Some of the unusual museums we’ve been to include Sewing Machine Museum & Fan Museum in London, Erotic Museum in Amsterdam, and Dolls Museum in New Delhi etc. Recently added to that list is Heritage Transport Museum in New Delhi! I visited this place when I got to test drive the brand new Tata Tigor, from New Delhi.
It’s a private museum with the support of Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. It has 12 sections beginning with the automobile gallery. This section pretty much reminded me of the Autoworld Museum in Brussels with its tons of variants of vintage cars.
Some featured display includes Pontiac Convertibles of 1960s, Plymouth Sedans of 1950s, Chevrolet Sedans of 1950s, Land Rovers of 1950s etc. What caught my attention was a very interesting Chevrolet 2 door coupe of 1940s.
There’s also a tiny little section dedicated to Bollywood which also has the car featured in the movie Dil to Pagal He! There’s also a section that’s set up like a retro car service station which also showcased spare parts of the vintage vehicles.
While that’s the most sought after section, from there it plunges deep into history with the invention of the wheel! Then it moves over to display of Pre-Mechanised vehicles of India incl. bullock carts, horse carriages, palanquins etc. There were also some old lithographs that depicted vehicles of retro India!
The next section is of the heavy mechanized vehicles where I got to see a van by Volkswagon!!! Also in display were some lorrys and trucks painted in the uber colorful Truck Art which is a much important craft in Pakistan than India!
This was followed by a section for Railways, but with just 1 train - the restored 1930s Jodhpur Saloon of the BBCI (Bombay Baroda Central India Railway) set up by British Raj! Even the interiors has been restored well with the royal chairs, marble tables, plush beddings etc.
Then there’s a section for two wheelers which began with an interesting installation of cycles!!! A series of various Lamby, reminded me of my dad mentioning that in his youth Lambretta was difficult to acquire and has very long waiting period while Lamby was the easier one to get! Well, it was the Indian version of Lambretta!!! There were also some Lambretta and Vijay scooters, Moped bikes, Rajdoot Bikes etc in display.
Apart from these there were some very quirky vehicles as well. There was a Contessa Classic with its exterior completely covered with Rs.1 coins and a Royal Enfield completely encrusted with crystals. Best of it all, there in the garden, on a railway track, stands a train compartment!!!
All that said, the museum’s ticket is priced a bit of the higher side and may not be comfortable for everyone. However, the venue is available for hire. Automobile enthusiast couple? How about getting married here at the lawns in front of the train or terrace or the conference room? Around 300 people can be hosted here! That would be destination wedding with a difference!!!
To Get There:
From New Delhi Airport: 65km on NH8
From New Delhi Railway Station: 54km on NH8
From Gurgaon Railway Station: 40km on NH8
Address: Bilaspur - Taoru Road (Major District Road 132) Off NH 8 (Bilaspur Chowk), Taoru Gurgaon (Haryana) 122105 Ph: +91 11 2371 8100
Entry Fee: ₹ 400
Timings: Tue-Sun 10:00AM to 7:00PM
I love quirky museums like this! How fun to get to see all those forms of transportation! It looks like there's an amazing and varied selection!
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique place! I remember the Sex museum in Amsterdam. There certainly are some unique places around the world. You can pretty much find any theme these days!
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ReplyDeleteOMG - what a fabulous place this is! I had never heard of this attraction before but I love the enormous variety of exhibits they have collected and displayed here. I just love the retro decorated older vehicles and that restored train is unbelievable! The idea you expressed at the end of holding events here like a wedding would really make for a day you would never forget.
ReplyDeleteWow this is one of the coolest museums that I've ever heard of. The vintage cars on display and the various methods of transport is so cool. Transportation is one of the biggest parts of a city or country's history, hence it is such a fitting showcase to learn about New Delhi's culture. I would love to visit this museum!
ReplyDeleteGetting married at this museum would be an interesting choice! Those cars are very colourful and Indian looking! Funny to hear there is an Indian version of the Lambretta, so different really.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I didn’t even know it existed. It looks like such an exciting place. It reminded me of a similar museum I visited in Amman, Jordan. Will try to visit it when I am in Gurgaon next time.
ReplyDeleteNever been to a transport musuem before but I'm pleased to read about one on your site. And yes, automobile enthusiastic couple's would so much love to have this museum as a place for any anniversary. I'd inform someone I know of the museum, sure she'd be so grateful to visit.
ReplyDeleteThis museum is very neat, along with the other quirky museums you've been to. Perfect for anyone who's into vintage motor vehicles. I'd love to see the signature truck art in person one day!
ReplyDeleteI love small specialized museums (my favorites are the Globe Museum in Vienna and the Pilgrim Museum in Leiden). The New Delhi transportation museum looks like it's right up my alley. The little boy in me who loved cars way back when would geek out on this, even though he wouldn't know most of the exhibits. I mean a coin-covered Contessa...?
ReplyDeleteWho knew there was a transport museum outside of Delhi? We have one here in London as well - super quirky.
ReplyDeleteI have family in Gurgaon and have been there a few times but they never took me to this place, in fact I didn't even think that Gurgaon had much to offer for a visitor! I shall take them to task next time I see them!!! Loving the collection of exhibits, particularly those brightly decorated flatbed trucks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun place to visit! I love discovering unique places like this one .. reminds me of a musical instrument museum we found during one of the stops along our Rhine River cruise in Germany
ReplyDeleteVery nice! The ornately designed trucks are very similar to the traditional jeepneys in the Philippines. And many of the old vehicles in this museum still run around our country. A couple of our adventurer friends used an old Range Rover similar to the one in that museum as their bridal car. Hehehe!
ReplyDeleteMy husband has a vintage car and he would love to visit a museum like this. Will have it in mind if we ever go to new Delhi!
ReplyDeleteI'm not really into transportation per se lol but I would definitely go here! How cool. I love a unique museum done well. Great post!
ReplyDeletewow didn't know such a place existed in Gurgaon. I am gonna be there next week, will surely try to visit this museum. The truck art is definitely the icing on the cake..
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! There are all sorts of museums nowadays, I even bought tickets to Ice cream museum a week ago. But this one looks fun and also educational.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post and these pics looks great .. Your post has made me to pack my bags now .. Have bookmarked this post for my future travel
ReplyDeleteI love quirky museums as well and it seems to me that this one has to join the list of places I'd like to visit one day! I had no idea that truck art was popular in Pakistan, I'd definitely sport one of those if I had the chance to!
ReplyDeleteI am yet to visit this place though I have spent close to a decade in Gurgaon
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