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The Dutch Railway Museum
Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum, Maliebaanstation, 3581 XW Utrecht, Netherlands. www.spoorwegmuseum.nl.
The Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum (Dutch Railway Museum) in Utrecht is one of the oldest in Europe and dates from 1927, and has been on its present site since 1954. However, as with the French Cité du Train, it has recently been extended and extensively renovated. Its philosophy of display has also been revolutionized. Reopened in 2005, the new museum remains as a place of safe-keeping for the national collection of railway heritage and its study, but it is now mainly a place for leisure and entertainment. The museum receives no public grant to cover its operation and this partially explains this development. The result is a popular museum that attracts a wider range of visitors than before. Although the railway scholar might now have to work a little harder to satisfy her or his curiosity, no one can deny that knowledge of the railway and its culture is being spread through innovative and attractive displays.
One of two state-owned Dutch railway museums-the one in Haarlem is much smaller-the Utrecht facility is located in an old station, the Maliebaanstation, linked to the city's main station by a special train. I took this on my way back (there is only one per hour), and became even more convinced of the wisdom of railway museums keeping a link with current operations. This connection between present and past is maintained within the museum grounds: the site is bisected by a working (although lightly traffi cked) line on the national network. A miniature-gauge railway outside and a working model railway inside the museum buildings also remind the visitor that mobility is the goal of transport and the reason for the engines which are exhibited.
Located close to Utrecht city centre, the museum's splendid historic building was built in 1874 by the architect Adolf Leonard Van Gendt (1835-1901), designer of the Centraal Station and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Passenger traffi c ceased in 1939 but, as a brass plate reminds the visitor, during the Second World War 1,200 Jews were deported from the station. This building is the main point of entry for visitors, and also offers facilities for corporate events. Before 2005 most of the collection that was open...