Visit to the Railway Museum in Belgarde

This is really easy to find – it’s centrally located, just outside the main train station, with a big grey and green locomotive displayed outside, built in 1917 by Maschienenfabrik L Schwarzkopff in Berlin and it used to run between Gostivar and Ohrid in Macedonia until 1965. Today Macedonia is a separate entity and I am not sure if the Maschienenfabrik exists anymore but it’s nice to see a bit of history through a locomotive which connected Germany, the former Yugoslavia and Serbia.

Inside it’s dark, dusty and out of date, a throwback to the old railways of Yugoslavia with yellowing maps on the wall. But then there is not much difference between the carriages in the museum and the ones still on the tracks today. Except the ones on the tracks are always late and the ones in the museum never move.

The museum, once the pride of Yugoslavia, is rooting away opposite the main train station in Belgrade. I walked in without anyone asking me any questions and I still don’t know if you have to pay for entry tickets and how much they cost. The old maps of Yugoslavia, the carriages and mannequins dressed as in circa 1930 evoke the glamour of the Orient Express.

Inside there are lots of showcases filled with whistles, pieces of tracks, miniature trains, carriages, locomotives…The museum is very nostalgic it reminds you of the days of Agatha Christie and her journeys to Egypt to meet with her husband who was working on archaeological sites. The reality kicks in with the next room where local ladies sell duvet covers and the romance of train journeys disappears very quickly. I must admit this room was the busiest and noisiest one in the whole museum!

If you have a few hours to spare at the train station in Belgrade you can spend it most enjoyably by visiting the Railway Museum. It’s open from Monday to Friday between 0900 – 1500 and you have to make an appointment if you wish to visit on Saturday and Sunday.

Address: Railway Museum, 11000 Beograd, 6 Nemanjina Street
Phone: (+381 11) 3610-334 and (+381 11) 3614-154
Fax: (+381 11) 3616-831

E-mail: muzej@srbrail.rs