Jump to content

Kyoto Railway Museum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kyoto Railway Museum
京都鉄道博物館
The museum entrance in October 2016
Kyoto Railway Museum is located in Kyoto city
Kyoto Railway Museum
Location of the museum
Kyoto Railway Museum is located in Japan
Kyoto Railway 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′14″N 135°44′33″E / 34.98722°N 135.74250°E / 34.98722; 135.74250
TypeRailway museum
OwnerJR West
Public transit access
Umekōji-Kyōtonishi Station, JR West Sagano Line
ParkingUmekoji Park
Websitewww.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/

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.

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

Exhibition zones

[edit]

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

  • Promenade
  • Main hall
  • Twilight Plaza
  • Roundhouse
  • Former Nijō Station

Main hall

[edit]

This is a three-storey building completed in April 2016; it is the main exhibit area.

Roundhouse

[edit]
Roundhouse of the Kyoto Railway Museum

The 1914 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 the country.[1]

Former Nijo Station

[edit]
Nijo Station building

This two-storey structure was formerly part of Nijō Station in Kyoto until March 1996, and subsequently demolished and rebuilt at the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, where it formed the entrance building. From April 2016 onwards, it acts as the museum exit and hosts the museum shop.[2]

Exhibits

[edit]

As of April 2026, a total of 54 rolling stock items are on display at the museum.[3][2]

Steam locomotives

[edit]
8620 steam locomotive 8630 on the Umekoji Locomotive turntable
B20 10 in February 2006
C11 64
C61 2
D50 140
TypeNumber (and name if applicable)ManufacturerYear builtExhibition area Operational
JGR Class 71001/7105 YoshitsuneH.K. Porter (USA)1880Roundhouse *
JGR Class 180040/1801Kitson & Company (England)1881Main hall
JGR Class 10701080Dübs & Company (Scotland)1901Roundhouse
JGR Class 230233Kisha Seizo1903Main hall
JGR Class 86208630Kisha Seizo1914Roundhouse *
JNR Class 96009633Kawasaki Dockyard1914Roundhouse
JNR Class D50D50 140Hitachi1926Roundhouse
JNR Class C51C51 239Kisha Seizo1927Roundhouse
JNR Class C53C53 45Kisha Seizo1928Roundhouse
JNR Class C11C11 64Kawasaki Sharyo1935Roundhouse
JNR Class C55C55 1Kawasaki Sharyo1935Roundhouse
JNR Class D51D51 1Kawasaki Sharyo1936Roundhouse
JNR Class C57C57 1Kawasaki Sharyo1937Roundhouse *
JNR Class D51D51 200JNR Hamamatsu1938Roundhouse *
JNR Class C58C58 1Kisha Seizo1938Roundhouse
JNR Class C56C56 160Kawasaki Sharyo1939Roundhouse *
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 26Kawasaki Sharyo1948Promenade

Diesel locomotives

[edit]
DD51 756 on display in October 2016
DD54 33 on display in October 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
Class DD54DD54 33Mitsubishi1971PromenadeThe sole survivor of the class.
Class DD51DD51 756Hitachi1972Main hall

Electric locomotives

[edit]
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 1Kawasaki Sharyo/Kawasaki Denki Seizo1965Twilight PlazaBlue livery
Class EF81EF81 103Hitachi1974Twilight PlazaTwilight Express green livery
Class EF66EF66 35Toyo Denki/Kawasaki1974Main hallBlue livery

Shinkansen

[edit]
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

[edit]
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 Sharyo1964PromenadeVermillion orange livery
581 seriesKuHaNe 581-35Hitachi1968Main hallJNR beige livery
489 seriesKuHa 489-1Tokyu Car1971Main hallJNR beige livery

DMUs

[edit]
KiHa 81 series DMU car KiHa 81-3 in the Main hall in April 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition area Remarks
KiHa 81 seriesKiHa 81-3Kinki Sharyo1960Main hall JNR beige livery

Coaches

[edit]
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 1Takatori Factory1938PromenadeBrown livery
OHa 46OHa 46 13Kisha Seizo1955Railway vehicle factoryBrown livery
20 seriesNaShi 20 24Nippon Sharyo1970PromenadeBlue livery
24 seriesORoNe 24 4Nippon Sharyo1973Twilight PlazaBlue livery
50 seriesOHaFu 50 68Niigata Engineering [ja] (also known as Niigata Tekko)1977RoundhouseRed livery, used as a resting spot
24 seriesSuShi 24-1Kinki Sharyo1972Twilight PlazaTwilight Express livery
24 seriesSuRoNeFu 25-501Fuji Heavy Industries1975Twilight PlazaTwilight Express livery
24 seriesOHa 25-551Fuji Heavy Industries1977Railway vehicle factoryTwilight Express livery
SuHa 32MaITe 49-2Ministry of Railways Oi Factory1938Railway vehicle factoryBrown livery

Freight wagons

[edit]
Brake van Yo 5008 in October 2016
TypeNumberManufacturerYear builtExhibition areaRemarks
WaMu 3500WaMu 3500-7055Nippon Sharyo1917Main hallBlack livery
Yo 5000Yo 5000-5008Kawasaki Sharyo1959Main hallLight green livery

History

[edit]

As early as 1967, plans were being made to turn the round-house at Umekoji depot, Kyoto into a live museum where good-order examples of Japanese steam locomotives could be displayed and also steamed and run. The Opening-eve ceremony was held on October 9, 1972 from 1:00 p.m. At the beginning, JNR president Mr. Isozaki planted a memorial young black pine tree. The opening ceremony was conducted in front of the Symbol-Zone. The ceremony invited the Kyoto prefectural governor, Kyoto city mayor, and successive Umekoji depot directors, and one hundred and thirty other celebrities as well as eighty JNR members. After the JNR president's congratulatory speech, the naming ceremony was done. It was named "The Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum (Umekoji Jyoki Kikansha Kan)." The dedicated monument embodied the driving wheel from a C57 88 (Retired at 1 May 1972). There is an original English epitaph on the monument, as follows;

May the glory of steam locomotives over the past century be remembered and their gallant sight preserved here forever.
10 October 1972 Japan National Railways.

At the end of the ceremony, a special ceremonial train was run by the C62 2. 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

[edit]

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 MTM closed on 6 April 2014, and the exhibits housed there were subsequently moved to the new railway museum in Kyoto.[8]

Access

[edit]

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

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Official website of the museum Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on August 29, 2009. (in Japanese)
  2. 1 2 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.
  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. 1 2 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

[edit]
  • 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.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kyoto_Railway_Museum&oldid=1363327977"