Museum
Explore our exhibitions and get close to history

Take a tour

Step inside to discover the fascinating story of the Kyle Line Railway, West Coast fishing and Kyle Harbour. The museum was founded by volunteers who campaigned to save the Kyle Line from closure in the 1970s. In 2022-23 we gave the museum a major makeover with new activities and displays.

We invite you to visit our two exhibition galleries, view our model boats and trains, watch films in the video viewing carriage and browse the archive room. Kids can have fun at our activity table, play with a toy train set, try on engine driver hats and follow a museum trail. 

Boats, trains and local history

Find out how the stories of Kyle village, railway, harbour and local fishing are intertwined. See scale models of the boats that fished local waters and meet local characters such as ‘Big Willie’. Discover how people travelled ‘over the sea to Skye’ before the Skye Bridge. Also on display are two specially commissioned artworks from metalwork sculptor Greg Dobson.

Video viewing carriage

Step inside our railway ‘carriage’ and be transported back in time. Sit back and view our selection of archive films about the Kyle Line, Kyle Harbour and local fishing. We plan to regularly update the films on show here. We are also working with Skye and Lochlash Archive Centre to access rarely seen movie footage from the local area. 

Railway gallery

The centrepiece of this gallery is a working model of Kyle Station in the 1960s. Also on display is an intriguing collection of artefacts relating to the Kyle Line and Highland railways. See old signage, signals, the original station clock and more. In the adjacent corridor gallery we have scale models of all the trains that have run on the Kyle Line since its opening.

Archive room

Here you can browse our extensive collection of books on railways and local history. We also have collections of newspaper cuttings, records from archeological surveys and other reports. The room is decorated with archive photographs, many of them from the Duncan MacPherson collection at Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre.

When you’ve finished exploring the museum, step outside onto the Harbour and see history all around you. 

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