Speaking of narrow gauge railways ah, it is worth noting immediately their high profitability in matters of construction. There are several objective reasons for this. Due to the fact that the actual track width is much less than, it was required to use much less resources for its construction. If the task was to punch a tunnel through a rock or an earthen rampart, then the amount of the selected rock in terms of volume was minimal. It is also worth considering the fact that the narrow-gauge railway was originally intended for wagons, as well as locomotives with smaller overall dimensions and weight. In this case, it was enough for the engineer to design light-type bridges, for which fewer material resources were used. Saving financial estimates is obvious for the budget. One more noteworthy fact should not be overlooked, which made it possible to strengthen the leadership of the narrow-gauge railway in places with a mountainous landscape. We are talking about the possibility of using steep curves on these types of railways (as opposed to standard railways).
In order not to lose objectivity about the characteristics of the narrow gauge railway, it is necessary to mention its obvious shortcomings:
- the impossibility of transporting goods with a large weight and dimensions. This applies to both the traction power of the locomotives used and the strength of the bridges along which the railway (railway) was laid;
- decrease in the stability of movement with cargo on the way. When traveling, much attention is paid to observing the speed limit, as well as overcoming difficult sections of the road. If you neglect this rule, you can only provoke an emergency and disable the working equipment;
- closure and alienation of the network. This problem was relevant for Europe and our country almost equally. It should be understood that narrow-gauge roads were designed and built by large industrial enterprises for their internal needs. The only purpose of it (the road) was to transport raw materials to places with good infrastructure for further redistribution of cargo. No one thought to take care of the implementation of the interconnected network project narrow gauge roads.
Here it is worth mentioning the transport type of narrow gauge railways. They were intended to create a bridge between existing and under construction railways. Over the years, they have lost their relevance and functionality. Some of them simply ceased to exist. A small number of haul roads have been modified by "recasting" them into standard, technical gauges. It was a rational decision that allowed us to eliminate the time-consuming stage of moving cargo from one type of road to another.
The historical purpose of narrow gauge railways
As already mentioned in the article, the main and original purpose of the narrow gauge track was to serve industrial enterprises. And here you can give a fairly extensive list of industries where such a transport system was in demand:
- places of development of peat deposits and forest plantations. For example, the Shatura narrow-gauge railway, commissioned in 1918. Until 2008, peat was transported through it to the local GRES. After the transfer of the GRES to another source of fuel, the need to operate the road completely disappeared. Since 2009, the dismantling of the narrow gauge railway began. This result was quite expected, since on April 10, 1994, an official order was issued to start stopping traffic on the narrow gauge railway. This document concerned absolutely the entire operating network. So shatura lost its historical uniqueness;
- coal mines and closed mines (Yamal railway);
- virgin lands at the time of their active development. Often, the use of RR was the only available option for the development and formation of the surrounding infrastructure in such a region. Over time, such roads have also lost their relevance and functionality due to the wide development of highways.
Narrow-gauge railways occupied a special place in industrial enterprises engaged in the production of equipment and complex, large-sized mechanisms. This, of course, is about a special (micro) modification of the road. She was inside the assembly shops and helped to quickly move individual parts to the equipment. Also, with its help, it was possible to export already finished products from the workshop premises, and even transport the working personnel around the facility (if it was large, production complex). To date, narrow-gauge railways have been replaced by modern, mechanical means in the form of mobile forklifts.
A special page in the history of narrow gauge railways is the war years. With the active construction of defensive areas, they (roads) served as a transport network, which made it possible to quickly and reliably deliver manpower and military equipment to the battlefield. A noteworthy point is the fact that the iron rails were already laid on the finished road surface. It could be both asphalt concrete and earth embankment. This simplified and accelerated the current work on laying the narrow gauge railway. The length of such a transport network varied greatly and could even reach more than a hundred kilometers. In the fortification outpost itself, there was also a need for laying railway tracks. This was necessary for the rapid delivery of large shells to the guns.
