Built in 1873, the Ambarawa Station was initially named after the Dutch King who presided over Indonesia at the time, with the city itself being an important military location. The station itself consisted of two main buildings: one for the station master, and one for waiting. In 1976, as the steam locomotives were coming to the end of their lives, the governor of Central Java had it transformed into a museum for trains, keeping their steam engines well-managed and preserved for train enthusiasts as well as for the many people who have never come up close with a steam engine before.

The station was important as it had two different types of tracks, the 4ft 8.5in gauge going northeast by Kedungjati, and the 3ft 6in gauge line going south to Yogyakarta via Magelang (this line also featured the only rack railway between Jambu and Secang). As a major transport hub in the region, it is only fitting that the station is now deemed a heritage building. They have 21 steam engines, with four still in function! In fact, a Ambarawa-Bedono heritage track is still in operation, and you can travel via old-school steam engines on it. There is also a Ambarawa-Tuntang tourist railway.

As steam engines are largely used as historical or tourist attractions in large parts of the world and rail travel itself is being phased out for air travel, this museum, with its trains, signalling and Morse code equipment, is all the more important in remembering the long history of connectivity and travel that trains brought to us!