The Nigerian Railway Corporation compound in Ebute-Metta holds reminders of a time when the railway was a much bigger part of everyday life in Nigeria.

The railway compound
Nigeria’s railway system dates to the colonial period, with the Lagos–Ibadan line opening in the early 1900s before the network gradually extended to other parts of the country. For decades, trains carried passengers, agricultural produce and goods across the country.

Ebute-Metta grew around this railway activity. Railway offices, workshops, stations and staff facilities made the area an important part of Lagos’ railway operations.

Today, old coaches, tracks and railway equipment remain within the compound. Some sit alongside buildings and infrastructure still connected to the railway system, giving the surroundings the feel of a place that has not completely moved on from its past.

This setting is also important to understanding Jaekel House. The museum is not a standalone collection placed somewhere else in the city. It sits within the railway environment it documents.

Inside Jaekel House
Built in 1898, Jaekel House is one of the historic buildings within the railway compound. It was associated with senior railway officials and was named after Francis Jaekel, a former railway official and historian who documented Nigeria’s railway history.

The building retains much of its old character, with wooden interiors, high ceilings, large windows and spacious rooms.

Inside, those rooms now house a mini railway museum.

The collection brings together photographs, railway artefacts, tools, equipment and other materials connected to the Nigerian Railway Corporation. According to the corporation, its photographic archive covers the 1940s to the 1970s and includes images of railway personalities, places and events from both the pre-independence and post-independence periods.

The photographs show trains and railway stations, but they also bring attention to the people behind the system. Railway workers appear in their uniforms, while tools and other equipment offer a glimpse into the work that went into keeping the trains moving. Some photographs tell a different story: that of Lagos itself.

Lagos in photographs
For anyone familiar with Lagos today, the photographs offer a chance to see a city that looks considerably different from the one outside the museum.

Roads, buildings, stations and neighbourhoods appear as they once were. Some places are recognisable, while others have changed so much that their earlier appearance requires a second look.

The photographs also capture people using the railway as part of their daily lives. Passengers gather at stations, railway workers pose for photographs, and trains sit along platforms in scenes from another era.

This makes the collection more than a record of trains.

It is also a record of Lagos and of the people who lived and worked around the railway. The photographs preserve small details of everyday life while showing how the city’s physical landscape has changed over time.

Beyond Lagos, they point to the role the railway played in connecting different parts of Nigeria. As the network expanded, trains became an important means of moving people and goods across the country.

The objects and photographs at Jaekel House offer pieces of that history, allowing the story to be seen through the places, people and machinery that were part of it.

Getting there
Jaekel House is located within the Nigerian Railway Corporation compound in Ebute-Metta, around the Iddo and Ebute-Metta railway area of Lagos.

Visitors coming from other parts of the city can take a taxi or use a ride-hailing service to reach the area. It is best to confirm the entrance, visiting arrangements and opening hours before setting out, as these may change.

Legacy, the Historical and Environmental Interest Group of Nigeria, is associated with Jaekel House and lists the building as its headquarters. The organisation also provides information about visiting the museum.

If you plan to spend time around the wider railway compound, comfortable footwear is advisable.

A few hours is enough to explore the museum, but spending additional time around the compound gives a better sense of the setting in which the railway story unfolded.

For a city that is constantly changing, the railway compound offers a reminder of an earlier Lagos which was one where trains were an important part of how people and goods moved through Nigeria.