The Quais de l’Histoire
Six years after the Show Tour, the initial part of the building dating from 1976 was redesigned. The seemingly simple goal was to rearrange the exhibits by chronological order. But when one looks at the constraints imposed by trains, one understands that the task is not easy. As pointed out by Philippe Mirville, former President of the Museum, in an article published on 29 January 2009 in the newspaper L’Alsace, the presentation only satisfied 5% of its visitors, most often railway specialists. For their part, the general public need references to find their way through a collection that is not so easy to understand at once. The picture rails added along the tracks created a true path, with a beginning and an end.
In 2011, after four years of work and uncountable manoeuvres, the Quais de l’Histoire were finally inaugurated. Most of the incandescent lamps were replaced by LEDs, which consume less electricity, and help highlight the machines on display. Access ramps for persons with reduced mobility were also installed. The building became more educational and more accessible, yet held on to its identity. If they look up, visitors can still admire the iconic structure of this architectural complex designed by Pierre-Yves Schoen.
The Panorama Ferroviaire
Mulhouse-Utrecht:
a locomotive on the road
On occasion, some of the trains leave their comfortable home in Mulhouse, always an impressive event. That was so in 2014 of the Crampton locomotive, when it began its journey to the railways museum in Utrecht, to the south of Amsterdam, 700 km away from Mulhouse.
France 3 Alsace was of course there to witness the event, offering an opportunity to go behind the scenes in the video opposite.
The TGV enters
the museum
The 23121 traction unit, which was delivered to the Cité du Train on the night of 8 April 2016, is one of the latest items to be included in the collection. Derived from train 60 and initially bearing the number 23119, this piece of equipment was commissioned in 1982 and taken out of service in 2012. It was then selected to join the museum in Mulhouse and thus become a heritage object. It was restored in the technical centre in Bischheim, close to Strasbourg. Repainted in its original livery and renamed 61, part of the body of the traction unit was removed and replaced by a transparent wall, which reveals its triangular structure and the inner equipment. A 1981 film devoted to the first two TGV Sud-Est trains 01 and 02 (“Patrick” and “Sophie”) by the audiovisual centre of SNCF, claimed: “sometimes, engineering joins the magical dreams of childhood. ”
A shared
anniversary
Like the Cité du Train, the Thur Doller train celebrated its jubilee in 2021. Bringing together a group of passionate volunteers, the organisation, which is based not far from the museum in Cernay, has 12 km of tracks. Offering rides on steam trains and steam train courses, the organisation is part of the railways organisations authorised to restore rolling stock. Its latest project to date was the complete restoration of locomotive 141 C 100, with the support of DRAC Eastern France, and the use of a crowd fund via the French Heritage Foundation. This tourist railway has been a historical partner of the Cité du Train. Its combined ticket allows visitors to go further in their discovery of the railways heritage, in motion and in an enjoyable way.
Volunteers
at the Cité du Train
The volunteer group is made up of fifty individuals who have played an important part in the recent history of the Cité du Train. Railway employees or former railway employees, they make an almost daily contribution to the life of the museum. Their input, which is very much appreciated by visitors, reinforces the dynamic cultural policy defended by the institution. Moving about exhibits, painting items in the Equipment collection, driving the Mini Express, providing explanations about TGV driving, offering maiden trips in track motor cars and participating in collection projects are some of the actions in which this group is involved.
One of the most remarkable is the development of Y Experience days when small groups can discover train driving at the controls of a shunting locomotive. And in the past seven years, the restoration and operation of the Sambaldur-sur-Mou roundabout that came straight from Perpignan. This relic of the history of fairs was in operation from 1948 to 2007 and was purchased in 2014 by the museum and reassembled in the Panorama Ferroviaire. With its recognisable pastel colours and the sound of its Ford T engine, this roundabout had “brought much enjoyment to the young and older tourists of Canet-en-Rousillon and Argelès-sur-Mer”, according to its donor, Chantal Bey, grand-daughter of its creator Zilda Clément. Today, it continues to delight visitors to the Cité du Train.