Heritage Transport Museum – Taoru Gurgaon

To evolve a multi-experiential facility that explores the historicity of transportation with an emphasis on the Indian context, and become a resource centre for transport development.

Collections & Heritage

Level 0

Automobile Gallery
This gallery showcases the evolution of the Indian car industry, as well as cars that have been used in India since the advent of motoring. On display are over 75 vintage and classic cars – parked alongside a recreated Indian street scene from yesteryears, sporting vintage ephemera.

A vintage petrol pump with spare parts memorabilia has also been recreated, while a special section showcases the role of cars in Bollywood.
Films on transportation are screened in a mini auditorium on this floor.

Level 1

Pre-mechanized Transportation
A timeline of transportation in India, beginning with the story of the wheel, on display are palanquins, howdahs, bullock carts, horse carriages, and camel carts. Alongside these are displayed decorative objects, such as carriage lamps, carbide lamps, and palanquin finials.
Railways. The museum explores the grandeur of travel by rail through a historically inspired railway platform and a 1930s restored railway saloon from BBCI Railway. Also on display are models of popular locomotives and memorabilia including original posters, train tickets, lamps, and railway maps.

Heavy Mechanised

Transportation

Designed like a bus depot, this section showcases the romance of bus journeys with an array of restored buses. Also on display are vans and information about tramways. The gallery shutters boast the creative expression of the working class in the form of Truck Art, in bright floral patterns, using a range of decorative media.

Level 2

Aviation

This section details the history and evolution of the Indian aviation industry, including early trials and experiments and the history and growth of Air India. Also on display are early models of aircraft used in India, supported by original posters, timetables, tickets, and advertisements. Suspended in mid-air in the gallery is a restored 1940s Piper J3C Cub aircraft, in its signature chrome yellow.

Collectible Indian Toys on Transport

This section includes an inventory of fun, collectible, nostalgic, original toys made in wood, tin and die-cast toys, all made by Indian manufacturers. Allowing one to cherish rich memories of one’s childhood, this section also displays a collection of vintage pedal cars and pedal cycles, all as lavishly detailed as their real counterparts.

Rural Transportation & Two-Wheelers

This gallery showcases the evolution of early two-wheelers in India including bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, and mopeds. Indigenous systems of transport such as phat-phat, chakhda, jugaad, and ganesha are also on display.
Maritime
This gallery depicts the history of India’s inland waterways, their evolution and decline, and the story of the Ganges alongside models of boats, navigational maps, etchings, and aquatints.

Level 3

Contemporary Art Gallery

The museum has a designated gallery space for contemporary art, which will host thematic exhibitions throughout the year.
Conference Room
A large conference room with a capacity of over 300 people may be used for corporate or special events. Accessible from the conference room is an expansive terrace. The conference room can be partitioned with soundproof folding screens to create two rooms of equal size so that smaller events may be held simultaneously. The museum offers state-of-the-art audio & video equipment for presentations, meetings, and conferences. A range of Food & Beverage options depending on the event is also available.

Library & Research Centre

The Library & Research Centre holds over 2000 books related not only to transportation and its history, but also books on art, design and technology, street art, enamel signs, museology, and so on. There are several rare books in the collection that were printed in the early 20th century.

Contemporary & Tribal Art

In keeping with its intention to engender a dialogue between the traditional and the contemporary in an environment that is responsive to issues related to transportation, the museum seeks to have a significant representation of works by contemporary artists inspired by modes of transportation.

The museum encourages contemporary artists to propose works that allow a diverse audience to engage with the artistic representations so as to understand the continued significance of transportation in our everyday lives in an imaginative and experiential manner. Contemporary artworks, by renowned artists, such as Baptist Coelho, G.R., Iranna, Pooja Iranna, Ranbir Kaleka, Hanif Kureshi, T.V. Santhosh, Gigi Scaria, and Nataraj Sharma amongst others, are interspersed amongst historical objects in various galleries around the museum. Each work is contextualized vis-à-vis the historical, scientific, cultural, or social context of transportation systems in contemporary society. The eminent artist, Atul Bhalla, has created a site-specific work especially for the museum inspired by transportation traditionally used on inland waterways.

While contemporary artworks are included in various galleries across the museum, there is also a designated gallery space for contemporary art, which will host thematic exhibitions throughout the year.

Tribal Art

When the train comes through a remote village in rural and tribal India, it not only changes the physical landscape but also the way these communities interact with the outside world. The advent of modern transportation brought changes to rural and tribal lifestyles. Transport provided an introduction to the city; trains seeped sinuously in their imagination, whereas planes were the mighty ‘birds’ from their individual and collective myths. The museum exhibits commissioned work and private collections by Warli (Vijay, Kishore, and Praveen Mahshe) and Gond (Bhuri Bai) artists. This section will subsequently be enhanced with pieces specifically made for the museum by tribal and folk artists working in residency programs organized by the Heritage Transportation Trust.

Transportation in India:
a Historical Collection
The core of the historical collection comprises material collected over the last two decades. There are over 10000 objects and the breadth of the collection has relevance well beyond transport history. The objects are an important intellectual resource for the study of the social and economic history of India.

They include:
Old lithographs/engravings
Original photographs including rare albumen prints
Old postcards on modes of transportation in India
Philatelic collection of stamps/first day covers issued in various countries
Rare books on India’s transport history
Vintage Ephemera
Vintage road/touring maps of India
Vintage vehicle advertisements from old Indian dailies and magazines
Old bills, receipts, license copies, share certificates, etc.
Old automobile spare parts in original boxes
Old automobile memorabilia including carriage lamps, decanters, ashtrays, mementos, etc.
Lobby cards

Mission:
To establish a state-of-the-art, interpretive and experiential museum that will be rigorously promoted within the heritage and tourism sector.

To evolve curriculum-based partnerships with schools and other resource centers in order to provide research and documentation programmes.

To change the museum exhibits yearly, adhering to the original concept, in an effort to have an evolving space.
Learning & Engagement
The philosophy of the Heritage Transport Museum is that of an object-based, visitor-centered, interdisciplinary museum. Key methods and media have been identified and deployed for communication with visitors at all levels in each gallery. Through these, the museum’s learning and engagement activities deliver innovative learning opportunities to a wide range of audiences and seek to provide interactive experiences that encourage multiple interpretations of the museum exhibits.

Discovery Centre

Situated on Level 2, visitors to the Discovery Centre gain knowledge about the principles and mechanisms of various modes of transportation by interacting with actual parts and models, for example an engine, a gearbox or a chassis. Exhibits have been designed to be operated primarily by visitors with clear educational objectives. This will encourage them to understand real objects and phenomena through hands-on physical

Visitor Information

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