roundhouse
JNR Class D51D51 200JNR Hamamatsu1938Roundhouse
JNR Class C58C58 1Kisha Seizo1938Roundhouse
JNR Class C56C56 160Kawasaki1939Roundhouse
JNR Class B20B20 10Tateyama1946Roundhouse
JNR Class D52D52 468Mitsubishi1946Roundhouse
JNR Class C59C59 164Hitachi1946Roundhouse
JNR Class C62C62 1Hitachi1948Roundhouse
JNR Class C62C62 2Hitachi1948Roundhouse
JNR Class C61C61 2Mitsubishi1948Roundhouse
JNR Class C62C62 26Kawasaki1948Promenade

Diesel locomotives
DD54 33 on display in October 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
Class DD54DD54 33Mitsubishi1971Promenade
Class DD51DD51 756Hitachi1972Main hall
Class 912912-63Main hallFront end only

Electric locomotives
EF58 150 (left) and EF81 103 (right) in the Twilight Plaza zone in May 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
Class EF52EF52 1Hitachi1928Main HallBrown livery
Class EF58EF58 150Tokyo Shibaura Denki1958Twilight PlazaBlue livery
Class EF65EF65 1Kawasaki1965Twilight PlazaBlue livery
Class EF81EF81 103Hitachi1974Twilight PlazaTwilight Express green livery
Class EF66EF66 35Toyo Denki/Kawasaki1974Main HallBlue livery

Shinkansen
100 series car 122-5003 in the Main Hall in October 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition area
0 series21-1Nippon Sharyo1964Promenade
0 series16-1Nippon Sharyo1964Promenade
0 series35-1Nippon Sharyo1964Promenade
0 series22-1Nippon Sharyo1964Promenade
100 series122-5003Hitachi1989Main Hall
500 series521-1Kawasaki Heavy Industries1996Main Hall

EMUs
80 series EMU car KuHa 86001 in May 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
80 seriesKuHa 86001Hitachi1950PromenadeOrange/green Shonan livery
80 seriesMoHa 80001Hitachi1950PromenadeOrange/green Shonan livery
103 seriesKuHa 103-1Nippon Sharyo1963PromenadeVermillion orange livery
581 seriesKuHaNe 581-35Hitachi1968Main Hall
489 seriesKuHa 489-1Tokyu Car1971Main Hall

DMUs
KiHa 81 series DMU car KiHa 81-3 in the Main Hall in April 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition area
KiHa 81 seriesKiHa 81-3Kinki Sharyo1960Main Hall

Coaches
Former Twilight Express generator van KaNi 24-12 and lounge car OHa 25-551 in the Main Hall in May 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
SuShi 28SuShi 28 301Nippon Sharyo1933PromenadeBrown livery
MaRoNeFu 59MaRoNeFu 59 1Kisha Seizo1955Main HallBrown livery
OHa 46OHa 46 13Nippon Sharyo1933PromenadeBrown livery
20 seriesNashi 20 24Nippon Sharyo1970PromenadeBlue livery
24 seriesORoNe 24 4Hitachi1972Twilight PlazaBlue livery
50 seriesOHaFu 50 68Niigata Engineering (also known as Niigata Tekko)1977RoundhouseRed livery
24 seriesSushi 24-11988Twilight PlazaTwilight Express livery
24 seriesSuRoNeFu 25-5011989Twilight PlazaTwilight Express livery
24 seriesOHa 25-5511989Main HallTwilight Express livery
24 seriesKaNi 24-121975Main HallTwilight Express livery

Freight wagons
Brake van Yo 5008 in October 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
WaMu 3500WaMu 7055Nippon Sharyo1917Main HallBlack livery
Yo 5000Yo 5008Kawasaki Sharyo1959Main HallLight green livery

History

The museum was opened by Japanese National Railways (JNR) on October 10, 1972 commemorating the centennial of the railway in Japan.[4] When JNR was divided into regional companies in 1987, the museum was inherited by JR West.

Expansion plans

On 19 December 2012, JR West officially announced its plans to modernize and expand the Umekoji museum.[5] It was announced on 18 December 2013 that the enlarged museum would be renamed the Kyoto Railway Museum.[6] The construction cost was 7.0 billion yen.[7][5]

Once the expansion was complete, the new museum exhibit space covered 31,000 square meters, becoming the largest railway museum in Japan both in terms of floor space and the number of trains exhibited, and surpassing JR East's Railway Museum in Saitama and JR Central's SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya.

The expansion became necessary due to the aging facilities of the Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka. The Modern Transportation Museum closed on 6 April 2014, and the exhibits housed there were subsequently moved to the new railway museum in Kyoto.[8]

Access

The museum is approximately 3 minutes on foot from Umekōji-Kyōtonishi Station.

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See also

References
  1. 京都鉄道博物館 [Kyoto Railway Museum]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 56 no. 662. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. June 2016. pp. 26–77.
  2. Official website of the museum Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on August 29, 2009. (in Japanese)
  3. 京都鉄道博物館の概要 [Overview of the Kyoto Railway Museum]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 45 no. 385. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. May 2016. pp. 12–34.
  4. Japan Railfan Magazine October 1993 issue, p. 20
  5. 2016年(平成28年)春、京都･梅小路エリアに新たな鉄道博物館が開業します [New railway museum to open in Kyoto/Umekoji area in spring 2016]. Press release (in Japanese). West Japan Railway Company. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. 鉄道博物館の名称が決まりました [Railway museum name fixed]. Press release (in Japanese). Japan: West Japan Railway Company. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  7. 京都・梅小路エリアに新たな鉄道博物館 [New railway museum for Umekoji, Kyoto]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  8. 52年分の感謝と共に、交通科学博物館の営業を終了します [Modern Transportation Museum to close after 52 years]. Press release (in Japanese). West Japan Railway Company. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

Further reading
  • 京都鉄道博物館のすべて [Complete Guide to the Kyoto Railway Museum] (in Japanese). Japan: JTB Publishing. 20 April 2016. ISBN 978-4533110726.
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