Hubballi Railway Museum, chapter-1

Museums are interesting places to see, they are a source of knowledge and entertainment. They are places which make learning fun. Until a few months ago, the museums in knew of in Dharwad-Hubli were the four museums at Karnataka University campus, which are 1. Historical Museum, 2. Geological Museum, 3. Biology Museum and 4. Dharwad Regional Science Center. I had heard there was a biological museum at one of the colleges in Hubli but never got a chance to see it. Dharwad is home to Agriculture University which might have a museum of its own, something that needs to be inquired.

As I was researching for places to explore, I stumbled on a spot marked as Railway Museum at Hubballi. Great. Decades ago, I remember a quick visit to the railway museum at Mysore. It was a small museum, a collection of few engines and bogies. Anyway, details have faded from my memory. I was excited about a visit to Hubballi railway museum. We chose a Sunday for the visit.

March 27, 2022

We reached the museum at 5-00 PM which is situated on Hubballi-Gadag highway. I was glad the museum had its own parking space. We purchased two tickets costing ₹20 each. As the were let into the museum campus, the ambiance was relaxing. There were outdoor and indoor sections. We started the tour with the two diesel locos, a passenger bogie and a goods bogie.

There are two sets of tracks running parallel to each other. One track is for the diesel locos and a passenger bogie, while the other track belongs to the toy train.

A railway crossing complete with gates and signal posts.

This red colored loco is the smaller of the two. I think its a narrow gauge track, hence a small engine. Visitors can climb into the pilots cabin. As I know every engine is manned by two pilots. For two adults, the cabin is pretty cramped. The view through the windshield is limited. The pilots would rather stick out their heads for a better view. Coming to the control panels, most of the gauges, dials, handles had been removed. Next we move on to the passenger bogie.

Here's a collage of the diesel locos and the passenger coach (exterior & interior). The narrow gauge passenger bogie felt like a bus's interior, compact but space was utilized well. The bogie is permanently occupied by human models attired in dresses from different districts of Karnataka. The bogie had toilets at both ends.

This is the bigger loco, probably this was used to pull a train of goods wagons. The loco's door was locked, barring access to the pilot's cabin. At the end of the tracks was a "Lever Operated Semaphore Arm Signal" (see inset). Visitors could operate the signal using the lever. Operating the lever would be an enjoyable experience for kids who love mechanics.

Next to the blue locomotive are several items like a goods wagon, a fabricated steel peacock and a jumbo ticket collector. We'll come to the jumbo TC in the end. Pushpa looks at the larger than life peacock statue. Its a well made piece of art... the workmanship is brilliant in every aspect.. the proportions, the fabrication and finishing.

Next items are the mobile and stationery water tanks. Railway items are always heavy, sturdy and well built because railway standards are high with a big factor of safety. This water tank with two axles is the smallest wagon I've ever seen. It looks like a rescue train's water tank. Next on our tour was Malaprabha cottage.

Malaprabha cottage is one of the two cottages in this premises. The other cottage is Ghataprabha. Two artifacts- a mechanical platform scale and a cast iron-wooden bench -greet visitors to Malaprabha. The weighing scale is Atlas make, a steel yard scale. This is a standard item found at all railway stations.

This tiled roof cottage too is a relic, probably built in the 40s or 50s. Construction is typical north Karnataka style. Flooring is dark grey Cuddapah slabs. This cottage is dedicated to railway artifacts like station master's office, booking office, ticket counter desks, sample tickets, communication equipment, cash boxes, railway traffic control equipment including a token exchange block instrument, various types of lighting equipment, passenger waiting room furniture, a set of charcoal sketches and other stuff needed to operate a railway system efficiently & safely.

This is the long hall in the front which has doors to the inner chambers of the cottage. At the far end of the hall are the drawings of locomotives / buildings sketched in charcoal. In the middle is a cuboid shaped steel trunk and a cylinder shaped steel box, both were used to transport cash. The desk in the foreground is a ticket clerk's desk.

In the middle of the hall, displayed on the wall are five artistic drawings of railway engines- steam powered locos and diesel powered locos.

These are all artifacts related to ticketing. A board displaying railway fare for passengers. A ticket clerk's desk with dating machines (red colored contraptions). A set of framed sample tickets.

This is the steel cash box. Its made of heavy gauge steel and reinforced with bars riveted on to the sheet metal.

A collection of 15 or 16 drawings made with charcoal. I missed checking out the artist's name(s). The drawings are mostly of steam locos and stations.

This is a model of Station Master's desk. On the desk are red & green flags, a number of telephones, and registers. The station's activity are entered into the log book. Behind the station master is a very important instrument called as the "token exchange block instrument." This instrument is crucial in controlling movement of trains. Basically the token exchange system is to prevent two trains running on the same track between two places to prevent collisions. The token exchange between a station and a train is happens with a simple device which looks like a tennis racket without strings but has a small leather pouch to carry the metallic token.

A collection of token exchange tool. In the case below are a collection of signal lamps and other gadgets & instruments. The museum also has a number of infographics, however one would need a lot of time to read the details.

Here's a closeup of a token exchange block instrument. Every station has one or more these and they are connected to the neighboring stations' instruments. They have their own voice communication system as well. Railway instruments, devices, tools, gadgets, apparatus are all specially designed for their usage. There are no delicate objects in railways, everything is strong, sturdy and robust.

A luggage booking clerk's desk, weighing scale and safe boxes.  

These are few pieces of wooden furniture from first class passenger's waiting room. On the wall are drawings depicting a child's experiences of railway journeys which most of us would be able to connect with.

I hope the tour was interesting until now. We have another half of the museum to see which will cover in the following post- Hubballi Railway Museum, chapter-2.

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