For 30 years, the Latvian Railway History Museum has been offering its visitors an extensive exhibition on how railways used to work. The museum's collection includes more than 20,000 objects of all kinds, directly and indirectly related to railways.
Toms Altbergs, Head of Research at the museum, said: "With the changing system, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the re-emergence of the new Latvian state, it was very important to preserve both the historical evidence and to tell the story of the railway economy in the inter-war period."
The Latvian Railway History Museum has restored 30 historic vehicles.
One of the most interesting exhibits for children and not only for children is probably the largest and most modern model railway layout in the Baltics, Altbergs noted: "On the one hand, it looks like a beautiful toy train, but on the other hand, it's just like what happens on a railway. This is the kind of thing that is just like railways, it's what they are. The rest, in most cases, is voluntary work that has been done over many years."
The museum does not stand still, and part of the museum's exhibition is changing. The big things, some of which are displayed outdoors, remain constant and are of great value. Jānis Indriksons, head of the Latvian Railway History Museum, explains the plans for future development: "More, wider use of this outdoor area, which is the largest exhibition of broad-gauge railway vehicles in the Baltics. To get people to stay here as much as possible."
The museum also has a branch in Jelgava, which, like the Riga Museum, gives a good insight into the history of Latvian railways.
