Thousands of train-obsessed otaku converged on Saitama City today for the grand opening of a new railway museum:

JR East built the museum to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its founding in 1987, when Japanese National Railways (JNR) was split into several regional passenger service companies — including JR East — and a nationwide freight company.

Steam locomotive drivers at the company spent several years developing the steam locomotive simulator, which reproduces the conditions of a D51 model train, down to its vibrations.

Also on display are the British-made Model 1 locomotive that hauled the JNR’s inaugural train from Tokyo’s Shinbashi to Yokohama on Oct. 14, 1872, a C57 steam engine and several Shinkansen bullet trains.

Here’s a look into the museum that aired last week on Japanese TV:

For more details about the new museum, check out its official homepage! [The site was down due too opening day net traffic when I wrote this post, but it should be accessible soon.]