Gauge of narrow gauge roads
According to accepted standards, even in the Soviet Union, the width of each track of such a road was 750 mm. This value applied to more than 90% of the entire network in the country. By the way, one of the first railways with such a gauge was the IRINOVSKAYA narrow-gauge railway. It owes its appearance to the industrialist of Corfu, who needed to transport peat from places with developments, starting in 1982. Later, in pre-revolutionary times, it was widely used for passenger transportation and was widely loved by the townspeople (due to its low speed, passengers were allowed to board even during the active movement of the car). During the siege of Leningrad, it was along it that the land section of the "road of life" was laid.
There were exceptions when the track width was 600, 900 and 1000 mm. On Sakhalin, it was completely equal to 1067 mm. By the way, a few separate words should be said about the Sakhalin road. It has a long history and was built when the island was under the jurisdiction of Japan. In addition to the canvas itself, the entire rolling stock of the narrow gauge railway was preserved. In the early 2000s, there were disputes about its future fate. It was decided to start work on re-profiling the track into a wide gauge with a natural re-equipment of the rolling stock.
It is worth mentioning here also about the gauge that the VESIMO-UTKINSKAYA narrow-gauge railway had. It was 884 mm.
The fate of some narrow-gauge railways in Russia
Today, many of the narrow-gauge railways attract the close attention of not only rare technology lovers, but even representatives of world organizations. A vivid proof of this fact is the KUDEMSKAYA narrow-gauge railway, which was put into operation in 1949. Now its exploited length is 35 km (with an actual length of 108 km). It still carries passenger traffic. It will be a real pleasure to be able to ride this narrow-gauge route as it was included in the top 10 worldwide in 2010. To popularize the narrow-gauge railway in 2013, a new car was even purchased - model VP750.
The fate of the Beloretsk narrow-gauge railway was completely different. Its history, which began back in 1909, was completed at the beginning of the 21st century. The oldest narrow-gauge railway with unique rolling stock and architectural monuments at the stations became unnecessary. Under the guise of a lack of funding and the "unsatisfactory" state of the railroad tracks, the leadership of the Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant decided to decommission the railway. No arguments about the significance and uniqueness of this object from the outside local residents and museum activists were not heard. In memory of the narrow-gauge railway, there was a steam locomotive - a monument to GR-231, installed in Beloretsk.
It is noteworthy that the beginning of the 21st century in our country was the end of an entire era of narrow-gauge stations (not all of them, of course). Among such losses is the VISIMO-UTKINSKAYA narrow-gauge railway, built at the end of the 19th century in the Sverdlovsk region. Only since 1960, the width of its track became 750 mm after the work carried out. Initially, this parameter was equal to 884 mm. "Cuckoo" (as it was nicknamed by the local population) ceased to exist in 2008, when the stage of its dismantling was concluded. Although back in 2006, freight and transport transportation was carried out on the narrow gauge railway. An unenviable fate went to all the rolling stock, buildings, and even the pedestrian bridge across the river Mezhevaya Duck.
Time, of course, puts many events in their place, but do not forget that it is in our power to preserve the memory of past pages of history. But the main task is to preserve the remaining cultural monuments, some of which still regularly serve people. Narrow-gauge railways are undeniably one of them. We hope that many of the readers will be interested in the topic raised and want to learn more about narrow gauge railways. Some of these roads can still be seen today!
A narrow gauge railway is the same railway track, but with a gauge that is less than standard. The standard railway gauge in Russia is 1520 mm. So it is not suitable for transport with normal railways due to technical features. The center distance of transport of such tracks varies from 1200 to 600 mm. There is a track already, but it is called differently - a micro-track.
There are two types: single track and double track, the difference is in capacity. In the first case, the movement in both directions is carried out along the same rails, and in the second, for the direct and return paths, their own canvas.
Advantages and disadvantages of narrow gauge railways
If we talk about UZhD, then we should emphasize the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of their arrangement. The builders needed much less time and materials for its laying. If they laid rails on uneven terrain, where there were mountains and hills, then digging tunnels and punching them into rock took less time. The narrow gauge railway involved the use of lighter material than is the case with conventional railways, with smaller dimensions. As a result, the roadway can withstand relatively small loads. Narrow gauge does not need an embankment, it can be laid even in swampy terrain, which is characterized by soft, unstable soil.
