Joshi Museum of Miniature Railways covers 25-year success track

The museum, founded by late BS alias Bhau Joshi, is celebrating its silver jubilee and a special miniature scale model of “Vande Bharat” was the special attraction when it was unveiled to mark the occasion

Pune: The narrow, yet tall, stairs to a tiny building in Kothrud would look like nothing but a station, giving a feeling to visitors about stepping on a platform. As visitors move ahead, it is like boarding a train. Welcome to Joshi Museum of Miniature Railways, a unique place showcasing working scale models of various railways in the world. The place and surroundings fascinate anyone to think that it is a real railway station.

Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil (C) unveiled the special ‘Vande Bharat’ scale model to mark the silver jubilee of Joshi Museum of Miniature Railways. Also seen are Ravi Joshi (L) and Devavrat Joshi. (HT PHOTO)

The museum, founded by late BS alias Bhau Joshi, is celebrating its silver jubilee and a special miniature scale model of “Vande Bharat” was the special attraction when it was unveiled to mark the occasion.

Maharashtra higher and technical education minister and Pune district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil unveiled the “Vande Bharat” model, designed on the scale 1:100, during a visit to the museum on April 1, 1998.

Vande Bharat is India’s first fast-speed train currently operational on 11 routes.

“We made the model based on the actual drawings from the Indian Railways. Thus, all minute details were taken into consideration while designing the static model. Work is in progress on the working miniature model of Vande Bharat and it will be soon showcased at the museum,” said Ravi Joshi, son of Bhau Joshi.

“It took us three months to design the static model of ‘Vande Bharat’,” said Ravi.

The museum it a dream turning to reality with painstaking efforts for Bhau Joshi. According to Ravi, who manages the museum along with his son Devavrat, the project began as a hobby for his father when he took up a job in London.

Bhau used to display his works at different locations, before he decided to set up a museum as shifting of miniatures was a painstaking and costly affair.

“Though the museum began operations 25 years ago, I am sure a lot of work and preparation would have been put towards it over a period spanning another 25 years. The nitty-gritty of railways and different railways across the world are taken into consideration while planning the museum and it offers a plethora of knowledge to visitors. The unveiling of the ‘Vande Bharat’ model is special as it is a sign of the future,” Ravi said.

The layout for the museum has been developed on the HO, a rail transport modelling scale, of 1:87, using Marklin AC power supply and digital systems. The museum features fully-functional station yard with six platforms, announcement system, steam trains, diesel engines, high-speed inter-city express, railway ropeway, funicular railway with 26 points and 65 signals. Ghat section with a reversing station for steam trains, two-lane highway with moving cars, drive-in-theatre, swimming pool, a circus, night sky and 20-minute audio-visual show are other attractions.

The museum finds mention in the Limca Book of Records 2004.

The Joshis have also designed the miniature room of the National Railway Museum in New Delhi along with seven-eight static models for the Diesel Locomotive Workshop in Varanasi, which are presented as mementos to key personnel visiting the workshop.