Çamlık Railway Museum

The museum occupies the former Çamlık station and its yard, on the line the British-built Ottoman railway ran from İzmir into the interior, and it opened in the 1990s as steam was finally cleared off the network. Around thirty locomotives stand in the open along the tracks and in the roundhouse - German, British, American, Czech and Swedish machines, tank engines and mainline express types, several dating to the nineteenth century, along with carriages, a snowplough, a crane and the sultan's saloon car by some accounts. Most are unrestored and rusting gently, which purists regret and photographers do not, and visitors can climb into cabs and walk between the engines with very little supervision. There is a short stretch of preserved track and a tunnel. It is one of the larger collections of steam locomotives in the region and it sits ten minutes from Ephesus, where nobody goes.

What you actually see

• The locomotive line - around thirty engines along the tracks.
• The roundhouse - the shed and turntable area.
• The open cabs - engines you can climb into.
• The old station - the preserved buildings and track.

When to go

April to June and September to October - it is an open yard with no shade and metal that bakes in summer. Mornings are best for light and heat.

Honest expectations

Most engines are unrestored and weathering; this is a yard, not a polished museum. There is very little interpretation, and almost none in English. Watch footing around the tracks.

Nearby

Selçuk, Ephesus and Şirince are within ten kilometres; the Aydın road runs on toward Priene and Miletus.