HistoRail

Over het museum

HistoRail was founded in 1987, at a time when the SNCF was modernizing its regional networks, especially in the Limousin. The museum is run by an association of volunteers passionate about railway history and rail travel. It opened to the public in 1988 and was inaugurated on July 2, 1988, by the musician Claude Bolling, honorary president. It is housed in a former shoe factory in the center of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, linked to the arrival of the railway in the town in 1881.

The museum has two covered halls of about 500 m² and nearly 300 m² of outdoor space. The first hall displays real equipment, largely donated by the SNCF: a station ticket window, a pantograph, an optical control desk and driving simulators. The second hall houses the “Traversothèque”, devoted to railway ties, rails and track maintenance tools.

Outside, the Moyse No. 28 shunting locomotive, donated by Rhône-Poulenc, illustrates the transition from steam to diesel and the history of private sidings. Also on display are a hydraulic crane, signals, a level crossing, a draisine and the engine of a railcar. Several model railway layouts complete the visit, including a model of the Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat station and a steam depot from Cherbourg donated in 2014.

Hoogtepunten

• Real railway equipment, largely donated by the SNCF
• Moyse No. 28 shunting locomotive displayed outdoors
• Traversothèque on the track and its maintenance
• Several model railway layouts, from HO gauge to garden railways
• Fête du Train Miniature in autumn

Vaste collectie

• Collections ferroviaires et réseaux de trains miniatures – Two rooms and outdoor areas with real railway equipment, a traversothèque, a shunting locomotive and several model railway layouts.

Opgericht

1987

Beheerder

Association HistoRail (loi de 1901), gérée par des bénévoles

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

2026 rates. No reduced or family rates are published.

Toegankelijkheid

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Kinderen & gezin

The museum’s mascot, “Bout d'Rail”, accompanies visitors. No specific offer for children is detailed.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is at 20 bis rue de Beaufort; the association’s office is at 18 rue de Beaufort. The website’s access page is under construction. Nearby: the Moulin du Gôt and the collegiate church of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.

Service & horeca

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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