Norsk jernbanemuseum has its own place in Norwegian railway history. It grew from a collection assembled by railway staff into a national museum whose buildings, vehicles and archives preserve both the technology and the working culture of the railway.
Railway staff establish a collection
Thirty stationmasters took the initiative through Stationsmesterforeningen. The first objects were gathered at Hamar station, making the museum project itself a product of the railway community. 1
The first public museum opens — then outgrows its rooms
The collection opened to the public at Hamar station in 1903. It closed in 1912 because the premises were too small for the growing collection, but the objects were retained for a future museum. 1
An open-air museum at Disen
The museum reopened at Disen outside Hamar. Historic railway buildings could now be preserved alongside rolling stock, establishing the open-air approach that still defines the museum. 1
The collection moves to Martodden
The museum moved to its present site at Martodden in 1954, and the new open-air museum opened in 1956. Its setting beside Mjøsa allowed the collection to develop as a complete railway landscape. 1
Vehicles, buildings and archives in one national collection
Indoor exhibitions, the museum park, a narrow-gauge museum railway and extensive library and photographic collections now document Norwegian railway life from several directions. 2