The Railway Museum of Thessaloniki

During the bus journey from Edessa to Thessaloniki, just as we approached the city, from my window seat I saw something from the corner of my eye. Although the bus was going at a pace, I could see a collection of old trains set back from the roadside. I could also see people there, which indicated that it was some kind of tourist attraction.

Once at the hotel, I did a bit of Googling and discovered that it was the Thessaloniki Railway Museum. Now you know how much I love a bit of patina and decay! There is also something magnificent about old steam trains that’s evocative of another era so this really piqued my interest.

I hadn’t come to Thessaloniki with much of a plan and TBH during my initial foray into the city I’d felt overwhelmed at the vastness of the place – far less compact than Athens – or so it felt. It had been so long since I’d visited here I felt like the proverbial rabbit staring into the headlights. After wasting much of the second day, roaming the city like a lost sheep, I decided to put a plan of action in place. On day 3, my first mission was to visit the Railway Museum. This probably isn’t the top of most visitors lists – I mean, the city is full to the brim with history and culture but I like to do things a little differently.

It seemed that the Railway Museum wasn’t on the radar of the taxi driver either. I had to find it on Google Maps and guide him there. It wasn’t too far out of the city centre and the taxi fare was 8€. The address is Monastiriou 7Β, Eleftherio Kordelio 563 34, and is about 500 metres after the flyover.

I must admit that there was conflicting information about the opening hours online, but I decided to turn up and see what’s what. There were already a group of students being shown around, which was a good sign. However, if you plan to visit I highly recommend phoning ahead to check the opening times.

I was approached by a member of staff, and when they found out that I was an English speaking visitor, they asked me to wait. I was in no rush and occupied myself by looking at the huge collection of cast iron boilers on display.

15 minutes later George appeared. I don’t know whether George was already here at the museum or if he’d been magically conjured out of thin air to deal with the English speaking visitor but here he was, my personal guide. George is a 19-year-old student and volunteer at the museum whose English was impeccable. Not only that, his passion for trains and railway history was very apparent, so I could not have asked for better.

The museum sits alongside the Thessaloniki to Istanbul railway line and its an interesting contrast to see the modern high speed trains fly past these grand old engines now laying dormant in their retirement.

There is a big collection of trains here, far too many for me to remember the details but believe me, George’s knowledge of each and every train on the site was extensive. As we approached one locomotive, he told me that it had a similarity to Rosie from Thomas the Tank Engine. Now only an absolute rail enthusiast and aficionado would spot that resemblance!

Amongst the preserved trains are SEK Class Delta Alpha steam locomotives, just a few of the original 20 that formed part of the Hellenic Railway.  They were ex-USA Army Transport Corps trains and managed to escape a programme of mass scrappings in the 1980’s.

Some of the trains were waiting for refurbishment and others were undergoing the labour-intensive process. As the museum is manned by volunteers, this takes time – and of course money. It is clear to see the love and attention given to breathing new life into these kings (and queens) of the tracks.

The station house itself is interesting. It was built during Ottoman times in 1891–1894 by the Italian architect Pietro Arrigoni as a military station. It has a very distinct architectural style that can be seen in stations all over Northern Greece, but this is probably one of the finest examples with its elaborate facade and eastern influences.

Inside the station house are some beautifully curated collections of memorabilia and railwayana including examples of the uniforms worn by the station master – the colour of the cap denoting the rank of the officer, as do the buttons on the jacket. Below is an example of an Ottoman uniform and a Greek uniform – there is very little difference between the two.

There are collections or Morse code machines, railway lanterns, old telephones, ticket clipping gadgets. Amongst it all is a very unassuming bentwood chair. It was realised that this was the chair that former prime minister Eleftheros Venizelos sat on whilst signing the peace treaty between Greece and Bulgaria during the 2nd Balkan Wars. A photo above it shows PM Venizelos sitting on said chair whilst co-signing the treaty with the head of the military and later King Constantine. The chair was found abandoned in a shed. What a find and thank heavens it is now in the hands of responsible guardians.

Outside again, George showed me a coal-fired cooker. Of course the station master who lived on site would need to feed his family and crew – hence the substantial size of it. Adjacent to the station master’s house is a toolshed with everything the crew needs to keep the station and the tracks in good working order.

There is also a reconstructed waiting area, along with an interesting contraption that the station master would use to let the passengers know which train was due next. He would manually turn the clock dial to the time of departure and then pull down one of several signs with the destination. A far cry from our digital display boards we have now but all the more charming.

Next to the station master’s house is the remains of a Jewish gravestone which serves to remind us of the tragic part of history that took place in Thessaloniki during WW2. Thessaloniki was home to the largest population of Sephardic Jews in the Balkans. In April 1941, Germany invaded Greece and partitioned it. Because of its strategic location, Thessaloniki was put under German control. This was followed by a programme of assault on Jewish families by requisitioning and looting homes and businesses with families forced to live in ghettos. The Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest in Europe was destroyed. Jewish men were brutalised and put into forced labour and soon after, the final brutal steps were taken to eradicate the population from the city.

In April 1943, the deportations from the ghettos began. Nearly 43,000 Jews were transported from Thessaloniki, through this train station to Auschwitz-Berkinau and other concentration camps across Europe. Most of them were executed immediately. This is a stark reminder to us all, especially at this moment in history where we are seeing the resurgence of far right ideologies across the world and even on our own doorsteps.

Hopefully museums like the Railway Museum, can serve to remind the young people who visit that we are always a hair’s breadth away from repeating this vile part of our history.

Now for the ‘piece de resistance!’. The museum is the proud owner of several carriages from the Orient Express. This can be said to be the jewel in the crown of the museum, though I think some of the steam trains take some beating. These carriages play a very important role for the museum. They are used to host events and even today, preparations are being made to host a book launch. George explained that the Orient Express carriages are used by many of Thessaloniki’s ‘art crowd’ for many types of event and it has also hosted a wedding. This I hope not only raises an income for the museum but also serves to raise awareness of it.

The carriages are as if they had been suspended in time. I’d read that unfortunately some time ago, the carriages were looted and lots of the brass plaques and fittings were stolen. I believe they now have 24 hour security which hopefully will prevent any further losses. There is a very compact kitchen and a space saving sink built into a cupboard that Michael Portillo would go into raptures over! Anyway, this is the closest I’ll ever get to being on the Orient Express!

On a final but nonetheless very important note, George also showed me an example of a railway signalling control panel. Its function is to control train routes and signals, and as you can imagine, it is a highly skilled job. He took the opportunity to explain to me what happened two years ago at Tempi when the worst ever train disaster to hit Greece occurred, killing 57 people mainly aged between the ages of 15 and 35.

Travelling in Greece during this time, I witnessed the ripples of horror, disbelief and anger all wrapped up in an overwhelming sense of sadness spread across the country.

Yesterday the report on the disaster was published stating the cause of the tragedy was down to human error, outdated infrastructure and systemic failures. As I write this today on the 2nd anniversary of the disaster, mass demonstrations are taking place all over Greece. The protesters claim that the government itself is culpable for the tragic event, not only by not making the necessary investments to make the rail service safe, but there are also accusations of it trying to hinder investigations.

This is my interpretation of the news reports as an outsider and some of the nuances may have been lost in translation. However, I want to end this post by sharing a video that has today been shared on the Facebook group of the Friends of the Thessaloniki Railway Museum. On the 2nd anniversary of this tragedy and this day of mourning, the Filomilo Choir dedicate this prayer to those that were sadly lost.