Yunnan Railway Museum

Yunnan Railway Museum
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Chinese Name: 云南铁路博物馆

English Name: Yunnan Railway Museum

The Yunnan Railway Museum is located at No. 913 Beijing Road, Kunming. It was established using the waiting room of the Kunming North Railway Station and opened to the public in 2004. The museum primarily showcases the development history of the Kunming railway, with a special focus on narrow-gauge railway artifacts.

The museum has a building area of 7,963 square meters and an exhibition area of 5,155 square meters. It houses and displays over 10,000 artifacts and documents, including 8 first-class cultural relics, 10 second-class relics, and 123 third-class relics. The museum encapsulates over a century of Yunnan’s railway history. Due to its unique historical and cultural value, it has been named a National Youth Education Base, a National Railway and Yunnan Province Patriotic Education Base, and a Yunnan Province Science Education Base.

In December 2017, the museum was included in the Ministry of Education’s first list of National Primary and Secondary School Research and Practice Education Bases and Camps.

Historical Background

  • 1990: Initially founded in April 1990, the predecessor of the museum was the “Yunnan Narrow Gauge Railway History Exhibition Hall” located in the waiting room of the Kaiyuan Railway Station.
  • 2003: In February 2003, it was relocated to Kunming North Railway Station and expanded into a museum.
  • 2004: Officially opened to the public on December 28, 2004.
  • 2014: Due to the impact of urban rail transit construction in Kunming, the museum was demolished and rebuilt. The new museum opened on May 18, 2014.

Museum Composition

The museum consists of the South and North Halls. The South Hall is modeled after the classical French architecture of the century-old “Yunnanfu Station” on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. The North Hall features modern architecture incorporating elements of high-speed railway passenger stations. A railway steel bridge connects the two halls, spanning over three tracks of the station, integrating the museum with the operational railway station.

Notable Exhibits

Exhibit Name Description
“Michelin” Rubber-Wheeled Passenger Railcar Introduced on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in 1914, this railcar is 16 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, and 2.9 meters high. It features 19 soft seats, 24 hard seats, a washroom, a toilet, and a kitchen, making it akin to a fully equipped mobile hotel.
SN Type 29 Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive Manufactured by Baldwin Locomotive Works in the United States. It features a 0-5-0 wheel arrangement, with a locomotive length of 8 meters, width of 2.4 meters, height of 3.15 meters, and a weight of 24.19 tons. The accompanying coal-water tender is 7 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, and 1.9 meters high, with a weight of 6.6 tons. Purchased in 1923, it was in operation until December 31, 1990.
Narrow-Gauge Baggage-Postal Car Manufactured by the Yangtze Factory in Hankou, China, in 1919. Car number: 351.
Narrow-Gauge Wooden Passenger Car A third-class passenger car operating on the Ge-Bi-Shi narrow-gauge railway, manufactured by the Yangtze Factory in Hankou, China, in 1919. Car number: 241.
Narrow-Gauge Steel Boxcar Produced by the Koppel Car Factory in the United States in 1930, with a load capacity of 10 tons. Car number: 451.
Narrow-Gauge Wooden Open Car Produced by the Magor Car Factory in the United States in 1930. Car number: 601.
Narrow-Gauge Wooden Flat Car Manufactured by the Yangtze Factory in Hankou, China, in 1919. Car number: 701.
Narrow-Gauge Wooden Boxcar Manufactured by Decauvllle Factory in France in 1925. Car number: 402.
Standard-Gauge Dongfeng No. 1 Diesel Locomotive No. 2058 Manufactured in China in 1973. The locomotive is 163.92 meters long, 3.3 meters wide, 4.775 meters high, with a self-weight of 118 tons and a gross weight of 126 tons.
MK51 Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive Produced in France. Originally classified as MK51 type, renamed JF51 type (Liberation 51 type) after 1949.
Standard-Gauge “Chuncheng” Trainset Operated between Kunming and Shilin during the 1999 Kunming International Horticultural Exposition as a tourist train. The train is 26.125 meters long, 3.014 meters wide, 1.134 meters high, with a self-weight of 53.4 tons.
KD55 Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive Manufactured by Kawasaki Shipyard in Japan in 1897. The locomotive features a 1-4-0 wheel arrangement, a tractive force of 16,370 kg, a structural speed of 50 km/h, with a total mass of 98.24 tons including coal and water. It can carry 6 tons of coal and 13 tons of water, and its dimensions are 16,563 mm in length, 2,616 mm in width, and 3,813 mm in height.
Hand-Crank Gear-Driven Track Car An engineering vehicle for railway line maintenance and repair, manufactured in France in the 19th century.
Universal Clamp-Type Voltmeter An electrician’s instrument.
Locomotive Eccentric Bushing Processing Machine During World War II, Britain used lathes purchased with “Boxer Indemnity” funds paid by the Chinese Qing government in 1900 to support China’s resistance against Japanese aggression.
Morin Level Produced in France in 1901.
Theodolite Manufactured in the United States in the 19th century.
Railway Engineering Survey Instruments Produced in France in 1910.

