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A railway museum in Mysore

There is no greater learning experience than by doing. As a lifelong fan of railways, we landed up in the National Railway Museum Mysore. I had been there before - it is a quaint, small museum located near the Mysore railway station.

From the time we visited last, the museum has grown a little more.

Now, the thing about museums is that, usually there is an exhibit, then a border (a rope or railing) that keeps a safe distance between you and the exhibit. So, at some point, it is all about seeing something and reading a bit about it or seeing a video - for all of which one needs to physically be there. So, it does become boring pretty soon.

(Case in point - the HAL museum in Bangalore - over the years, there is lesser and lesser things to touch and feel.)

Thankfully, the railways are made of sterner stuff. With a billion passengers trampling up and down their infrastructure, they know how to handle people. I mean, the railways are virtually indestructible.

So, the exhibits are all in which one can climb into, touch, feel and pretty much experience the railways. From the ticket counter which is on a caboose - to the small platform to the various coaches, engines and bogies, it is a quaint beautiful place.

And there is some old signalling equipment in place as well.

I have never been to the railway museum in Delhi (and it is high on the list of places to visit) and while there is a ton of things one can do with a railway museum - this museum in Mysore is a good beginning and whoever is managing it is doing a nice job of it.

All in all, a great learning experience...

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