National Railway Museum — Attraction in Adelaide

In 1963, a group of rail preservationists, alarmed at the scrapping of steam locomotives which had served South Australia for many decades, set about saving, restoring and maintaining many of the historic vehicles in the museum today.

The first railway museum was located on Railway Terrace at Mile End, operated on a completely voluntary basis and opened on only two afternoons each month. Prior to 1988 museum members restored many locomotives and carriages, designed and built our steam engine 'Bub', and completely restored narrow gauge steam engine 'Peronne' to operational condition. They also published several railway books.

The exposure of the exhibits to the weather was a cause for great concern and an undercover venue was sought. In 1988 the museum was fortunate enough, with the involvement of the History Trust of SA, to obtain a $2m Australian Bicentennial Commemorative Grant to relocate to our current site and to provide covered accommodation for most of our exhibits.

On the 2nd of January 1988, the gates at the Mile End Railway Museum closed for the last time and on the 10th December 1988, after a year of frantic activity, the Port Dock Station Railway Museum Port Adelaide was officially opened by the Premier of South Australia, The Honorable John Bannon.

In 1999, special funding was received as part of Australia's Centenary of Federation to construct the Commonwealth Railways Museum within the museum's precinct. This new facility was opened on the 21st of October 2001 to house the expanding collection of exhibits from the Commonwealth Railways and Australian National and a new name was bestowed on the Museum – the National Railway Museum. On the 31st of May 2009, the two display pavilions were formally named the Ron Fitch and the Ron Fluck Pavilions. Former SA Railways Commissioner Ron Fitch and original railway museum founder Ron Fluck, were collectively responsible for much of the...

A nice detailed experience sharing the history of Adelaide and interstate rail way life. It's nice to see a glimpse into what life was like back then as well while drawing in railway connections where applicable.

When you walk in, you are in the gift shop with a wide range of kids toys and railway related memorabilia. It's wonderful to see a great supply of kids toys so they can engage in the culture. You can then walk towards the first main shed which takes you over the mini train crossing that weather permitting offers families a great little ride around the site.

Inside the two main sheds there is plenty to see and do for you and old alike so you can easily and freely walk through at your own pace while you see, touch and smell our railway history. Off to the side of the main shed are exhibits with engaging stories and images of our rail history as a nice addition to the vehicles on display.

Coming from a family of railway workers, this place will always hold a special place for me and it's great to see it only grow and enhance the visitor experience to encourage more people to learn about...

Was expecting a bit more interaction, and activities for families. Most carriages were closed and static, even my 5 year old stated how boring it was. Thank God for the train simulation game. The miniature train rides were the main highlight for the kids. 👍 The trains were impressive to see up close. I just wish there were more things that moved and provided some engagement for the kids.

Simple Ideas: Get a smoke machine, and pop it on top of the trains. Use more contrast of lighting, especially in the carriages. It's very dark and creepy. Get some sound scapes happening- train sounds, station sounds. Get some mannequins dressed up stoking the boilers, or fixing the steam trains. Set up some scenes along the train ride trip, currently just a bunch of chaos and spare...