National Rail Museum

The National Rail Museum traces the history of Indian Railways, one of the largest and most consequential railway networks ever built, through a collection of vintage steam locomotives, royal saloon carriages and rail memorabilia spread across both indoor galleries and outdoor display yards. A working miniature train gives visitors, especially children, a chance to ride a small-scale replica around the museum grounds.

Among the star exhibits is the Fairy Queen, recognised as the oldest working steam locomotive in the world, alongside opulent carriages once used by Indian maharajas and British viceroys. For anyone interested in India's colonial and post-independence infrastructure history, the museum offers a genuinely hands-on complement to the country's more conventional heritage sites.

Opened in 1977, the museum was established to preserve and display historically significant railway rolling stock from across India's railway history, dating back to the network's 19th-century origins under British colonial administration.

In Chanakyapuri, near Bhikaji Cama Place, best reached by road or auto-rickshaw.