In the early 1950s, Belarus had not yet managed to recover from post-war devastation, but, nevertheless, the leadership of the republic was already paying special attention educational work among young people. One of the areas of this work was the children's railway. But it was apparently considered inappropriate to restore the children's railway, which operated in Gomel before the war. And then it was decided to build a new one in the capital of the republic - Minsk. On September 30, 1954, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR, allocations of almost five million rubles were allocated for these purposes. Already in the fall of 1954, construction of the Minsk Children's Railway began. Minsk schoolchildren took part in the construction of the road. They performed excavation, painted office premises, laid out flower beds, planted flowers, and installed directional signs on the road. Meanwhile, children were being theoretically trained in circles to work on the children's railway.
In 2008, reconstruction plans changed dramatically. It was decided to lay the entire track on concrete sleepers with P43 rails, overhaul the Zaslonovo station and install a canopy over the platform, and build a pedestrian bridge on the way to the stadium. The signaling systems will also undergo significant modernization. Previously, the Pionerskaya station, which was not protected in any way from “Uninvited Guests,” is planned to be fenced off, and subsequently a locomotive depot will be built there.
This report is available in high definition.
This railway, 5.3 kilometers long, was opened in Zaeltsovsky Park in Novosibirsk on June 4, 2005. There are only 3 stations and 2 sidings.
Children's railways They are trying to bring them as close as possible to their “big brothers” - public railways. Therefore, as far as possible, children's railways use the same equipment as real railways.
Autumn walk along the railway tracks of the Novosibirsk Children's Railway, which is located on the territory of Zaeltsovsky Park in Novosibirsk. The photographs show the path from the Zaeltsovsky Park station to the Zoo station.
The first and so far the only guarded crossing on the ChR. Next, the train goes to the bank of the Ob River and to the Lokomotiv crossing. In total, there are 2 sidings on the children's railway:
The picturesque places along which the children's railway line runs have made it one of the attractions of Novosibirsk. Despite the fact that it is located in the city, the air here is clean and unusually calm.
Curve towards the stations "Sportivnaya" and "". There are three stations in total on the road:
The overpass is 200 meters long. Entry to the Zoo station and the territory of the Novosibirsk Zoo:
Railway station "Zoo". The journey is over.
Today I will show you a report that I filmed quite a long time ago, on August 18, 2011. D These materials can probably already be considered historical. I shot with my old Canon 350D, there will be quite a lot of pictures. In fact, the post is mostly documentary, so to speak, in order to perpetuate history.
The children's railway is far from foreign to me. I studied there at one time, and everything was very interesting to me. Especially in those days when there was no Internet and other things, it was something unearthly for a teenager to master almost all railway professions from switchman to assistant driver. Therefore, my story will be supplemented with some memories.
The Orenburg Children's Railway was built in the year my parents were born (by the way, my dad also passed his first journey as a railway worker on the same road) in 1953. Construction began on May 18 and was completed at an accelerated pace in 68 days. For the first five years of operation, the road ran on steam locomotive traction, so the railway infrastructure was equipped with turning triangles (the locomotive had a cabin on only one side, and to turn it around, a triangle of railway tracks and switches was used) and water pumps. Later they were dismantled as unnecessary. In 1958, all rolling stock was completely replaced, and diesel locomotives began operating on the road. TU2-008 and TU2-083, and in 1986 a diesel locomotive was added to themTU2-086. Thus, at the time of my work there, there were two trains in operation at the same time, “Pioneria” and “Orlyonok”, consisting of carriagesPV-51 and (presumably) PolishPAFAWAG. On a single-track railway, from the terminal stations the trains moved towards each other, and the stations were equipped with sidings at which the trains separated and moved on, each in its own direction. The third locomotive served as a reserve in case one of the workers failed. To ensure train safety, the railway was equipped with switches with locks, a track signaling and blocking system. In the troubled 90s, the road quietly lost one of the trains (Pioneria) and one diesel locomotiveTU2-083, whose fate is unknown. Apparently, there were no funds to maintain the train, and it was subjected to “cannibalization.”
