İSTANBUL RAILWAY MUSEUM

 

 

Istanbul Railway Museum is opened on 23th September 2005.Three

hundred cultural objects are being exhibited in the museum .

Museum is open every day except Sunday, Monday and national days.

Entry is free.

ADDRESS: Sirkeci Train Station
PHONE: +90 (212) 520 65 75 / 7885
FAX: +90 (212) 512 64 44

 

 
Timetable Bulletin Board where the railway time-table was kept 1930. It is used in museum to explain Turkish Railway History
Table and chairs were first furniture of Haydarpasa Station 1908
Silver Services. Used in dining cars and Orient Express (19th-20th century)
Dining Car
Office Equipments
Driver cab of 8027 electric multiple unit train which operated in the suburban line Sirkeci-Halkali starting 1955
Front view of 8027
TCDD Hospital Equipments 1950
Manufacturer plates of some historic TCDD rolling stock.
Hornby Model Train (early 20th century)
Ticket case,Telegraph,Ticket Compressor
Warning Plates
Official Papers (19th-20th century)
Plans and projects (1888-1900)
Envelops (19th-20th century)
Diary of a German Engineer who worked in Bagdad Railway 1894
Photographs by Robin LUSH
 
Sirkeci Station's Clock (20th century)
 
Tile Stove used for heating halls in Sirkeci Station. 1890
 
Station Bell of CFOA (Chemin de fer Otoman d'Anatolie) 19th century
General views of museum
General views of museum
General views of museum
General views of museum
This piano belongs to the TCDD Yakacik Sanatorium that was built in 1957
Present scale model for the opening electrified operating in Sirkeci.1955

HISTORY OF SIRKECI (ORIENT) STATION

With a great ceremony the foundation Stone of the Sirkeci Main Station- Gate of Istanbul to Europe -was laid on February 11th,1888.The architect of this magnificent station building, opened for service on November 3rd 1890, was the German architect andengineer A. Jasmund. Jasmund who graduated from the University of Berlin came Istanbul in order to make investigations on theoriental architecture gained the trust of Sultan Abdülhamit II and became his advisory architect.

During the planning of the station building, one thing had been of utmost importance to Jasmund. Istanbul is the point where the West ends and the East begins. In other words, it is the point where East and West meets. Therefore the building had to be applied in an oriental style into life, and regional and national style shapes had to be used. In order to reflect this style, bands of bricks were used at facades. Windows with peak arcs and in the middle a wide entrance door, that reminded to the stone portals of the Seljukian epoch - were built. The stained - glasses completed this style.

The fundament of the building was consisted of granite,the facedes of marble and Stones that had been brought from Marseille,Arden.In the waiting halls,large tile stoves produced in Austria were installed.The lightining of the building was provided by 300 gas lanterns placed at different locations.

The Sirkeci Station,which is the last stop of Orient Express,was magnificent at the time it was build.The sea was reaching to the building foot and terraces led down to the sea.

On both sides of the middle entrance, there were turret clocks,three big restaurants,a large beer-garden and an outdoor restaurant behind the station.

The big restaurant in the Station was at the turret clocks side.A long marble stairway leads to the restaurant.

When the railway started to be built in Yedikule and reached the point of Yenikapi.disputes came up regarding that the line should lead to Sarayburnu through the garden of Topkapi Palace.This dispute was put to an end by Sultan Abdülaziz who allowed to lay the rails through the garden of the Palace.

The building permission of 337 km long part within the national borders of the total 200 km long Orient Railway between Istanbul-Edirne and Kirklareli-Alpullu was given to Baron Hirch in 1869,was completed in 1888, put into operation and this Project connected Istanbul to European railways.