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Origin and history

The City of Train - SNCF Heritage, formerly French Railway Museum, is located in Mulhouse in the Dornach district. This national museum, the largest railway museum in Europe, preserves and exhibits an exhaustive collection of the history of the French railways. It spans 60,000 m2 and has more than a hundred locomotives, cars and cars of all ages, from 1844 to the present day. Some emblematic pieces are regularly moved for temporary exhibitions or commemorations in France.

The origin of the museum dates back to 1961, when SNCF decided to group its historical materials in the deposits of Chalon-sur-Saône and Sézanne. That same year, the city of Mulhouse offered a lot in Dornach to host these collections. In 1969, the "Association du musée français du Chemin de fer" was founded, and in 1971, the museum opened its doors thanks to the initiative of two enthusiasts: the Mulhousian industrialist Jean-Mathis Horrenberger and the Parisian railway expert Michel Doerr. The first locomotives, initially stored at Chalon-sur-Saône, were transferred to Mulhouse.

In 1976, the museum welcomed its first visitors to its new buildings. An extension was inaugurated in 1983, bringing annual attendance to 240,000 visitors. In the face of a decline in traffic, a major renovation was launched in 2005, entrusted to the company Culturespaces, already managing the Cité de l'Automobile. A budget of €8.6 million, financed by the State, the Alsace region, the Haut-Rhin department and the city of Mulhouse, makes it possible to modernise the spaces. The architect François Seigneur designs an immersive scenography, "Le siècle d'or du chemin de fer" (1860-1940), highlighting 104 rooms in a hall of 6,000 m2.

Since 2011, the museum has focused on pedagogy, with interactive exhibitions such as "The Quays of History", featuring more than 60 locomotives. In 2014, an outdoor area of 6,000 m2, "Le Panorama rail", was added, supplemented by a thematic restaurant and exhibitions on railway infrastructure. An annex located in Charleville-Mézières, not open to the public except at exceptional events, stores part of the collections. The name of the museum evolves in 2017 to become "Cité du Train - Heritage SNCF".

Among the notable attractions, a 7 1/4 inch miniature train allows visitors to travel around the museum since 2013. A Decauville steam locomotive, renovated by the association Centre de la mine et du chemin de fer d'Oignies, tows a convoy of 24 passengers. Maintenance is provided by the "Ferrerie des amateurs de vapor". These elements illustrate the museum's commitment to combining heritage conservation with immersive public experience.

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