A vintage steam locomotive on open-air display serves as a key attraction for museum visitors.
Türkiye’s landmark Çamlık Steam Locomotives Open-Air Museum has reopened near the Aegean town of Selçuk after a sweeping restoration, putting a vital piece of the nation’s transit history back on display.
After three months of conservation, repainting and landscaping work, the museum has resumed welcoming visitors to its sprawling 50-decare site, where some of the world’s best-preserved steam locomotives stand alongside historic railway infrastructure.
Located on the historic İzmir-Aydın railway — the first railway line built in the Ottoman Empire — the museum traces nearly two centuries of rail transport, illustrating the technological evolution that helped shape modern transportation in the region.
The open-air collection features 86 historical artifacts, including 30 steam locomotives built in Britain, France and Germany, as well as passenger and freight carriages, water tank wagons, snowplows, cranes, water towers, signal lanterns, switch lamps and a rare railway turntable. Original locomotive maintenance workshops have also been preserved.
Among the museum’s most remarkable exhibits is a British-built locomotive dating to 1887, capable of reaching a top speed of 28 kilometers per hour. The engine remained in active service for roughly four decades and is regarded as one of the earliest surviving examples of railway technology on display in Türkiye.
Volkan Poliçe, director of the İzmir Railway Museums, said the museum serves as an important cultural center preserving authentic artifacts from both the Ottoman and Republican eras. “We exhibit 30 locomotives from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, along with two historic snowplows and numerous railway structures spread across a vast complex,” Poliçe said.
He noted that the museum attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors annually.
“All of our locomotives have been restored. We invite visitors to embark on a journey spanning nearly two centuries and experience this remarkable chapter of railway history,” he said.
Visitors have welcomed the museum’s reopening. Ömer Alıçlı, who visited with his family while traveling from Ankara to the nearby ancient city of Ephesus, said they made an unplanned stop after receiving a recommendation through a travel application.
“We took a slight detour, but we certainly don’t regret it,” he said. “Seeing the progression from steam locomotives to today’s high-speed trains is extraordinary. These wagons and locomotives are living history, and we would recommend the museum to everyone.”
