Far East Children's Railway
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 Pionerskaja railway station, 2012
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| Technical | |
|---|---|
| Line length | 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) |
| Track gauge | 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) |
|} The Far East Children's Railway (Russian: Дальневосточная детская железная дорога, Dalwenostotschnaja detskaja schelesnaja doroga) is a narrow gauge miniature railway in the Russian town Khabarovsk. The railway was opened on 19 May 1958 as one of the many pioneer railways in the USSR and is still in use.
History
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The railway was built by volunteers, after it had been initiated by Komsomol and the public. It was inaugurated on 19 May 1958.
Initially, a circular loop with a length of 600 metres (0.37 mi) surrounded the park of a Sovkhoz. The passengers were transported by a railbus and four open wooden body carriages with 15 seats each in the first year. The light rails were of Type P-18.
The railbus was replaced by a steam locomotive Type 159 with the serial number 6421 in 1959,[1] which is displayed on a plinth at the Pionerskaja railway station since 1968. Still in the same year, 1959, the track was extended along the Karl Marx Steet by heavier 3A rails up to a length of 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi). In 1965 four Polish metal passenger cars with 38 seats each were delivered by Pafawag.
The Pionerskaja railway station was built in 1967 approximately 600 m away of the main track. The steam locomotive was replaced in 1968 by a ТУ2 diesel locomotive. The station building was built in 1972. In the ground floor it houses offices a workshop, a waiting room and a class room equipped with visual aids.
A depot with a pit was built for the technical maintenance of the locomotives and carriages in 1979. The Pafawag carriages were replaced in 1986 by carriages of the type PV51 by the Russian Demikhovo Machinebuilding Plant, and from 1987 more modern ТУ7 diesel locomotives were used instead of the older ТУ2 diesel locomotives.[1]
In 1999 the children's railway was reconstructed. The first refurbishment phase was completed on 25 May 2000. A repair and training building was erected near the Pionerskaja railway station, the 3A rails were replaced by heavier R-50 rails and signal and communications systems were upgraded.[1]
Rolling stock
Locomotives
The following diesel locomotives are currently being used:
- TU7 diesel locomotives – № 2611 and 2612[2]
- TU10 diesel locomotive – № TU10-017[3]
Carriages
Three passenger carriages VP750, six metal framed passenger carriages PV51 and four flat bed goods waggons are operational.
References