Narrow gauge road in a remote area
Not to mention the advantage of being able to use steep curves, which makes single-track railways with smaller center distances more suitable for mountainous terrain.
However, in addition to the advantages, such roads have a number of significant disadvantages, including:
- The impossibility of transporting a large volume of heavy cargo, even in the case of double-track transport. This is explained not only by the small size of the cars, but also by the limited traction power of the locomotive and the fact that the canvas on which the rails are installed simply cannot withstand a lot of weight.
- Decreased stability when moving with a load. So trains cannot develop high speed, as well as quickly overcome difficult sections, where they slow down even more. If this is not done, then equipment breakdown, track damage and even an accident are almost inevitable.
- Small extent, isolation and alienation of networks. The fact is that in most cases narrow-gauge railways were equipped by industrial enterprises to perform certain tasks, most often to transport small volumes of goods. In this case, no one thought about creating a large-scale network of such roads. There are exceptions: small sections of roads that are laid in hard-to-reach areas, used for passenger and freight traffic, but this does not change the overall picture.
The historical purpose of narrow gauge railways
As mentioned above, the main purpose of narrow gauge railways was the transportation of goods to ensure industrial production. There are a number of industries where such a road was actively used until recently or is still being used today:
- Places of extraction of wood and peat. An example of such a road is Shaturskaya, which received a work permit in 1918, and completed work as early as 2008, although the order to dismantle it was issued back in 1994. The movement of freight transport did not stop. It transported peat to the local power plant. The narrow gauge railway was closed after the station was switched to a different type of fuel. In 2009, the dismantling of the rails began.
- Closed mines and coal mines. The Yamal railway is such a narrow-gauge railway.
- Virgin land during development. The fact is that the virgin lands at one time represented a deserted area. There was no need to talk about any infrastructure during the development of this territory. The low costs and high speed of construction of the UZhD made it possible to establish communication between the settlements. However, over time, ordinary railways were built and automobile roads were laid, so that narrow gauge railways were dismantled as unnecessary.
Narrow gauge railway at the enterprise
Of particular importance were for the functioning of industrial enterprises that produced and repaired complex mechanisms that were large in size.
However, it is worth mentioning here that in most cases the center distance was less than 600 millimeters, since the road was laid directly on the floor of the assembly shops. With the help of UZhD, it was possible to move products quickly and without problems both during the assembly process and when the finished product was shipped to the warehouse. In addition, the narrow-gauge railway could be used for passenger transportation, namely, workers were delivered to the enterprise along it. AT modern conditions mobile forklifts are used to assemble large-sized products.
Note! Speaking of narrow-gauge railways, it is impossible not to talk about their invaluable contribution to the fight against fascist invaders during the Great Patriotic War. Such paths were easily and quickly erected (often a ready-made road surface became the substrate for them, even a dirt road was suitable) in places where defensive fortifications were built. Transport, tirelessly walking on them, delivered materials, equipment and people. Also, along the narrow gauge railway, soldiers, food and weapons were delivered to the places of military battles, and the wounded were quickly taken out along them. The length of the UZhD during the war could reach 100 kilometers.
Gauge of narrow gauge roads
According to the standards developed during Soviet power, the distance between the rails of such a road was 750 mm. This indicator was applied to 90% of all roads. So the width of narrow gauge railways in Russia is in most cases standard. This greatly simplified the maintenance of such a road and its rolling stock, as well as the manufacture of wagons and diesel locomotives.
The first road with such an indicator of the distance between the rails is the Irinovskaya railway. It was built back in 1882 and owes its construction to a major industrialist of that time, Corfu. He needed large volumes of peat to support his production. Later, even before the revolution, passenger transportation was carried out along it. The speed of traffic along Irinovskaya was low, so people could easily jump into the car right on the go, which was very popular with the residents of the surrounding area. During the Leningrad blockade, it was part of the famous and extremely important "road of life."
