Travel by steam locomotive. Photo report: Ride on a real steam locomotive
Do you love steam locomotives as much as we love them? And we love them very much! So much so that instead of children's cartoons, we are happy to watch videos about trains from YouTube, and as a lullaby, my mother has been singing “don't play the fool America” for a year and a half (voice acting from one such video). The sound of wheels for a child The best way calm down, and the train ride is a great adventure! And the only game in which the child has not lost interest in a year and a half is a wooden railway! Well, in general, you understand ...
Fans of steam locomotives in Moscow have a place to roam. RZD Tour took care of this! For a long time I was going to get with the child, for example, to the Museum of Transportation at the Rizhsky railway station. But it turned out that there is an option even more interesting than a simple visit to the museum!
The Great Locomotive Adventure consists of IV parts:
Part I - The Museum of Railway Engineering at the Rizhsky Station of the Moscow Railway
It all starts with an acquaintance with a stationary exposition. What is not here! The museum has a huge collection of historical examples of equipment of the last century - locomotives, wagons, special railway equipment. All of them are witnesses and participants in more than a century of history of the domestic railway industry.
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There are also recognized monuments of science and technology. For example, the legendary steam locomotive of the Ov series, which received the affectionate nickname “Sheep” among the machinists. This is the most honorable exhibit and a real "pearl" of the railway collection. Its age is more than a century. This is the most massive pre-revolutionary locomotive. But only 4 copies have survived to this day.
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Following the Ovechka, a tender wagon is the one that transports a supply of coal and the legendary wagon - a wagon in which people and horses were transported during the First World War, which got its name because of the stove-potbelly stove installed in the center.
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Nearby is another steam locomotive of the already Soviet production FD - Felix Dzerzhinsky - one of the most powerful Soviet locomotives of the 30s.
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The guide will tell you about all this and much more. In our case, the most colorful Evgeny Lushin, who in the past worked as a locomotive driver on a steam locomotive and knows everything about steam locomotives and their history. And a little more. (If you ever decide to take this tour - ask him, you won't regret it!!!)
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And not only tell, but also show! For example, how wagon couplers worked.
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Facts, stories, references, explanations are pouring in an endless stream ... The tour seems to be designed for children, but adults also listen with their mouths open.
For example, do you know why some locomotives were painted green and others black? Not?
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Green - carried passengers, and black - cargo!
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If excursions are not your format, then each exhibit has a sign with a description. You can read it ... Although this, of course, cannot be compared with the story of a real machinist who lives on this topic ...
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After all, he tells not just bare facts, but also shares his emotions, which are sometimes difficult to hide. For example, the annoyance that steam locomotives are no longer produced ...
They ceased to be produced literally on the same day, when figures were announced at the next meeting, indicating the inefficiency of locomotive traction. All 30%. The electric locomotives that appeared at that time were much more efficient in absolute terms. But the speakers did not explain that electric locomotives require a gigantic infrastructure. Hundreds of kilometers of wires, power plants, maintenance and much, much more - all this was left outside the report. So "inefficient" steam locomotives are a thing of the past.
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Since then, more than half a century has passed ... But in terms of the number of horsepower and average speed, the steam locomotives of those years almost do not differ from modern ones.
While we are walking around the museum, a real steam locomotive passes us! Everyday so ... But on this line, this is in the order of things!
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Most of the museum exhibits are also on the go. Although they almost never travel outside their museum, they have all the necessary equipment for this.
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You can touch the locomotives, you can even stand up on the steps to make the shot better.
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Some locomotives have driver's cabs open for access. You can not only go there, but also twist all sorts of handles, taps and so on.
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It is absolutely impossible to go around the museum at a time, especially with a tour, when you are not only shown the exhibits, but also tell a lot of interesting things about each of them…
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Therefore, we limit ourselves to the locomotive sector and move on ...
Part II - Retro Train
A natural continuation of stories about steam locomotives is a trip on one of them! This is quite an adventure in itself, although at first glance it seems that it is more interesting to watch from the side than from the inside.
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Traveling by steam locomotive is different from traveling by train. Not to mention the occasional puff of smoke flying past the window and passengers waiting on the platforms gawking and reaching for their gadgets to take pictures.
