For over 150 years, the city of Savigliano has had a particular relationship with railway locomotion vehicles because, since 1855, it was one of the first towns in Piedmont to be served by a section of via ferrata. This impulse led to the rise of numerous mechanical workshops that gradually developed, forming a cutting-edge, highly specialized industrial hub. In fact, even today, high-speed trains of modern design are built in the current ALSTOM plants, and Savigliano was therefore the obvious choice to host the Museo Ferroviario Piemontese.

Established in 1978, it collected and saved more than 60 vehicles from demolition, including several unique pieces. Locomotives, railcars, carriages, and special vehicles abound, firing the passion of the many visiting enthusiasts. Currently the exhibition space, which includes a multifunctional building and the vehicle park, spans a large area of about 31,500 square meters, located at the point where the Turin-Savona and Savigliano-Saluzzo-Cuneo lines meet.

Two sections on the ground floor of the building are open to visitors: the first is dedicated to the collection of devices, accessories and equipment for working on the railway lines, while the second hosts the collection of models.

The outdoor exhibition revolves, for the most part, around a 21-metre turntable: the heart of the museum’s layout, and itself a valuable part of the collection. 

Instead, the dead-end station inspired by the epic age of the great steam drive is located along the side facing the Turin-Savona line.

A shunting yard, located along the Savigliano-Saluzzo line, is also used to display wagons and carriages: all switches on the yard are working and the tracks are active, allowing the trains to perform manoeuvres, depart and arrive, in line with the museum’s vocation to host “exhibits in motion”.