Wagons-Lits sleeping car for the Danish Railway Museum
In the summer of 2010, the Museum purchased a Wagons-Lits sleeping car from a group associated with the vintage railway at Schönberger Strand east of Kiel. Read here (in Danish) about the car, its purchase and transport to Denmark, and our plans for the car (illustrated article in pdf format).

New set-up of permanent exhibition
In the autumn of 2010, we rearranged our carriages and locomotives in the section of the Museum closest to the entrance. These renewal activities will continue in 2011. These efforts make the chronology of the exhibitions more consistent so visitors are better able to follow the historical developments in the new exhibition.

At the same time, they provides space for new cars and locomotives, and improve the milieus in the exhibition and increase their number.

We have built new platforms between tracks 1, 2 and 3 and between tracks 4 and 5; the former have a gravel-like surface, to resemble early stations, and the latter have tile paving. The platforms create ambience and make it easier to look inside cars and locomotives.

The first tracks have the Museum’s oldest cars and locomotives: “Old Ole” and two Stephenson locomotives from 1868–69, together with our two compartment carriages of the same years. Further ahead is our snowplough and an enclosed goods van, also from the 1860s, together with our prized freight locomotive the G 78, built in Esslingen in 1875.

The P 932, our handsome express train locomotive, has been moved to track 5, and a postal car from 1937, new to the exhibition, is coupled to it.

Since 1988, the Museum has made extensive use of mannequins, or dolls as some like to call them, to populate and breathe life into our milieus and exhibitions. Many of the older mannequins have been relocated to new sites and additional mannequins have been obtained for new platforms. Therefore, when a visitor steps onto platform 1, he/she will meet a group of passengers who have just arrived from the country. The group is inspired by a painting entitled “Farmers Come to the Capital”, by Erik Henningsen, 1887. A famous writer appears to be sitting in the elegant compartment of the car next to it. On the roof of the carriage, the lamp man is attaching oil lamps before the train continues on its way – and a ticket inspector is ready to inspect tickets as he stands on the footboard alongside the carriage.

During the course of 2011, many new mannequins will be placed on the following platforms.

Further ahead in the exhibition is a private railway theme: an enclosed goods van and shunting tractor built by Frichs for the Hammel railway, a steam engine from the Stubbekøbing–Nykøbing line, in addition to the Skaw railway’s inspector’s railcar.

At several spots along the way, small track settings typical of the times will be inserted, such as the so-called “pot tracks”. Smaller vehicles like trolleys and handcars will be placed on these extra tracks.

Some of the many steam engines, which have been permanent features of the exhibition for years, have been mothballed. During the course of 2011, this will provide space for a track with a goods and shunting theme and for a combined exhibition of diesel locomotives and motor carriages on tracks 16–19 at the rear of the Museum. This exhibition will be laid out so it is easy to rearrange for various events, like Trainland in the mid-term winter break or when hired out for various events.