The very feeling of the trip differs ... The locomotive is more jerky, with constant small jerks. This is connected with the work of steam engines and is the first and surest sign that you are being driven by a steam locomotive.
During the trip, you can have a snack, drink tea / coffee ... Or buy souvenirs.
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And the guides continue to tell various interesting facts and occasionally entertain the children with games and contests.
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The trip takes just over 10 minutes. Our station is the Red Baltiets platform.
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Part III - Podmoskovnaya depot
Depot Podmoskovnaya is no longer a museum, but a real depot, operating. It has recently been carefully restored and tours are in full swing. Steam locomotives here are not just exhibited as exhibits, but really live, refuel, repair, service and drive, so you need to be very careful when walking, which the guide warns about.
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Here everything is as close as possible to how it was before. There is a water tower, which now, of course, no longer fulfills its direct duties, but serves as an architectural monument. And several residential buildings where employees used to live. It's funny that these houses did not belong to any streets, but in the postal address they wrote what kind of house it was from the water pump.
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Now steam locomotives are refueled aside from a special column.
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The main highlight on the cake is the turntable. Real, active! If you're lucky, you might even see him in action. We've been incredibly lucky. The crane went into a turn.
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There is no convenient tourist road in the depot, you have to go straight along the rails. But that only makes it more interesting!
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Strictly speaking, this is not exactly a depot. It is classified as a "museum and production complex". It is here that the educational and methodological base for the professional training of locomotive crews is based.
The steam locomotive management school is akin to folk crafts. They stopped teaching machinists back in the 70s, and there were no more professionals in this business at all. At first, they tried to invite electric train drivers, but they say they were reluctant. No one wanted to exchange the comfortable seats of a modern cabin for the heat and mud of a locomotive. But now, with the advent of the school, the situation has changed a bit. There are many enthusiastic young people in the depot who come purposefully to master this particular profession.
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Although all this, of course, is very difficult. Equipment in the depot is mainly from the beginning and middle of the last century. Spare parts for it have not been produced for a long time, and it must be handled with the utmost delicacy. For example, the boiler must be kept hot almost constantly if the locomotive is running. The more often it cools down and reheats at startup, the faster the boiler fails. And a faulty boiler, in modern conditions, is a decommissioned steam locomotive. In total, eight cars are still running in the depot, each one is assigned to a driver, his assistant and a stoker.
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A sectional steam locomotive is presented in a separate room! This is a real steam locomotive, out of order and beyond repair, which was converted into a visual aid to demonstrate how steam traction actually works. For clarity, the "hot" parts of the locomotive are tinted in red, and the cold ones, respectively, in blue.
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Particularly inquisitive can climb and look into the firebox from the side of the machinist.
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Part IV - Apotheosis
Getting to know steam locomotives is impossible without one, the smallest, but the brightest detail...
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The culmination of the locomotive day is the ascent into the driver's cab of a working locomotive! This attraction is available at the end of the tour. And, I must say, it is in demand both among children and adults ...
Here you can no longer twist or touch anything at all. But on the other hand, the driver will slightly open the firebox door so that you can feel the heat and see the flame and certainly stumble back ... Terrible!
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But how many impressions, emotions and memories remain after this! Both parents and children are delighted ... In general, do not miss one of the brightest entertainments in Moscow.
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All details, prices, appearances and passwords can be found at the organizer of this story -
By this tour it is possible to change the time of collection and departure due to the peculiarities of the work of Russian Railways. Please clarify exact time collection day before departure.
Traveling along the Small Railway Ring of Moscow on a real old steam locomotive is a unique opportunity to plunge into the charming, ancient atmosphere of the railway. A train led by a real steam locomotive built in the late 19th century will be served at the Rizhsky railway station. You will comfortably sit in comfortable soft chairs of the car, our "retro train" will begin its journey along the small railway ring of Moscow, which celebrated its 100th anniversary. The line with a length of 54 kilometers dates back to 1908, when regular traffic was opened here. This highway is a very interesting structure, which has no analogues in the world.
