National Railway Museum

Okay, this may not be a trendy nightclub, or some fancy restaurant, but it is still a fund place to visit, especially if you have kids. Okay, if you don’t then you probably need to be some real train fanatic to actually come here and spend a couple of hours, but it is still really interesting (by the way my brother loves trains, which is why we ended up coming here). Okay, the name is a bit of a misnomer because it really only has trains from the old South Australian Railways, but if it is trains that you want to see then there are certainly heaps here. Most of them are from the by gone days so you can wander through the carriages and see how the wealthy used to travel (and it certainly was in style). There are also quite a lot of old steam engines where as well. On of the main attractions is the Tea & Sugar train, which is basically a mobile shopping mall that used to service the railway workers out on the nullabour plain before techonology made them obsolete. Also, it is really cheap, meaning that you can take the kids along and it won’t dent your wallet much at all. While you’re there, you can also visit the other two museums in Port Adelaide.

Great museum documenting the history of railways in South Australia. Worth the trek from the city to get here. Fascinating displays and can highly recommend for train or history buffs.

The National Railway Museum is an excellent place for all families and train enthusiasts. I love going here and seeing all the trains. There is an excellent documentary that plays showing the sugar and tea train, which is definitely worth watching.
The café has some decent food at satisfactory prices. It is nice if you need a bite to eat but the better value is probably in the entrance fee which allows you to walk inside many locomotives, and also the train items and memorabilia from the gift shop.
The circulating train ride around the museum is also good fun too. It runs on intervals and gives you a good small lap around the site. You can see everything from diesel trains to some of the earlier steam trains, photos, diagrams, small models and more at the museum, it is excellent and there is so much to see that you could probably make multiple trips.

You’ll love the journey this well thought-​out museum takes you on.
INTERACTIVE
This interactive museum sure to delight young and old. It has everything from large model railways to displays that come on when you walk in the rooms or carriages.
In some parts of the museum you can touch the screen and interact with an actor playing a butcher.
DISPLAYS
I love the fact that you can not only admire the large range of locomotives and carriages, you can actually go in many of them.
The museum has restored many of these to how it would have looked when railways were in their heyday. There are even mannequins dressed up for various roles, such as postal work, in some of the carriages.
TRAIN RIDES
You can even go on a train ride on the 457 mm gauge railway which runs through the grounds of the museum.
CAFE
You can even grab a bite to eat and a drink in the dining car.
FUN WAY TO LEARN
The National Railway Museum is a shining example of

Exuding with charm, character and all things vintage, the National Railway Museum brims with nostalgia (for those who lived in the WW2 era), fun and education for the little ones.
With vintage carriages, steam locomotives, passenger carriages, freight wagons, steam locomotives and more on displays, one can enter the carriage, inspect its stunning interior and pretend you’re riding into Nullarbor Plain for the next provision delivery to the railway employees homes.
The Museum is huge, impeccably well maintained and offers exhibits, railway models, large storyboards posters, interactive displays, digitally enabled Tea and Sugar train (one of my favourites!) and many railway infrastructure.
Don’t forget to catch a complimentary steam locomotive ride which rides past some of the main exhibits and shed where trains are restored and maintained.
This Museum needs about 2 – 3 hours to enjoy its history and charm. A perfect family or school outing, so add this on your ‘must see’ list.