Sakhalin Railway
In addition to the standard of 750 mm, there were exceptions. Most often it is 600, 900 and 1000 mm. The widest are the tracks with a width of 1067, which were laid on Sakhalin Island. In addition to their gauge, they are also notable for the fact that such a road was built at a time when half of the island was the territory of Japan. In addition to the most unique canvas, the transport that was assembled for this track was also preserved. At the beginning of the new century, there were disputes about the future of the Sakhalin UZD, as a result of which it was decided to remake the tracks for standard parameters, as well as re-equip the rolling stock for new conditions.
The fate of some narrow-gauge railways in Russia
Today, many of the preserved narrow-gauge railways are in the center of attention not only of enthusiasts and lovers of rare equipment, but also of world-class organizations as a cultural asset. An example of such attention is the Kudemskaya UZhD, which operates to this day. This road was put into operation in 1949. The actual length of the rail is 108 kilometers, but only 38 of them are in operation. Passengers are still being transported through it. In 2013, a new wagon VP750 was even purchased for the transportation of people, which made it possible to make the journey more comfortable.
The situation is completely different with the Beloretsk UZhD, along which the first trains went in 1909. At the beginning of this century, its history was completed. The unique rolling stock and architectural monuments encountered along the way were of great cultural significance for the region, but the decision about the unsatisfactory condition of the track and the lack of funding sources put an end to everything. Today, only the steam locomotive GR-231, which once ran along it, and old maps with its image remind of this road. This monument can be seen in Beloretsk.
Important! In addition to industrial and passenger narrow-gauge railways, there are also so-called Children's Railways (Children's Railways), which have a gauge of 500 mm. They represent an isolated area with a small extent from 1 to 11 kilometers. Such track sections are used for practical training of children and adolescents in railway specialties. The working conditions of the ChRW are close to the functioning of a real railway. Such sections do not belong to UR, despite the general parameters.
The beginning of the third millennium put an end to many narrow-gauge railways in the Russian Federation. The list of those that have gone down in history also includes Visimo-Utkinskaya in the Sverdlovsk region, which was built at the end of the 19th century. During its existence, it has experienced a large number of reconstructions and repairs, during one of these, its gauge decreased from 884 to 750 mm. The road functioned until 2006, and already in 2008 its dismantling was completed. At the same time, in addition to the tracks themselves, all the rolling stock, the architecture of the stations and even the railway bridge, thrown over the river called the Landmark Duck, disappeared.
Narrow gauge railways have lost their relevance, despite all their advantages. Now they are rather monuments of cultural significance, which can still be useful. The example of the Kudemskaya UZhD proves this. Russia is not the only country where narrow-gauge railways have been preserved; the same railways can be found in Europe, China and the USA.
Initially, the railway track was very wide. This was due to the fact that a large distance between the wheels was considered safer, since a narrow track for a long time considered to be much more likely to be subject to emergencies associated with derailments and rollovers of wagons. Therefore, the first narrow-gauge railways began to appear only a few decades after the emergence of broad-gauge "brothers".
The beginning of time…
The first horse-drawn narrow-gauge railway was called Rheilffordd Ffestiniog. This railway was commissioned in 1836 in a British city called North West Wales. The length of the railway track was 21 km, the track width was only 597 mm. This narrow-gauge railway was used to transport oil shale from the extraction point to the place of loading - the seaport.
Empty trolleys were delivered to their destination using horse traction, while loaded trains were set in motion independently due to the existing slope. At the same time, the horses also moved in specially designated mobile units.
The first steam locomotives on the road began to be operated only in 1863. Some historians are inclined to believe that it was the date of the first launch of a train with a locomotive, and not horse traction, that can be fully called the moment the narrow gauge railway appeared.
Domestic roads
In the vastness of Russia, narrow-gauge railways were widespread throughout the 19th century and were used for industrial purposes. Basically, a narrow gauge rail track was created in order to save consumables or in those places where there was no physical ability to lay a railway track with a wide gauge. Initially, as in Great Britain, horse traction was used here. To make it convenient for horses to step between the rails, most often, a “foot” was laid - a flooring made of wood.
One of the most major routes with a narrow gauge, where horses were involved in the form of traction, it is customary to consider the road that existed from 1840 to 1862. This path united the Kachalino pier on the Don River with the Dubovka pier on the Volga River. Its total length was approximately 60 km.
