Ghum Railway Museum

The Ghum Railway Museum is a small heritage museum located inside Ghum Railway Station near Darjeeling, West Bengal, one of the highest railway stations in India at about 2,258 metres. Operated by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, it displays vintage photographs, documents, artefacts and models related to the UNESCO World Heritage narrow-gauge line. It preserves the history of the toy train operating since 1881 and attracts visitors arriving on the DHR joy ride.

Visitors can expect a compact single-storey museum hall within the historic Ghum Railway Station building. Inside are display cases with old photographs, documents, railway artefacts, uniforms, signalling equipment and models of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Outside on the platform are vintage steam locomotives and coaches. The setting is a small hill station surrounded by shops and monasteries, with toy trains arriving and departing regularly.

The museum is dedicated to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, constructed between 1879 and 1881 to connect Siliguri with Darjeeling. Ghum Station, opened in 1881, is the highest station on the line and in India. The DHR was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 as an outstanding example of hill railway engineering. The museum was established around 2000 to preserve and display the railway's heritage, including its vintage Baby Sivok locomotive and archival records.

The museum showcases the colonial-era engineering heritage and living cultural tradition of the Darjeeling toy train, which remains central to the identity and tourism of the Darjeeling hills. It reflects the historical connection between the hill station and the plains and the ongoing cultural value of the narrow-gauge railway for local communities and visitors.