Écomusée du cheminot veynois

About the museum

The Écomusée du cheminot veynois opened its doors on July 14, 1999. It is a public museum run by the Communauté de communes Buëch Dévoluy together with the association Amis de l'Écomusée, founded in 1995. The association brings together active railway workers, retirees and railway enthusiasts.

The museum is located in central Veynes, in a renovated 18th-century town mansion near the station. Veynes is a major railway junction in the Southern Alps, with a depot that once employed up to 700 railway workers. The railway transformed the town and became part of its identity.

The route presents, across six rooms, the history of the railway since 1850, its technical and industrial aspects, the trades of railway workers and the transformation of the town. Visitors see, for example, a reconstructed steam locomotive cab, a large collection of lamps and lanterns, models and archive films. The collections occupy about 250 m².

A railway garden extends the visit. Tours are often accompanied by volunteer railway workers, active or retired, who share their memories. The Écomusée is twinned with the railway museum of Suno, in Piedmont.

Highlights

• Six rooms on the railway in Veynes since 1850
• Reconstructed steam locomotive cab
• Collection of lamps and lanterns from the lamp room
• Railway models, including a scene of Veynes station in the 1960s
• Railway garden with equipment from the Briançon line

Permanent exhibitions

• Les six salles du musée – Route through the history of the railway in Veynes, the trades of railway workers and the railway town, with models and films.
• Le jardin ferroviaire – Garden with level crossings and historic equipment from the Briançon line.

Founded

1999

Operated by

Communauté de communes Buëch Dévoluy, avec l'association des Amis de l'Écomusée

Admission & discounts

The reduced rate with a train ticket is not priced on the website. Schools in the municipalities of the Communauté de communes Buëch Dévoluy enter free. Payment by cash, card (except American Express) or Chèques-Vacances.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The place and all rooms, including the garden, are accessible to people with reduced mobility thanks to a ramp and a service lift to the upper floor.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The Écomusée welcomes families, school classes and associations. The garden is fenced and secure; picnics are allowed there.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the town center of Veynes. From Grenoble: A480, then RN 75 to Aspres-sur-Buëch and Veynes. From Marseille: A51 to Sisteron Nord, then RN 75 and D 994 to Veynes.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop. Picnics are possible for groups in the garden or in a ground-floor room.

Events & venue rental

The garden and rooms occasionally host concerts, plays and readings.

Plan your visit