Before heading back home, the last thing I visited in Nürnberg was the Deutsche Bahn Museum. It was a Sunday morning, so I checked out of my hotel, left my luggage in the luggage room, and headed out to the museum. One interesting fact is that this is actually Germany's oldest railway museum, given its roots dating back from 1899, when it began as a Bavarian railway museum.
I learned a lot while in this museum. I didn't realise that the first railway link within Germany actually was the connection between Nürnberg and Fürth. I also learned about the mechanics of the locomotive engine. Nowadays, engines are mostly electric, and those that are not are running on diesel. But before, trains were powered by steam engines, and so there were these massively large engines that was basically a large furnace. Trains had this large furnace up front, and it was immediately followed by a cart of coal. The train driver's main job was basically to feed this furnace with coal for the entire journey. It was absolutely a hard job, and I could only imagine the difficulty, especially when you factor in the weather, when it could be absolutely cold outside, yet you're at the same time very near to this very hot furnace that is burning to produce steam to power the engine.
Aside from that, this museum had plenty of historical exhibits, including palatial rail cars used by royalty, as well as a very new ICE train.
Aside from actual trains, this museum also had a substantial section on model trains. There were model trains of different sizes, and I was absolutely amazed at the intricate replicas of these massive machines, in miniature. There was even a demonstration of model trains as they moved along small miniature tracks. That was absolutely interesting. And yes, it looked like the miniature train driver was a legitimate employee of Deutsche Bahn, with the standard uniform and all.
This was a massive museum; there was even a set of trains that were exhibited on an open-air area across the road from the main building. I saw how signals worked, as well as train cars from the mid-20th century. If you're a train geek, then this is definitely a place that you would enjoy.
This was the last place I have checked out in Franconia, before I headed back home. So as I wrapped my visit up, I slowly headed back to my hotel to pick up my luggage. And after getting some lunch, I just spent the rest of the time doing a final exploration of the Old Town of Nürnberg. And then when the time came, I headed to the train station, boarded my ICE train, and went home to Berlin.
This wraps up my week-long visit in Franconia. Stay tuned - there's a new series coming up.
