Housing the only Railway University of India, the Pratap Vilas Palace was commissioned for the crown prince of Baroda in 1908. Now known as ‘The National Academy of Indian Railways’ or ‘Bharatiya Rail Rashtriya Akademy’ (in Hindi), earlier it was known as the Railway Staff College.
Railway Academy :
After independence, the Bombay Province had taken over these premises on lease on 31st January 1949 and given to Indian Railways for its use. Subsequently, the Railways purchased this building on 6th January 1964 at a value of Rs 24,38,271. The National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) also formerly known as Railway Staff College was initially founded in 1930 at Premnagar, Dehradun. It was shifted to the Pratap Vilas Palace at Lalbaug on 31st January 1952.
The Palace :
Also known as the Lal Baug Palace, because of Lal Baug (Garden) nearby, it was earlier known as the Prince’s Palace. It was later named as the Pratap Vilas Palace after the last ruler of Baroda State, Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad. It’s construction started on 15 February 1908 & was completed on 30 July 1914, with the furnishing only being completed by 1918. It was designed by Charles F. Stevens, son of F.W. Stevens, the British Architect who designed the famous Victoria Terminus of Bombay.
Standing at the center of 55 acres land, the Pratap Vilas Palace was built with huge gardens & many different types of trees around it. The palace was purely designed in Rennaisance Style Architecture and shows classical traits such as pediments, semi-circular arches, lantern-like elements, balustraded railings, and ionic columns. Other most prominent features representing the style of architecture are the domes, with the main copper dome as the centerpiece.
Completed at the cost of Rs. 800,000, and devoid of much ornamentation, the Palace presents itself as a grand edifice. It sits on a high plinth with flights of steps leading up to it. The grandeur of the building is further emphasized with “quoins” decorating its corners. The only ornamentations used to embellish the structure are the floral motifs with oval cartouches, and motifs of Roman faces.
The surroundings of the palace feature vast lawns bordered with lush green bushes and pathways shaded with huge trees. Some of these gardens earlier had names such as the Raja Baug in front of the Palace and the Rani Baug on one of its sides.
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The palace now sits in the middle of the Railway College campus surrounded by several buildings. One of these buildings houses a Model Room, which is a room full of miniature railway models, which can be only visited with prior permission.
Apart from the glory of a Princely State, the Palace is also a representative of the glory of the Indian Railways which holds several world records and 4 UNESCO accreditation’s.
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