Slovenian Railway Museum - History

History

The notion of documenting the history of Slovene railways was born in the 1960s when it was becoming clear that the era of the steam locomotive was drawing to a close. If this was late in the day, it was because a decision had been made after WW2 to make Belgrade the base for railway museum activities for the whole Yugoslavia, a choice that led later to the establishment of the Belgrade Railway Museum.

When the railwayman and woman of Slovenia elected to establish a museum of their own, they chose for its location the former locomotive shed at Ljubljana Siska. In its formative years, historic vehicles were temporarily displayed only in the 'roundhouse', a semicircular shed forming the centrepiece of the depot. This shed itself had been listed as part of the cultural heritage.

In 1996, the year that marked the 150th anniversary of the advent of railways in Slovenia, the Museum of the Slovenian Railways presented to the public a permanent display of its most important railway artefacts. This was housed in the former railway training school in Kurilniška Street, close by the main site of the museum. The building, however, was old and in a ruinous state. With its demolition in 2002, the display had to be closed to the public for the duration.

It reopened on a newly acquired site next to the roundhouse in 2004. As before, the display introduces visitors to the main spheres of railway activity. Aided by its maps and illustrations, visitors can trace the whole development of Slovenia's railway network.