The narrow gauge railway has a length of 5.62 km and has four stations: Komsomolskaya, Pionerskaya, Dubki and Kirovskaya. The railway connects the city center with children's camps located in the floodplain of the Ural River. The road is laid along the river bed, and during periods of large floods it is partially flooded.
In October 2013, a new diesel locomotive entered the road. TU10-021 with new cars VP-750 , according to some, the road is expecting a second new diesel locomotive - TU10-028.
Regarding the old TU2, of which, until recently, the main working locomotive was TU2-086, and the “eight” was in reserve. According to the stories of the guys who have been using the road lately, it often failed and caught fire several times along the way.
2. And now, after two decades, I am again on the children's road. Already as an adult passenger. This moment turned out to be quite exciting for me, and I tried to capture everything as best I could. The main station is Komsomolskaya, the train has arrived and is ready for passengers to board.
3. Some pictures I only have in JPEG, like this one. That’s why he’s so “vigorous”) I looked into the cabin of the locomotive. Almost everything is the same as before.
4.And here we are in the carriage. Stop valve, how many years, how many winters
5. It must be said that during this time the carriages have undergone significant changes inside. It's even difficult to remember what exactly has changed. Ventilation grates there were definitely others, the windows were also replaced. Most likely, for safety reasons, there used to be sliding windows, which were removed from everywhere.
6. Camp schemes, schedules, current at that time
7. The main initiator of our train trip is my daughter. When we drove across the bridge, we showed her the trains. My mother also showed it to me when I was a child, from the bus window. This is continuity. The daughter was so curious about the train ride that she soon began demanding the ride.
The slatted seats were previously varnished and the wood texture was preserved. And now they are painted over. There are nameplates on the seats with seat numbers; once upon a time, seats were indicated on tickets. Now there are few people in the carriage, and boarding is carried out on empty seats. 
8. At one of the stations that does not have track development
9.Little passenger
10. Coupling carriages, funny weights. They either welded sheets of metal onto the buffers or glued rubber on them for a smooth ride.
11.Lamps in the upper part of the car were dismantled during repairs as unnecessary. The train operates only during daylight hours.
There are also no platforms between the cars; if I'm not mistaken, previously it was possible to walk from car to car. 
12.The girls are in uniform and working. Once upon a time I saw off a train like this with a flag. If I'm not mistaken, this position is called station duty officer.
13. Terminal stations have detours for shunting work. The diesel locomotive is unhooked from the train and driven along a bypass track to the other end of the train, and the train travels back.
14. The switchman is working to prepare the track. In my time, switches were equipped with locks, to which there were large keys, which were handed over to the station upon completion of shunting work. A switchman, a station attendant - this is work “on land”, as we called it then. We didn’t particularly like it; most of the guys wanted to work on the train. On the contrary, I liked it at the station; besides my work, I had to see a lot of things. Even the work of a switchman implied enormous responsibility and, accordingly, importance. One thing that was bad at the station was that if there were mosquitoes, there was a way to escape from them: they were literally everywhere! What I enjoyed most was working “on the ground” as a station manager. There was a large remote control on which the path, arrows, and semaphores were drawn. The lights came on, it all had to be controlled. Then I became acquainted with an unprecedented black ebony telephone, without a dial, but with a handle that had to be turned. After which you had to wait for the phone to ring, and you could pick up the phone and start a conversation. There was such a connection between stations. Some kind of regulation implied communication with the neighboring station in order to make sure that the section was clear before releasing a train onto it. It's a pity I didn't have time to film it all then.
Part of the platform below retains the original tiles. 
15. Shunting work.
16.
17. The road is now equipped with such anti-vandal iron stations. The platform used to be made of wood, as were the elegant stations. At the main Komsomolskaya station, music was broadcast from a loudspeaker.
18.
Here's an old photo of the elegant wooden station. They built it with passion, but these stations have disappeared forever. Some fell into disrepair and collapsed, but most were burned by vandals.
19. In some places there are still wooden sleepers
20.
21. The train is assigned to the South Ural Railway. The lantern on the carriage survived, although it was painted over.
22. Train at Kirovskaya station
23.Moved, now they’ll catch you
24.
25.