Awards and Recognitions

The Yunnan Railway Museum has been honored with titles such as “Kunming Top Ten Museums,” “National Patriotic Education Base,” “Yunnan Provincial Patriotic Education Base,” “Yunnan Science Education Base,” and “National Youth Education Base.” In December 2017, it was listed as a research and practice education base and camp for primary and secondary school students by the Ministry of Education.

Museum Features

  • Corridor Bridge: The corridor bridge connecting the South and North Halls is divided into two exhibit paths using exhibition materials, respectively narrating history and envisioning the future. The western path depicts scenes of Yunnan-Vietnam railway laborers through sculptures, while the eastern path showcases the development of China’s high-speed railways and prospects for Yunnan’s railway future in a grand and dreamy exhibition style.
  • “Hump Bridge”: Utilizing two steel-frame bridges in the museum’s architectural design, the museum prominently features the famous “Hump Bridge” on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. Additional structures like the steel-and-arch combination “Flower Bridge” and high steel viaduct models, along with scenic elements like Bayitang Waterfall and the “Tiger’s Mouth,” provide visitors with an immersive and captivating visual experience.
  • Simulations and Restorations: Inside the exhibition halls, visitors can see ancient Tea-Horse Road mule team equipment, railway survey tools, and replicas of unique Yunnan railway buildings and scenes. These include tunnel excavation scenes, classic projects like the “Hump Bridge” and “Flower Bridge,” Bisezhai Station’s French-style architecture, Lin’an Station’s blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles, the Ge-Bi-Lin-Ping Company lobby model, scenes of Japanese bombings destroying the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway’s Baizhai Bridge, dynamic models of the difficult engineering sections of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, and models of unique projects like the four-track bridge over the Nanpan River and the double-track bridge over the Nujiang River.
  • Locomotive and Car Display: The ground floor of the North Hall features four tracks displaying narrow-gauge, meter-gauge, standard-gauge, and train sets. Notable exhibits include the series of standard-gauge locomotives, meter-gauge trains, the “Chuncheng” series, narrow-gauge trains, and the museum’s “crown jewel” – the “Michelin” train set. Here, visitors can revisit the evolution of railway locomotives and the transformation of railways over time.
  • Cultural Exhibition Area: Above the locomotive and car exhibits in the North Hall, there are three rows of high observation platforms and a return corridor extending from the first to the third floor on the southern side of the North Hall. This area is dedicated to showcasing Yunnan’s railway culture through paintings, books, photography, films, and artworks. It also introduces the natural and cultural characteristics, as well as the tourism resources, along the railway lines.

Heritage and Relics

Relic Name Description
Pingbian Wujiazhai Railway Steel Girder Bridge A “Hump Bridge” with a three-hinged arch steel girder design. It was designed by the famous French bridge architect Paul Bodin and constructed by the French Batignolles Company. It is located between Boduqing and Luogu stations. The bridge is 67.9 meters high, 228 meters long, with a single-span steel girder length of 66 meters.
Narrow-Gauge Railway Stone Milepost Made of concrete, this milepost stands 75 cm tall with a square base of 35 cm.
Mechanical Semaphore Signal A railway signal device using a mechanical arm to control the train’s movement.
Steel Rail of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Manufactured by Schneider-Creusot Steel Works in France in 1913. The rail is 12 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 0.32 meters high, weighing 35 kg per meter. It was laid in the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway’s Chinese section between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Iron Drill (1901) Used in the construction of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway’s Chinese section.
Longer-than-Rail Fish Plate Produced by Schneider-Creusot Steel Works in France.
Yunnan Narrow Gauge Steel Rail Produced by Baoji Steel Rail Factory, China, in the late 20th century.
British 1.5-inch Gauge Track Sleeper Produced by Krupp Steel Works, Germany, in 1914.
Steel Box Girder Bridge for Narrow-Gauge Railway Erected at the entrance of the South Hall, showcasing railway history from the early 20th century.

Important Notice

Address:
Yunnan Railway Museum
No. 913 Beijing Road, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China

Open Hours:
Daily, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (closed on Mondays)

Entry:
Admission is free for visitors with a valid ID.
Advance online booking is required.

Contact Information:
Phone: +86-871-63167672