Confused by Saint Petersburg’s many railway museums

On my visit to Saint Petersburg a visit to the local railway museum was on my itinerary, but the city doesn’t make it easy – there are three separate museums, each catering to a different facet of Russia’s railways. So how do you tell them apart?

Central Railway Museum

Regarded as the best railway museum in Russia, the Central Railway Museum is located in central Saint Petersburg on Sadovaya Ulitsa, and charts the development of railways in Russia and the former USSR from their inception until today.

Oktyabrskaya Railway Museum

To see actual trains and not just displays, a visit to the Oktyabrskaya Railway Museum is required. Located at the former Warsaw Station (Varshavskiy Vokzal), the open air museum has rows of trains on display, ranging from steam and diesel locomotives, to a giant TM-3-12 railway gun, and a RT-23 Molodets rail-based ICBM system.

Museum of Urban Electrical Transport

Covering the history of Saint Peterburg’s tramway system, the Museum of Urban Electrical Transport on Vasilyevsky Island features restored tramcars, as well as historical displays.

Getting there

• Central Railway Museum
• Oktyabrskaya Railway Museum
• Museum of Urban Electrical Transport

Footnote

I visited Saint Petersburg in the week around Christmas and New Years, so every every time I tried to pay a visit, they were closed for the holidays. 🙁