26. Work on coupling with the train. In our time there were a minimum of adults on the road; everyone was already quite disciplined.
27. There is a speedometer with a white scale in the cockpit. In fact, it shows the indicated speed and is a mechanical recorder that “draws” the speed of movement on a paper tape. I don’t see a refilled tape in the photo; perhaps the recorder is now electronic. We were a little mischievous at one time: in the morning we drove the locomotive from the Pionerskaya station, where it spent the night. And without a train, we could ride like a breeze. Although, of course, it was impossible. Therefore, we then literally drew the “correct” graph on the tape.
The large “wheel” on the left side of the cockpit is the handbrake. A little closer is the controller that controls the power of the power plant. And near the window there is a brake valve. There are two of them in a diesel locomotive: its own No. 254 (locomotive) and train No. 394. The difference between these cranes is that the first controls the brakes of only the locomotive, and the second controls the brakes of the entire train. To control the train delicately, it was necessary to use both perfectly so that the train moves without jerking. But since the speed of the train rarely exceeds 25 km/h, and the train is light, operating the locomotive brake valve was generally sufficient. 
28. The station is stylized as a train. These stations were built relatively recently.
29.
30.Safety
31.We started moving. Train to childhood...
32. Almost empty carriage
33. Tambour 
34.
35.We accidentally managed to photograph the now deceased Gennady Nikolaevich Sorokin, cheerfully jumping onto the train. He devoted more than 30 years of his life to working at the Orenburg Children's Railway. Being her boss, he made a great contribution to her development. Before retiring in the fall of 2011, he worked as an instructor. 
36.
37. Reinforced concrete sleepers; the tracks were completely replaced in 2011.
38.At one of the stations I talked a little withsenior instructor of the children's railway Viktor Afanasyevich Boyarkin. He also taught me at one time. Here, I filmed the mentor. But for most of the time my instructor was Tyrina Larisa Georgievna (if I’m not mistaken). The road is only open during the period summer holidays, and the rest of the time children study instructions and the structure of the railway. 
39. Photo of me as a souvenir in the carriage, it’s a pity that I don’t have a photo of those times...
40. Kilometer picket post. The difference between them is that pickets are placed every 100 meters.
41.Two locomotives: the main one, and a reserve one at the dead end
42.
43.
44. TU2-008 
45.
46. Hand-operated arrows were replaced with more modern ones with electric drive.
47. The train is ready for the next trip
48. Another look into the cockpit
49.This is how the excursion turned out
50.Hard worker 086 
Every child has a favorite toy. Sometimes a toy becomes the “blue dream” of a lifetime, not always accessible, but forever loved. In the USSR, a toy railroad became such a dream for many.
The toy went on sale around 1955 and lasted about 15 years. Before 1961, it cost 360 rubles, after the Khrushchev monetary reform - 36 rubles, but in both cases, the longed-for dream of many boys - and the road was sold only in the largest department stores of the USSR, such as Detsky Mir or Dom toys." Most often, the road was purchased by budgetary organizations of children's creativity - houses, clubs and circles of young technicians.
For the first time I saw “Pionerskaya” on the shelves of the Central Baku department store in the summer of 1958. I remember having difficulty getting closer to see the sparkling green carriages and the bright blue diesel locomotive. To the side stood the most beautiful train station in the world, with benches for those waiting for the train and ticket windows. On the other side - a booth with a pipe, a traffic light, a crossing, a bridge...
The older guys showed particular delight, almost completely blocking us small fry from seeing the wonder!
I must say right away that in September 1958 I was supposed to reach my first birthday - 10 years old! I will also note that we were children who were not spoiled by toys, especially technical ones.
On another summer holiday Sunday, our family was walking around the city and, of course, I dragged everyone to the treasured department store by hook or by crook. Mom, seeing the price tag, let out a long groan, grabbed my hand in order to take me away quickly... But suddenly a supporter appeared in the form of my older brother, who turned 23 in the spring. I was removed by force, but he stayed and suddenly suggested: “Let’s chip in and buy this very railway for my brother’s anniversary!”
