Verkehrszentrum, Munich

Basics::
Address: Am Bavariapark 5, 80339 Munich, Germany
Web: http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/verkehrszentrum/information/
Opening times: Daily except public holidays 0900-1700
Admission: Adults six euros, children 3 euros

Visit date: June 2016

Access by public transport: U-Bahn U4/5 to Schwanthalerhöhe, bus 134 to Theresienhöhe.

Collection: This is the land transport collection of Munich's gigantic Deutsches Museum of science and technology, covering all forms of land transportation, both private and public. The public transportation collection includes 4 steam locomotives, 3 electric locomotives, 1 steam railcar, 4 EMU cars, 3 passenger carriages, 2 freight wagons, 4 tramcars, 2 buses, and 1 trolleybus. Highlights include an original steam railcar from the Pilatus rack railway, the steepest non-cable railway in the world; the Grand-Ducal Oldenburg State Railway 0-4-0 no. 11 "Landwührden", the first locomotive manufactured by the Krauss company; the Royal Bavarian State Railway class 53/6 4-6-2 no. 3634; and a driving motor car from the prototype ICE high-speed train unit. As well as the public transport exhibits, there are many private cars also on display.

Presentation: The museum occupies the former trade fair halls of Munich, divided into three sections, covering "Traffic and City Transport", "Travel", and "Transport and Technology". All the exhibits are static and labelled in a mixture of German and English. The "Travel" section is historically arranged to cover the development over the years of long-distance land travel, both technologically and socially, while the other two halls are more thematically arranged. The museum is definitely recommended if you are in the region.

Verkehrsmuseum, Dresden

Basics:
Address: Augustusstraße 1, 01067 Dresden, Germany
Web: http://www.verkehrsmuseum-dresden.de
Opening Times: Tue-Sun 1000-1800
Admission: Adults 9 euro, concessions 4 euro

Visit date: September 2016

Access by public transport:
The museum is in the pedestrianised Baroque area of Dresden and is within a short walk of many local tram routes.

Collection:
The museum has a small but interesting rail collection consisting of:
Motor and driving wheels of E50 class electric loco E50 42
Replica of Leipzig and Dresden Rly 0-4-2 "Saxonia"
Baldwin 0-4-4-0T 600mm gauge articulated locomotive using the Pechot-Bourdon articulation system, claimed to be one of only two surviving articulated locomotives using this system in the world.
Saechsische Staatsbahn IV-K 0-4-4-0T 750mm gauge Mallet articulated loco, restored as Deutsche Reichsbahn 99 535, one of a famous class used on the narrow gauge lines of Saxony.
"Princess Mathilde's Saloon" carriage from 1885 Saxony Royal Train
Bockwaer Coal Rly 2-4-0T "Muhlenthal". Dating from 1861, claimed to be the oldest surviving steam locomotive constructed entirely in Germany.
Deutsche Reichsbahn E71 class electric loco E71 30
Experimental 1899 Siemens four-wheel steeple-cab electric loco

Additionally, the museum has a large collection of cars and two-wheeled vehicles from Eastern Germany from the nineteenth century until the end of the DDR era, and water and air transport collections based more around small exhibits.

Presentation:
The museum exhibits are rather crammed into the Johanneum, a sixteenth-century stables and mews constructed in elaborate Renaissance style to fit with the rest of the Schloss complex. This means that some of the exhibits are difficult to examine or get a full view of. Labelling is mainly in German and English. Nevertheless, an interesting and rewarding visit.