While I could simply say that this is one of the most fascinating museums I have ever visited, this place really deserves a Nerdy Travel Dad review, and Doc Sci will be posting for me today. All the boys in the thrifty travel house LOVE trains. Every other day or so it seems , my wife and I are interrogated as to when the next train ride will occur. Not too shabby for a birthday, if I do say so myself. When we rolled up on that Saturday morning, I had not done a lick of research.
After I walked into the building, I was genuinely surprised. There were trains, tons and tons of full-size trains , all lit up, dressed, and costumed. Mannequins dolled up in era-appropriate clothing peered out from the windows, demonstrating how train travel used to be. This was awesome. Quirky dialogue leaked out of tiny speakers in the train cars.
Well, at least I assume it was quirky.. Here I am with Big Foot taking a look at those creepy stuffed people. There were so many trains the boys kept running from one to another, peeking inside and boarding those open to visitors. In the middle of the train yard, we discovered a switching booth with the actual switches outside just waiting to be pulled.
But, right next to the switches was a junction to easily illustrate why the switches were needed and what they did. I mean there was history , some railway engineering , creepy mannequins… what more could you want?
Oh how naive I was! We had only just completed the first, much smaller depot. The first building is dedicated to the history of French trains, and the second focuses more on the evolving technology of trains.