As it became known later, the brother wanted to thoroughly understand the bundle of wires that looked out of the box. It was a multifunctional railway, which even implemented the idea of automatic blocking, which had just emerged on a large railway! It is for this reason that the track itself was three-rail.
With a broad gesture, the brother laid out 6 rubles! Mom, shaking her head disapprovingly, nevertheless scraped together 10 rubles in her purse. And the father, sighing and scratching the back of his head, silently took out 20 rubles from a thick packet and put them in a common pot! I stood there, not breathing. Will this wonderful railway really be at our home today!
For some reason we were sent to the basement along a side staircase to get the box (later, in all subsequent times when I visited this department store, I always turned my head towards this staircase).
The box was bulky and very heavy, but it was a RAILWAY.
At home, of course, they didn’t let me close to the road while my brother dealt with all the difficulties of collecting and debugging. For him with a higher education, it took about 3 hours. The assembly instructions, beautifully published in 1955 on coated paper, did not allow the road to be connected and running immediately. For example, there was a lot that was unclear in the editing electrical wires and terminals. It seems that in the pictures everything is visible, understandable and clear, there are markings on the wires and terminals, the veins are all colored, but when you start assembling in reality, it doesn’t work right away... Some pages of the instructions are given in the original.
The first assembly of the rails took about an hour. Fortunately, all the lashes are numbered. In total there were 7 straight rail sections and 16 curves (the instructions say radius). I was amazed by the automatic closing of the barriers as the train approached the crossing and the appearance of the switchman from the checkpoint booth. At the same time, a bright green lantern lit up in his hands. The station duty officer on the platform famously raised the flag, also green, and held it until the train passed... Miraculously, the lights were even on in the passenger cars!
When, in the end, the railway was launched, there was quiet delight from all the relatives, well, no need to talk about me!
The rolling stock consisted of an IS-51 locomotive (Joseph Stalin - 1951) with an axle arrangement of 2-(1+1)-2, two passenger cars and one covered carriage, as well as an open platform. The motor trolley had an ultra-modern group electric drive through an articulated gear drive. The heavy body of the locomotive rested only on the motor bogie, which made it possible to realize high traction forces. The guide bogies carried only their own weight, which at high speeds sometimes led to their derailment, which, however, did not in any way affect the further movement of the train... until the first switch! If you thought that this is where the derailment took place, then you are deeply mistaken, no, at the turnouts the wheels themselves jumped onto the rails. Why not modern “frogs”!
And in the event of a derailment or any other short circuit, after a couple of seconds the protection was triggered and a bright red light on the central control panel turned on! Restoring the circuit was possible only after the bimetallic plate had cooled and, of course, the misalignment or short circuit had been eliminated.
All these innovations brought my brother and me into indescribable ecstasy: perfect protection against short circuits, smooth speed control, reliable three-digit automatic locking, track lighting with locomotive spotlights, and switches and crossings with separate lights. Bright festive lighting of the station, light at the ticket office. To my great regret, the diesel-electric locomotive used a commutator traction motor alternating current, which did not allow remote reversal. It was possible to change the direction of movement only with a switch located in an inconvenient place on the motor trolley under the body skirt.
I was also fascinated by the automatic coupling, which allowed me to connect the cars without my participation. The figure shows the coupling of two passenger cars. But there were problems with uncoupling, especially on curved sections.
Naturally, not only my entire class visited, but, without exaggeration, the entire school No. 174! Rumors spread quickly!
Later, when the basic two circles became a little boring, I made a dead-end station. Often in the summer he took out the box and laid out a path in our cozy shady courtyard, which aroused genuine interest among all the neighbors, numerous children of different ages. Since the city of Baku is located on the hills, the surface of the courtyard had a clear slope towards the street, which required the creation of an effective braking system. As expected, the brakes of the passenger cars and the auxiliary hand brake of the locomotive, which stuck out from the window of the driver's assistant, were made.
Of course, the spread of the unfolded railway did not allow it to be left on the floor for a long time. Assembled, played - carefully disassemble, fold and slide the box under the table. The family used a weekly incentive: if there were no C grades on the report card, then they were allowed to lay out the road on Sunday... I really didn’t want to collect it in the evening and put it in a box!!