In 1871, the first full-fledged narrow-gauge railway between Livny and Verkhovye stations appeared on the territory of Russia (today it is in the Oryol region). The track width in it was equal to 1067 mm. But already in 1896, this railway was reconstructed into a normal gauge railway track.
But, nevertheless, the construction of the first narrow-gauge railway was only the starting point in the massive widespread opening of such railway lines with a gauge from 1000 mm to 1067 mm. They were built mainly in poorly developed regions, remote from the central part of the state by large rivers.
So, in 1872, a narrow-gauge railway appeared, connecting the Uroch station (near Yaroslavl) with Vologda, which was extended to Arkhangelsk in the period from 1896 to 1898. Now its length was as much as 795 km. A narrow 1,000-mm track was laid to Uralsk, leading from Pokrovsk (today it is the city of Engels). There was also a railway branch to Alexandrov Gay and to Nikolaevsk (now known as Pugachevsk). In total, the resulting railway network reached 648 km.
A railway with a gauge distance of 750 mm first appeared in 1892 between Vsevolozhsk and St. Petersburg. Also, narrow-gauge roads began to be widely used in industrial enterprises.
"The narrow-gauge railway in the Meshchersky forests is the most leisurely railway in the Union. The stations are littered with resinous logs and smell of fresh felling and wild forest flowers."
The Meshcherskaya Mainline (Ryazan-Vladimir narrow-gauge railway) was one of the largest Russian railways. Sung by Paustovsky, the forest narrow-gauge railway has become one of the symbols of the Meshchera region. Once upon a time, a small train was the only connection between many villages and villages on the left bank of the Oka with Ryazan and the "mainland" in general. Almost the entire road was dismantled and plundered in the 90s, the rest is being dismantled now.
Narrow gauge railways were cheaper to build and operate than standard gauge railways. You can build lighter bridges; when tunneling, it was required to extract a smaller cubic capacity of soil, steeper curves were allowed than on ordinary railways, which led to their popularity in mountainous areas. The disadvantages of narrow-gauge railways are: smaller size and weight of transported goods, less stability and lower maximum allowable speed. However, the most important disadvantage of narrow-gauge railways was that they usually did not form a single network. Often such roads were built by enterprises for one specific purpose (for example, for the transport of peat). Naturally, there could be no talk of any single network of narrow-gauge railways.
The Meshcherskaya Mainline is a narrow-gauge railway (750 mm gauge), which used to connect the cities of Ryazan and Vladimir. The road started from the station Ryazan-Pristan, which was located in the river meadows to the north-east of Ryazan. The length of the main route was 211 km. Passengers and cargo entered the station through a pontoon bridge across the Oka. A full-fledged bridge across the river was never built, which led to the lack of transit traffic along the branch. The Meshcherskaya highway played a significant role in the development of forested areas on the left bank of the Oka.
"The narrow-gauge railway in the Meshchersky forests is the most leisurely railway in the Union. The stations are littered with resinous logs and smell of fresh felling and wild forest flowers." - K.G. Paustovsky. Meshcherskaya side. 
For several decades, a huge "peat empire" existed in the east of the Moscow region. Peat was mined at dozens of sites, and delivered to Shatura at GRES-5 along narrow-gauge railways with a length of more than 300 kilometers. The most remote areas of peat extraction were located in Ryazan region. In 1952, the Meshchersky peat enterprise was founded - the easternmost part of Shaturtorf, almost 70 km away from Shatura. A narrow-gauge railway line was laid from the Proksha station, in the area of Radovitsky Mkha, through the Pilevo station of the Meshcherskaya highway to the base village of Bolon. This line became the connection between the Meshcherskaya highway and Shaturtorf. Pilevo station has changed forever. 
The collapse of the economy during the perestroika era destroyed the Shaturtorf system. Part of the peat enterprises closed, the rest began to drag out a miserable existence. 3/5 of the narrow gauge lines were destroyed. Even the old Meshcherskaya highway, which was in the department of the Ministry of Railways, did not survive this time and was dismantled. But the Meshchersky peat enterprise, together with Ryazanovsky, Radovitsky and Baksheevsky, were able to survive this time. 
