What it's like inside Australia's biggest train museum: an insider's view

Steam and diesel locomotives, carriages and railcars sit across narrow, standard and wide gauges at the National Railway Museum, and it's a passion for train travel that fires chief executive Bob Sampson's engine.

"You can look out the window and the scenery changes enormously," he said.

Split across two pavilions, there are 60 exhibits on display including diesel and steam locomotives, freight trains and wagons, carriages, dining and sleeping cars, while another 40 are hidden away. These pieces of history don't just sit there; they can be moved around, thanks to the different gauges.

Most of the collection is from former Commonwealth and South Australian railways, plus privately-run operations by BHP and Silverton Tramway, among others.

A walk past the display cells in the Fitch Pavilion shares information about women in the railways, plus a model railway, theatrette, train departure board and a train simulator.

Outside, entrants can go for a ride on a ride on a small one-foot-six gauge steam train around the grounds, while on special days it's possible to ride on a 1950s-style suburban rail car, pulled by a diesel locomotive. There's also more to explore inside the goods shed.

Mr Sampson said carriages from the Tea and Sugar Train were among the most popular displays. The train ran across the Nullarbor for 60 years, supporting the railway families from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie.

"When they get in the old butcher's van, old provision store, or bank car and start to read up on it, they start to really appreciate just how valuable those items are and also the purpose that they served," he said.

Mr Sampson's favourite display is the 900 class diesel-electric locomotive, named Lady Norrie. It was built in 1951 in Adelaide and was the first mainline operational diesel locomotive in Australia.

He travelled on it during the start of his career, and to work on it again at the museum was "quite a realistic time tunnel."

Mr Sampson worked in railways for 41 years, starting as a ticket collector on suburban trains, and later worked in public relations with Australian National Railways and other roles with Australian Rail Track Corporation before retiring.

He's been associated with the museum since 1968, starting off as a teen helping with painting, mowing lawns, and driving the small steam engine, but has since taken over marketing, project managing and budgets.

"It's understanding how it all fits together," he said.

But he also loves getting hands-on, like jumping on a shunting engine.

Retired locomotive driver and trainer Mr Holmes works behind the scenes, digitising a vast collection of material including rosters of what trains ran on any particular day, steam engine service records, and more.

Among his favourite trains on display is the 520 class steam locomotive, which he used to clean at the start of his career, and the 930 class diesel locomotive, which he drove during his working career.

Mr Holmes recalls driving steam engines through the Adelaide Hills, and it was the amount of water they went through that was most surprising.

"Imagine trying to boil a kettle as you're putting cold water in them at the same time," he said.

National Railway Museum is at 76 Lipson St, Port Adelaide.