Development of the new Sky Shed PodMax – a much larger version of the SkyPOD observatory. Imagine the size of the telescope you could fit in there!!!
New Skypod MAX – 12′ in diameter
January 21, 2013
New Sky Shed POD MAX
January 13, 2013
China Railway Museum (Zhengyangmen) Beijing
The China Railway Museum (Zhengyangmen) is located downtown, just south east of Tienanmen square. (sometime this museum is referred to as the “Beijing Railway Museum”) Their website for this museum (and the other two at Dongjiao and Badaling) is http://www.china-rail.org/
The old Peking train station, now the China Railway Museum (Zhengyangmen)
Unlike the museum at Dongjiao, this museum does not have any static displays of trains. Mainly, the museum displays are of historic news clippings and railway artifacts. Also unlike any other museum in China, the museum not crowded in the least bit.
Looking out the museum’s 3rd floor window at Zhengyangmen. Tienanmen square is just to the right of the picture.
A ticket booth for the museum is just right outside the entrance, close to the KFC. Here’s the ticket for the museum, 20 yuan, or about $3.30 CDN.
Beijing Railway Museum ticket
Right after you entered the main entrance, you are greeted to this large wooden wall sculpture.
Wooden wall sculpture at the museum entrance.
A replica of the 0-3-0 Dragon Locomotive sits just after the entrance. Built in 1881, it ran on the Tangshan to Xugezhuang rail line, with a top speed of 32km/h.
0-3-0 Dragon Locomotive
The first gallery has newspaper clippings, pictures and artifacts from some of the first railways built in China.
First gallery
Below is a statue of Zhan Tianyou (1861-1919) from Guangdong province, the father of Chinese Railways, built the first Chinese line from Beijing to Zhangjiakou.
Zhan Tianyou – father of Chinese Railways
Next is an interesting display of a steam locomotive cylinder and working valves.
Model of steam locomotive cylinder and valve gear
This interesting machine was built in Germany, first used on a Chinese railway for the printing of tickets in 1927 and was in continuous use until the end of the 1980s.
Ticket Printing Machine 1927
Royal Coach from the Qing Dynasty
Locomotive badge from steam locomotive Mao Zedong
1:16 scale model of the steam locomotive Zhu De
1:16 model of electric locomotive named after China’s first prime minister Zhou Enlai
Replica to Chinghuayuan Station , built in 1910. (but actually leads to the washrooms)
China Rail emblem
Headlamp from a steam locomotive
Switch stands for turning the direction of track rails.
Up stairs on the 2nd floor, are displays for China’s modern railway. There are various full size mock-ups, pieces of experimental prototypes and scale models.
Driving cab for the CRH380 high speed train.
Rail lifting machines used during the construction of the high speed lines
Prototype of a coupler used to join train cars together.
Full size simulator (extra cost $) for the high speed driver’s EMU.
Pantograph used to conduct electricity from overhead wires to the train.
Full size boggy of a high speed passenger rail car
Brake caliper for the high speed CHR3 trains
3rd floor gift shop and lcd flat panel displays
In the basement of the museum are the sand table displays. These are large boxes with the terrain sculpted in sand. A series of projectors project colour onto the terrain, as well areal images of the cities, and the high speed trains travelling between the cities. Pretty neat, makes quite the dynamic display.
Sand table overview photo, of a high speed heading into Beijing. Baihai park is pictured on the wall.
Photo on sand table of a train travelling over the terrain south of Nanjing , crossing the Yangzi river
Some of the mountainous terrain displayed on the sand table.
Scale model of the new Chongqing high speed railway station.
Close up of the interior of the model of Chongqing railway station.
Model of the Nanjing Dashengguan bridge over the Yangzi River.
Head on view of the Nanjing Dashengguan bridge model.
On the main floor by the exit is a small Bachmann model train store, selling most of the products that are currently being made by Bachmann model trains.
Bachmann model train store near the exit to the museum.
HO models in the Bachmann store. The CN gp-38 model is only 285 yuan – about $50 CDN