Meshchersky peat enterprise is the only narrow-gauge peat-carrying railway left in the Ryazan region. Now the remaining locomotives are used to parse the road. 
A special crane removes the rails. 
Although the stationmaster said that they would be laid out elsewhere, it seems to me that they will be sold for scrap. 
PV51 car (basic version - PV40 car) is a 4-axle passenger car with load-bearing body for 750 mm gauge. It is important to note the use of a load-bearing body, which is practically unique in the design of UZD cars. Common on children's railways and other 750 mm gauge railways in countries former USSR, although, according to reviews, it has a slightly lower level of comfort than Polish-built PAFAWAG cars, in particular, a small number of vents and stiffness caused criticism. 
Initially, the car was built for UZhD of the Ministry of Railways of the USSR and for UZD industrial enterprises, the reduced weight and small radius of passable curves (9.5 tons versus 16 tons for PAFAWAG and 40 m versus 60 m, respectively) made it possible to operate cars on UZD with a light superstructure . 
Warehouse of unnecessary sleepers. Once again comparing the number of sleepers and rails, I confirmed my confidence in the delivery of the latter for scrap. 
The rest of the rolling stock. 
Although at the station you can see a lot of rolling stock set aside from work, the depot of the peat enterprise has retained several operable diesel locomotives and ECS 
As of 2007, only one section remained in working condition. It is the only 750 mm track in Russia, which is run by Russian Railways and is part of the general public railway network. The Gorky Railway is forced to maintain a 6-kilometer section in the Klepikovsky district from the Tumskaya station to the Gureevsky junction and then along the branch to the Golovanova Dacha station (another 25 kilometers), since this is the only normal road connecting the village of Golovanovo with the "mainland".
In April 2008, traffic was stopped due to disputes with the administration of the Ryazan region. 
Today, almost the only employee of the road, lineman Sergei Alekseevich Nikulin, has been living and working on the Gureevsky platform for 39 years. With his own hands, he made a motorized rubber and carries people on it to the village of Golovanova Dacha (25 km). Acquaintance with Sergey did not work for me from the very beginning. I arrived without a call, he was drunk, offended that I kicked his dog (who wanted to bite me), categorically refused to ride a trolley, as he was sorry for the motor. 
A new motor costs 5000 rubles. If you still want to ride, it is better to call Sergey in advance, here is his mobile phone: 8-905-691-48-96. 
As of March 2009, the Gorky Railway, after inspecting the tracks on May 11, 2008, recognized the track facilities as "threatening the safety of train traffic and the life of passengers." A total of 79 violations, 27 of which "require the closure of traffic." Restoration requires the replacement of 18 wooden bridges and three pipes.
The costs for the minimum required work are estimated at 311.1 million rubles, and 428.3 million rubles for a complete repair. The cost of operating the road is 3.991 million rubles per year, while the toll (based on 14 rubles per 10 km) is only 0.336 million rubles per year.
“After Gus-Khrustalny, at the quiet Tuma station, I changed to a narrow-gauge train. It was a Stephenson-era train. The samovar-like engine whistled like a child’s falsetto. On the curves it groaned and stopped. Passengers went out to smoke. Silence of the forest stood around the gasping gelding. The smell of wild cloves, heated by the sun, filled the carriages.
Passengers with things sat on the platforms - things did not fit into the car. Occasionally, on the way, sacks, baskets, carpenter's saws began to fly out from the site onto the canvas, and their owner, often a rather ancient old woman, jumped out for things. Inexperienced passengers were frightened, and experienced passengers, twisting the goat's legs and spitting, explained that this was the most convenient way to disembark from the train closer to their village.
K.G. Paustovsky, Meshcherskaya side
The first known narrow gauge public railway opened in 1871. It ran between the Verkhovye and Livny stations (now the Oryol region), had a gauge of 1067 mm. But that was just the beginning...
The method of transporting goods in trolleys along longitudinal guides was invented in ancient times.In the 15th - 16th centuries in
Europe, some factories already used railroads, along which they moved manually or with the help of horse traction
trolleys with goods (for a relatively short distance). Such roads also appeared in Russia. Initially in them
wooden rails and wooden trolleys were used.