And one more thing you need to pay attention to: after the game I was smeared from head to toe in machine oil and some kind of soot. Isn’t this the ultimate dream of a guy who dreamed of devoting his life to a real railroad!
Unofficially, also Kratovskaya Children's Railway, named after the village of Kratovo, where it is located - a narrow-gauge children's railway in the Moscow region. All railway maintenance is carried out by children - schoolchildren aged 11-15 from 25 different schools under the guidance of experienced instructors. Children's Railways is an educational institution designed to train schoolchildren in railway professions. Full course 4-5 years. Within school year Schoolchildren undergo theoretical training, and in the summer they undergo practical training, working as station attendants, switchmen, conductors, and machinists. The Russian Railways are subject to operating rules and technical means adopted for public railways.
There are two stations on the line, Yunost (historical name Put Ilyich) and Pionerskaya (both terminal), and one intermediate platform Shkolnaya. (see map at the end of the post)
They say that the idea of building the Children's Railway arose without instructions from above. At a rally of pioneers of the Ramensky district on May 30, 1935, a call was made to build children's railways throughout the country, and the idea seemed so interesting to the children that on the same day a council was elected to promote the construction of the Children's Railway in Kratovo. The pioneers built the road themselves; at the most difficult stages of the work, Komsomol members got involved. The grand opening of the Small Lenin Railway (that was what it was called then) took place on May 2, 1937.
From the memoirs of B.P. Borisov: “ I will not forget the day of June 6, 1939. On this day I came to the Small Lenin Railway as chief engineer. At first it seemed to me that I was in a fairyland of children, where the children themselves do everything. Everywhere you look, serious, attractive children's faces are everywhere.
The engine driver on the locomotive was a curly-haired boy, looking proudly at everyone. The switchman looked like a sentry, and I, barely holding back a smile, looked at his impenetrably important face. I went up to the ticket office - a neat girl with a thick red braid was selling train tickets...»
The opening of the 1941 summer season was scheduled for June 22. Instead, the young railway workers who had gathered for the rally listened to the message of the Sovinformburo about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR.
In the summer of 1941, the children's railway was still operating for some time, but closer to autumn it was closed due to the outbreak of air raids.
In the spring of 1942, young railway workers responded to the call “Let’s replace fathers and brothers who went to the front” and took part in the construction and operation of narrow-gauge railways of the Spetslestranskhoz of the People’s Commissariat of Railways in Bronnitsy, Faustovo, Khobotovo. Throughout the war, these branches carried the delivery of timber necessary for the production of sleepers to the front-line railways.
For heroism and selfless work during the war years, three young railway workers were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union, another 12 were awarded medals “For the Defense of Moscow.” At the end of the Great Patriotic War young railway workers, again on their own, began to restore the children's railway. On June 14, 1945, traffic on the ChRW was restored, although complete restoration work was completed only in the summer of 1947.
Currently, the border between the city of Zhukovsky and the village of Kratovo runs along the line of the children's railway.
View from the side of the dead end to the Yunost station. This station is located near the Otdykh platform of the Kazan direction of the Moscow Railway:
Arrival of the train at the Yunost station:
The driver uncouples the locomotive from the cars:
The locomotive went into a dead end for a turnover.
Car markings:
Sign inside the carriage. Manufacturing plant "METROVAGONMASH":
Train interior. The seats are made very small - all for the convenience of young passengers.
The windows in the car, exactly the same as in the metro cars of the model 81-740 (Skif), are closed with a three-sided lock, but not with two locks, as in the metro, but with one:
A young railway worker adjusts the coupling:
The “branded” train, as everyone calls it there, is at the Pionerskaya station, waiting for passengers. In fact, a branded train is called:
Dead end behind Pionerskaya station:
Car control panel. For some reason, it doesn’t allow me to turn off the sound in the carriage, although it is very annoying:
As expected, the carriage indicates the number of seats (although the seats are designed for children, they are very small) and the weight of the carriage:
View of the reverse dead end of the Yunost station:
A locomotive at the return dead end of the Yunost station.
From Moscow you can get to the Kratovo road from the Kazan station by electric trains in the Ryazan direction to the Kratovo platform.