Soudamini Instruments, where a special hall 26’; x 26’; has been built to house the Joshi’;s Museum of Miniature Railways.Mr. B. S. Joshi, known to all as Bhau Joshi, was the originator and founder of the Museum. Collecting train models was his hobby, or rather his obsession, from childhood. In India during the festival of Diwali, it is a popular pass time among children to build "Killas" or small layouts depicting the fortress strongholds of Shivaji, the King of the Marathas. Mostly these are extremely crude attempts with no knowledge or attempt at proportion.
Even during his childhood, Bhau used to build "Killas" with a lot of movements, like a fire engine which used to actually put out a fire, moving cars on roads etc. These were controlled by strings. The houses etc. were made of cardboard. There used to be long queues to see these Killas, which were famous in his neighbourhood. In the 1980’;s he started work on a layout which, he visualised, could be taken from town to town like a circus or fair. This layout, which was the result of a 40 year obsession, was first displayed in Pune at the "Gokhale Hall" in 1982 and was a huge success. In 1984 the layout was displayed in Bombay and in 1986, in Pune at “Dastur High School ". From these three experiences it was found that to make it a mobile layout, required too much man power and expenditure, to the detriment of regular activity at Soudamini Instruments. The permissions etc. required at each location were very frustrating. Thus he took the decision of creating a permanent Museum of Miniature Railways. Once this decision was taken the entire concept of the layout changed. Since it was no longer necessary to dismantle the layout, much more detailed work could be done.
Railway
Museum
The experience inside the Museum hall is one that people remember for a lifetime.
- Fully functional station yard with 6 platforms, announcement systems, 3 main lines, plenty of sidings, goods loading facilities, hump shunting, a turntable, crane, etc. The layout has about 26 points and 65 signals. The entire layout is in the HO scale (1:87) using Marklin a.c. and Digital systems.
- Steam trains, Diesel engines, High speed Inter City Express, Underground train, Local Shuttle train, Trolley bus, Rope Railway, Funicular Railway, Wuppertal Hanging Railway.
- Ghat section with reversing station for steam trains.
- Two lane Highway with moving cars.
- Fairground with a circus which has changing shows, a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, Roller coaster, a toy train and a lot of similar attractions, all with sound effects.
- Swimming pool with people actually swimming in it.
- Restaurant which goes up and down a tower.
Museum
of Miniature Railways
Features:
- The experience inside the Museum Hall is one that people remember for a lifetime.
- The Entire Imaginary City is controlled from a panel from which arises a network of over 1000 wires (a length of 5 kms).
- There are 65 Signals, 26 Points, Fences, Lampposts, Flyovers, etc. which have been manufactured by hand using chemical etching techniques.
- The Entire Layout can be operated manually or can be Computer Controlled.
- Fully Functional Station Yard with 6 Platforms, Announcement Systems, 3 Main Lines, Goods Loading Facilities, Hump Shunting, a Turntable, Crane, etc.
- The Entire Layout is in the HO scale (1:87) using Markin a.c. and Digital systems.
- Steam Trains, Diesel Engines, High Speed Inter City Express, Underground Train, Trolley Bus, Rope Railway, Funicular Railway, Wuppertal Hanging Railway.
- Ghat Section with reversing station for Steam Trains. Two-lane Highway with Moving Cars.
- Fairground with a Circus which has Changing Shows, a Ferris Wheel, Merry-go-round, Roller Coaster, a Toy Train and a lot of similar attractions, all with Sound Effects.
- Swimming Pool with people actually swimming in it.
- Restaurant, which goes up and down a tower.
- Drive in Theatre Fire Engine which actually puts out a fire.
- Business Centre in City with Hoarding and Flashing signs, Buildings with lights inside. The Houses have been built with kits from German Companies like Vollmer, Faller, Prieser, etc.
Trainz the hobby Station
…. bring out the child in you!
As a logical extension of the museum, we have now started a hobby shop for those ardent train lovers wherein you will find exclusive scale models from international brands like Fleishmann, Roco & Hornby. You can start off with a basic starter set comprising of a circle of track, a loco and a couple of wagons or coaches. An add-on component like additional tracks, points, engines, coaches, signals, etc to give you an opportunity for infinite expansion.
We also have other accessories like buildings, trees and landscaping accessories, as well as aeroplane models
In this shop we can show you how starting with a train set can be an excellent introduction to the hobby. We can guide you through the basics and help you make decisions to suit your taste, home environment and pocket. We can also make an entire custom layout to suit your home.
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