Kalamata Municipal Railway Park

Kalamata is an important trading city in the southern Peleponnese, and the seat of a bishopric and a university. The railway museum, opened in 1986, occupies the buildings of a former station, which are incorporated in a 54 ha public park. The railway system in Greece developed slowly – the network totalled only 206 route km by 1880, and now extends over about 2500 km. The first significant long-distance route was the metre-gauge line from Athens to the Peloponnese, which served Kalamata, and opened between 1882 and 1902. Amongst the collection of eight locomotives at Kalamata are four 2-6-0T locomotives used on the line, as well as one of the well-known German-designed ‘Krieglok’ 2-10-0s, employed on standard gauge lines in Greece during and after the Second World War. The museum also includes eight carriages, some railcars and a collection of freight wagons.