International Museum Day - first insight for visitors

On 21th of May the first public event for visitors was held on the Pigeon railway - on the national theme of International Museum Day - opening "doors" to the world of peat extraction.

The event was not widely advertised, as the museum railway is still not finished, but nevertheless - it attracted around a thousand visitors, with people standing in queue to have a ride with the motortrolley or locotractor, to get to the main place for the event. On the background of factory buildings, visitors had the chance to explore narrow gauge rolling stock (canteen car with recently restored interior, locotractor and motortrolley), and peat extraction tractors and devices - both on the event ground, and with guided tours around the field basis, where larger devices are located. History of the peat extraction was demonstrated by movies from 1960...1970-ties, showing unique and historical extraction technologies and the whole process from preparation of fields till packaging of final product.

Participation in the International Museum Day was possible thanks to enormous efforts invested by volunteers in restoring of the railway and rolling stock in a period of last three years, and support by Pindstrup Latvia Ltd. During these years many meters of railway tracks have been completely relaid, especially around the depot tracks, to safeguard operation of the railway. Rolling stock restoration is carried out in parallel, restoring not only the canteen car, but also maintaining the locotractor and restoring another locomotive, so that the next year visitors can be welcomed aboard a narrow gauge train, not only the motor trolley.

Photos: A. Galītis, D. Bušs, S. Tretjakovs

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