Unusual views of the capital from the windows of the train: old stations of the early 20th century, fences, ancient and majestic Novodevichy Convent, a new bright landmark of Moscow City, Ostankino TV Tower, VDNKh, Botanical Garden, Izmailovsky Kremlin. On the route of the retro - the train crosses the Moscow River four times along the Dorogomilovsky, Luzhnetsky, Novoandreevsky and Danilovsky bridges. The steam locomotive will arrive at the Rizhsky railway station, where you will continue the tour with a tour of one of the most elegant and ancient railway stations in Moscow. The building of the Rizhsky railway station was built at the end of the 19th century, as part of the construction of the Vindava railway, according to the project, not without the famous St. Petersburg architect Brzhozovsky. There are many legends associated with this station. interesting stories that our guide will tell you. At the end of the tour, you will be able to visit unique museum steam locomotives (located at the right end of the station).
Tour duration: 4 hours.
Travel time by train: 2 hours 30 minutes
Excursion around the Riga station;
- Sightseeing tour retro train along the Small Railway Ring of Moscow, with a fascinating guide's story.ATTENTION! Due to enhanced security measures, photo and video shooting at railway stations is strictly prohibited!
At the Rizhsky railway station, you can visit the Museum of the History of Railway Engineering on your own for an additional fee. fee. (Tickets are purchased at the museum box office, price for adults/children - 40/25 rubles, self-examination of the exposition).
Attention! Our journey begins and ends at the Rizhsky railway station (metro station Rizhskaya).
The cost of adults / children - 1170 rubles.
Group meeting at 8:40 at the Rizhsky railway station, entrance No. 1,
Guide with a sign "On a retro train along the Moscow railway ring."
Start of the tour - 8:50
The price of the tour includes:
A trip on a retro train along the small railway ring of Moscow;
Travel information from a professional guide;
Excursion around the Riga station;
Useful information:
- Please dress appropriately for the weather and wear shoes without heels.
- Attention! Our train runs in the grid of the general train schedule, so please do not be late for boarding, the train moves off minute by minute, latecomers are not expected.
- Attention! On the platform of stations, be extremely careful and attentive.
We present to your attention unique retro train tours for students and adults. During the excursion tour it will be fun for both children and parents. At your request, we will organize a 2-hour or 3-hour a ride on a steam locomotive in Moscow and the outskirts, to Kolomna and Star City. In addition, you can choose a train tour around the Golden Ring, visiting Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma, Vladimir and many other cities. You can choose the car or route that suits you and visit railway museum. We will also organize a real weekend adventure trip for you, during which you will be able to visit interesting places Moscow region and the Golden Ring. Our tour will be remembered for a long time!
Routes of walks on a retro train.
Excursion around the Small Railway Ring of Moscow. The duration of the route is about 3 hours. You will see the sights of Moscow, including the Novodevichy Convent, Moscow City, Ostankino TV Tower and many others. Several times we will pass over the famous bridges over the Moskva River. The cost of a walk along the Small Ring is from 1000 rubles. per person. The duration of the tour is about 3 hours.
Moscow-Kolomna-Moscow. The duration of the tour is about 10 hours. During the tour we will visit the Kolomna Kremlin, sightseeing tour across Kolomna. In addition, we will visit the pastila museum and visit the theatrical performance of the Cossack camp.
Route to the Air Force Museum in Monino.
During the ride on the steam locomotive we will visit the Air Force Museum in Monino. We will see real samples of helicopters, airplanes and great amount aviation technology.
We organize for your group excursion tours by train in any direction and at any date convenient for you. We will be able to allocate the required number of seats or wagons that are suitable for your group and your event. However, in order to organize such corporate offsite events, it is necessary to think over the route in advance and determine the exact number of participants in the event.
For tour organization, please contact our managers.
The "Locomotive Walk" is a unique excursion in retro style. In time " locomotive ride"You can really plunge into the old days, take part in the life of the railway of the early 20th century, become a passenger of a real retro train for a while, feel the heat of a hot steam locomotive and hear the whistle that inspired many of our compatriots.
"Locomotive walk" will allow you to touch the antiquity, as well as learn interesting facts from the history of the railway, scientific and technological progress and Russia as a whole. A steam train trip will be interesting for both children and adults, here everyone will find a good mood and experience the unique charm of the steam locomotive era.
