Bholu, the mascot of the Indian Railways, waits for visitors at the museum on wheels. Picture by Avijit Sarkar

Siliguri Oct.14: It was a trip down memory lane that the railways had lined up for the residents. Unfortunately, it found few takers for the fascinating journey.

The location, at a nondescript part of New Jalpaiguri Station, the lack of publicity and the pujas proved to be the undoing of the “museum on wheels”, a train that chronicled the genesis, growth and development of the Indian Railways.

“The idea behind such a museum was to give one the feeling of history unfolding within the matrix of its own ambience,” said a senior railway official, in-charge of the museum.

The purpose of the museum is to present the chequered history of the Indian Railways to the average man and make him a part of the culture which fostered it, another official added.

Be it worn pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri with trains in relief in black and white or models charting the latest of technology, it was all there for the visitor to see.

There was the forgotten steam engine and relics of toy trains on one hand and on the other there were charts and models with detailed descriptions of the working latest signalling device and track designs.

“The railway system occupies a special place in the hearts of Indians ever since a proposal for a railway network was mooted by a London-based company before the East India Company in 1844. The display will give the viewer an idea of all that has transpired within the railways during an era before our own. ,” an official said summing up the motto of the venture. “That is why we have the past off-set with carefully-crafted models and detailed charts of the present and the foreseeable future”.

The biggest draw of the museum was the compartment devoted to the “feathers” in the Indian Railways' cap.

The Metro Railway in Calcutta, the Darjeeling Himalyan Railway in the hills, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Matheran Hill Railway held pride of place.

“Elements of sophistication and engineering marvel came together to enrich 'treasures' of the Indian railways. Recent additions like anti-collision devices and the like have lent much to the railways’ pro-people orientation,” a railway official said.

The railways’ “involvement” with the society has been featured through achievements of sportsmen and personalities in myriad other fields.

“The railways are an integral part of the Indian way of life. There was much more that could have been achieved with exhibitions such as these,” an official said. “Perhaps with more careful planning we can paying proper tribute to the national psyche,” he added.