Experience the appeal of late 19th-century rail travel with a visit to the Railway Museum. See old clocks, telegraphs, telephones and railway carriage fittings from a collection of more than 600 items. The museum is now part of the Station Mall shopping centre and both are housed in Curitiba’s former railway station, which dates back to 1885.
Observe some of the station’s well-preserved original features. They include a ticket office, chandeliers and furniture. Everything is in such good condition that it’s easy to imagine how the station functioned more than 100 years ago. Life-size mannequins of railway staff and passengers help you to picture the scene.
Examine the large accounting book and view carriage furnishings, such as roof racks and locks. Flick through old newspaper cuttings and books covering railroad history. There are information panels charting the history of the railway system in Curitiba and surrounding areas. This information is written in Portuguese, but there are several old photographs to study. View glass display cases containing bells, documents, original maps and whistles. Go out to the platform to look at the well-maintained replica of an old steam locomotive.
A tour of the small museum will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour. Once your visit is over, spend some time in the mall. Browse its many stores, dine in a restaurant or snack bar and visit some of the other visitor attractions. They include a cinema, two theatres and a gaming area with simulators and arcade amusements.
The museum is open every day except Mondays, from mid-morning until late afternoon. Being so close to the downtown area, the attraction is served by several bus lines, including Linha Tourismo, a tourist bus that passes by Curitiba’s main sights. Drivers will find nine floors of metered parking in the shopping mall’s parking lot.
