Nagahama Railway Square, Railway museum and monument in Nagahama, Japan.
Nagahama Railway Square is a municipal railway museum in Nagahama made up of three parts: the former Nagahama Station building, the Nagahama Railway Culture Hall opened on 14 October 2000, and the Hokuriku Line Electrification Memorial Hall opened on 17 July 2003. The old station is a two-storey timber-framed structure of lime concrete, 24.5 m east-west and 9.7 m north-south, with 50 cm walls, granite corner stones and brick window frames and doorways. Two locomotives, ED70 1 and D51 793, are kept in static display.
The museum preserves the first Nagahama Station Building, which is the oldest remaining station structure in Japan's railway network. This original structure demonstrates how early railway stations were designed and built in the country.
The three-part complex is named for its 2000 opening: the Nagahama Railway Culture Hall opened on 14 October 2000 beside the old station, and the Hokuriku Line Electrification Memorial Hall followed on 17 July 2003. The old station building, a Railway Monument since 1958, displays a fireplace and a carved-balustrade spiral staircase in the Rokumeikan style that startled local residents when it was built.
The location is about three minutes from JR Biwako Line's Nagahama Station, making it easy to access from the station plaza. A visit typically takes a few hours, depending on how much time you spend exploring the exhibits and trying the interactive activities.
The complex is named after three facilities: the Old Nagahama Station Building, the Nagahama Railway Culture Hall opened on 14 October 2000, and the Hokuriku Line Electrification Memorial Hall opened on 17 July 2003. The station building was designed under Inoue Masaru with British engineers including Edmund Gregory Holtham.
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