Camlik Museum of Steam Locomotives, Selçukm İzmir, Turkey
The Çamlık outdoor museum was inaugurated in 1991 just as steam was phased out from Turkey. It has one of the largest steam engines collection in Europe, most them joining the museum shortly after being retired from service. The museum is perfectly located, a few minutes away from Turkey most famous historical site: Ephesus. It sits on the premises of the former Çamlık station, now disused because of a realignment of the Izmir Aydın main line. All the original buildings have been retained, including the small three tracks engine shed that housed the banking engines in the era of steam.
Çamlık station is on the former ORC line, the oldest line in Turkey. It is at the summit of the most difficult part of the line, with steep gradient and sharp curves.
The museum is under new management since 1999 and has been very much improved since. All the engines have been repainted and the junkyard that was formerly in front of the station building has been cleared. The gardening is very nice and the museum has been enclosed using old railway ties. In 2001, the engine shed has been cleaned up and all the tools are now neatly presented. The collection has been enlarged on several occasion in a wize attempt by TCDD to gather in Camlık rolling stock that was previously scattered around the country.
Epic Turkey Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
Own or work here?