The walk starts at the Rizhsky railway station at 12 noon with a tour of the Museum of the History of Railway Engineering. The museum, located in the open air, presents more than 60 natural exhibits from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. Here you can see the legendary sheep (Ov series steam locomotive), the FD series steam locomotive listed in the Guinness Book of Records, captured German equipment and much more.
The train whistle will notify you about the start of boarding the retro train, which will be waiting for you at the exit of the museum. Departure of the retro train at 13:30. During a trip along the route Rizhsky railway station - the old Podmoskovnaya depot (Krasny Baltiets station, Sokol metro area), passengers of the retro train are accommodated in cars ( seat place), a restored steam locomotive from the early 20th century is used as a locomotive. During the journey you will be offered tea.
The retro train will bring you to the old depot, built in 1901 and still in operation. Here you can watch with your own eyes the maneuvers of the steam locomotive, the work of the depot, as well as see the railway buildings and structures of the early 20th century. The culmination of the program will be the turning of the locomotive on the turntable (possibly, provided there is a free circle), refueling the locomotive with water (possibly, subject to a free branch line).
At the end of the “Steam Walk”, the retro train will take you back to the Rizhsky railway station (arrival at 15.15)
"Steam ride" will give you the opportunity to ride a real steam locomotive, take unique photos, unforgettable impressions and a great mood for the whole day.
Tour duration: 2h 30m
Travel time by train: ~ 20 minutes.
Excursion program:
Guided tour of the Museum of the History of Railway Engineering. (Attention! A ticket to the museum is purchased independently before the start of the tour, 40 rubles - adults / 25 rubles - children, big discounts for privileged categories of citizens).
A walk on a retro train from the Rizhsky railway station to the depot "Podmoskovnaya" ~ 20 minutes.
Visit to the old depot "Podmoskovnaya"
At the end of the tour, the retro train will take you back to the Rizhsky railway station (arrival at 15.15).
Cost: for adults - 700 rubles, for children (under 14) - 500 rubles.
Collection at 12.10. Start at 12:20.
Meet at the Rizhsky railway station near the entrance to the Museum of the History of Railway Engineering.
The end of the tour at the Rizhsky railway station at 15:15
The price of the tour includes: tour of the museum with a professional guide (a ticket to the museum is purchased for an additional fee, the cost of an adult / child is 40/25 rubles, payment is made on the spot before the start of the tour, at the museum’s cash desk), a ride on a retro train, a tour of the old Podmoskovnaya depot .
Attention! If, for technical reasons, we cannot show you the turning of the locomotive or refueling with water, then as compensation we will offer you to visit the "locomotive booth", where you can watch the work of the driver and his assistant.
Useful information:
- Most of the time you will spend outdoors, please dress according to the weather, have shoes, preferably without heels.
- Attention! You will visit the operating depot, be extremely careful and attentive, children should always be in sight, it is advisable to hold the child by the hand.
- Attention! Our retro train runs in the grid of the general train schedule, so please do not be late for boarding, the train moves off minute by minute, latecomers are not expected. ]]>
My old little dream came true - I rode a retro train around Moscow. I usually admire the locomotives that drive such trains from the outside, although, of course, I have been in the booth of a hot engine before. But I have always been interested in the question, what does a passenger of a retro train feel? After all, until recently, a steam locomotive running under steam on our roads was a rarity. Everything changed two years ago, when the management of Russian Railways made a very valuable gift to connoisseurs of history and the president of the company signed a landmark order dated November 23, 2012 No. 2380r “On maintaining and restoring the performance of the steam locomotive fleet of Russian Railways”. By this point, only the enthusiasm and love for the old technology of a small group of people saved the remaining cars from being cut into scrap metal and popularized the retro locomotive-powered movement. The issue of the order marked the success of all this work and the beginning of a new stage in the locomotive fleet of 142 locomotives of 22 different series. Now steam locomotives are included in the inventory fleet of regional locomotive traction directorates. They are restored to a working state and preserved. All this is done in order to use steam locomotives in festive events, film and video filming, to promote Russian railways to provide excursion and tourist transportation.
Now the organization of the movement passenger trains under locomotive traction on a regular basis, the company RZD TOUR is engaged. The company's website has a schedule of planned retro train trips: http://www.rzdtour.com/routes/tourtrain/.
