Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum

Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum

The new building of the Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum is located at No. 64 Zhonggong Street, Tiexi New District, within the Tiexi Forest Park. The entire exhibition hall has a fan-shaped floor plan and is two stories high. The first floor serves as the exhibition area, while the second floor features an observation corridor where visitors can overlook the full view of the locomotives.

The main structure of the new building is primarily silver-gray in color, and the interior is divided into three main functional areas: the semi-circular first-floor exhibition hall displays actual vintage locomotives; the second-floor circular corridor houses classified exhibition areas for patriotic education, science education, and other materials and artifacts, as well as a multimedia demonstration hall; the third floor is the office area. During its construction, the museum added facilities such as a steam locomotive bar, a multimedia demonstration hall, and a Zhan Tianyou exhibition hall. In addition, a dedicated exhibition area has been set up to showcase artifacts related to steam locomotives and railways, demonstrating the principles and evolution of the locomotives through physical exhibits. This includes displays of old-style hump control panels, level crossing signal lights, and locomotive whistles.

Inside the museum, 16 steam locomotives are arranged in an arc on their respective tracks, manufactured between 1907 and 1960 in countries including the United States, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany, Romania, Belgium, the Soviet Union, and China. Among them, the PL1 and DB1 small steam locomotives produced in the United States in 1907 are among the oldest members of the steam locomotive family. There is also the QJ-type steam locomotive, independently designed and manufactured by China in 1960, which was among the first batches of railway locomotives produced after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The museum also exhibits historical photos showcasing the development of China’s railways from 1894 to the present. The star attraction of the museum is the "Asia" locomotive, which was used by Japan during its invasion of China and has been the “treasure of the museum” since the Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum was established. It is reported that only 12 "Asia" locomotives were produced in Japan at the time. For wartime needs, all of them were deployed in China, mainly serving transport duties in the northeastern region. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, they became war trophies for the Chinese people, and currently only one remains.

Three replica heritage locomotives have been added to the exhibition hall. These include a replica of the "Long Number," China’s first-ever train, and the country’s first simple locomotive after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The museum has set up display areas such as the “Steam Locomotive Exhibition Hall,” “Locomotive Model Hall,” and “Science Popularization Hall.” To enhance visitors’ understanding of vintage locomotives, the museum also allows guests to enter the cabs of several “vintage engines” to experience being a “train driver.”