For example, in Moscow, the nearest retro trains are scheduled for December 13, 21, 2014, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 January and April 18, 2015. From experience, I can say that the Traction Directorate gives different locomotives for trains. Therefore, there is an opportunity to get acquainted live with machines of different series. True, guessing in advance which steam locomotive will carry you, most likely will not work. The ticketing system is not yet perfect. For example, you cannot buy a ticket for a retro train over the Internet, as for a regular train, by paying with a card. On the RZD TOUR website, they offer to book tickets on-line, but the link for individuals did not really work, at least when I tried to use it, it all ended with an offer to contact the tour operator. I also could not find offers to buy a tour from intermediary companies on the Web, and even more so without a preliminary visit to the sales office to conclude an agreement. But I hope that soon it will be easier to buy a ticket for a retro train. It's still worth taking a trip under a real hot steam locomotive!
I will share personal experience trips on a retro train. Tour duration varies. The shortest now costs 850 rubles. The trips start with an approximately one-hour tour of the Museum of the History of Railway Technology at the Rizhsky railway station. Organizers warn that he open sky and advised to dress appropriately for the weather. My tour was longer, it was called "Moscow Stations" and lasted almost 4 hours, of which the train ride lasted 2 hours and 31 minutes. All this time the trip was accompanied by a very interesting story of the guide. This is a separate, great advantage of the tour - very good guides, real enthusiasts of locomotive business. The train departs from the Rizhsky railway station, passes Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky squares, calls at Kursky and ends the journey on Paveletsky. That is, it passes in three different directions and even changes its number along the way. Due to the change of directions on this journey, the locomotives stand at both ends of the train.
The trip to Moscow railway stations took place during daylight hours, but I would just do it in the dark. The places along which the train goes, frankly, are not the venues for the Cherry Forest festival. However, many of them have rich history, so the guide does not have a single free minute. Those views from the train window that are really beautiful have a good evening illumination. In addition, at night you can not see the scourge of Moscow - the wires. It could be a romantic trip in the spirit of Sheldon Cooper. Especially if you attach a dining car instead of an interregional car. Anyway, the floor of the car is lining up for tea.
Tea is a different story. I understand that it is expensive to maintain a retro carriage, and therefore relatively modern carriages are rented for a trip. I can grit my teeth to endure some eclecticism when the train is driven by a steam locomotive from one era (the drivers even have a uniform to match the era, and they flaunt it in the summer), and the conductor in the car in the form of another era. According to me, if it is not possible to put on a uniform that corresponds to the time, it is better to be in a modern front door, and not in some kind of "garb of a conductor of the third category." Still, this is a tourist train, not a cuckoo. But why tea in "my" retro train was served in plastic cups, and not in glasses with glass holders - I can't understand. You can do without a live video broadcast from the booth of a steam locomotive, you can not eat scrambled eggs fried on the shovel of an assistant driver right in the firebox of a steam locomotive, you can forgive the lack of an old uniform among the staff, but you can’t forgive the lack of coasters in a retro train. However, this is the only thing that I absolutely did not like about the trip. I took my six year old son on the trip. The organizers recommend an age starting from 8 years old, but, probably, for many it is even higher. I saw grown-up people who were languishing in a warm car and sleeping sweetly. Children, and there were many of them, did not restrain their emotions, and by their behavior one can easily determine what is really interesting. For example, no one interesting excursion tour of the museum will not replace the view of the live maneuvers of a hot steam locomotive around the station. And when our train was put on the track of the Riga station, the children hung in clusters on the grate separating the dregs of the museum from the station tracks. As well as a minute excursion to the booth of a hot steam locomotive for a child, and for many adults, is preferable to any theory. Train cars are the most common, interregional. Those who do not listen to the guide can get bored pretty quickly. So, I would recommend that children start their acquaintance with retro trains with a short trip from the Rizhsky railway station to the Podmoskovnaya depot, where real steam locomotives “live”. It’s good for the family to go under a steam locomotive to Kolomna or Sergiev Posad. except interesting trip, so you can also “go around” Moscow traffic jams. In general, those who stay or come to the winter vacation to Moscow, I highly recommend paying attention to the program of retro train tours.