One of the largest roads of this type appeared in 1810 at the Zmeinogorsk mine (the current Altai Territory). Rails already
were metal, had a convex surface. The length of the line was 1876 meters, the gauge was 1067 mm ( 3 feet
6 inches).
However, the moment of the birth of the railway is considered to be the beginning of movement on the rail tracks of a mechanical crew. AT
This happened to Russia in 1834. The birthplace of domestic railways is the city of Nizhny Tagil. It was there that it was built
the first Russian steam locomotive, created by the father and son Cherepanovs, was tested. Our first railroad was short ( 854
meters), and "wide" (gauge 1645 mm). The steam locomotive was destined to work for a short time - soon it again began to be used
horse traction.
The officially recognized date of foundation of Russian railways is 1837. Then traffic was opened along the line
St. Petersburg - Tsarskoye Selo - Pavlovsk, 23 kilometers long. Her track was also wide - 1829 mm (6 feet).
In 1843-51, the construction of the first major highway, the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway, took place. She had
it was decided to establish a track width of 5 feet (1524 mm, later - 1520 mm). It was this gauge that became standard for domestic
railways. Meanwhile, in overseas Europe and in North America another gauge standard was adopted - 1435 mm.
The consequences of this decision in the middle of the 19th century are estimated inconsistently. One side, the difference in track width helped us
In the initial period of the Great Patriotic War, the enemy could not immediately use the railways on the captured
territory. At the same time, it hinders international communication, leads to significant costs for the replacement of wagon
trolleys and transshipment of goods at border stations.
Variable gauge bogies have been around for a long time, but are still expensive and difficult to maintain.
Therefore, in Russia they have not yet received distribution. As for abroad - passenger trains, made up of
wagons capable of moving on roads with different gauges, regularly run between Spain and
France. In modern Japan, there are wagons capable of switching from 1435 mm gauge tracks to a gauge definitely
falling under the definition of narrow - 1067 mm.
Throughout the 19th century, a large number of horse-drawn narrow-gauge railways existed in Russia. The largest of them
about 60 kilometers long, operated in 1840-1862. It connected the Dubovka pier on the Volga with the Kachalino pier.
on the Don River, in the present Volgograd region. These roads were built mainly for the delivery of goods to factories and
factories - where it was not possible to lay a "normal" railway track. The narrow gauge was chosen in order to reduce
construction costs.
The first known narrow gauge public railway opened in 1871. She ran between stations
Verkhovye and Livny (now the Orel region), had a gauge of 1067 mm. The life of the first narrow gauge railway turned out to be
short-lived: in 1898 it was rebuilt into a normal gauge line.
But that was only the beginning. Almost immediately began mass construction of narrow-gauge lines in a variety of
regions of Russia. They began to develop very rapidly and Far East, and in Central Asia.The largest networks of narrow gauge
railways with a gauge of 1067 mm appeared in underdeveloped regions, separated from the center of the country by large rivers. from the station
Uroch (it was located near the banks of the Volga, opposite Yaroslavl) in 1872 a line was opened to Vologda, in 1896-1898
years extended to Arkhangelsk. Its length was 795 kilometers. From the city of Pokrovsk (now Engels), located on
On the left bank of the Volga, opposite Saratov, a meter gauge line (1000 mm) was built to Uralsk. There are also branches to
Nikolaevsk (Pugachevsk), and to the station Aleksandrov Gai. Total length network was 648 kilometers.
The first known 750 mm gauge railways were opened in 1894. One line ran through the Russian capital and its
nearby suburbs (St. Petersburg - Borisova Griva, length 43 kilometers), another appeared in the Lensky area
gold mines, in the current Irkutsk region(Bodaibo - Nadezhdinskaya, now Aprelsk, length 73 kilometers). Soon
small-gauge railways began to appear in large numbers, serving industrial enterprises.
At the very beginning of the 20th century, there were already many narrow-gauge railways intended for the export of timber and peat.
Subsequently, it is precisely such roads that will form the “backbone” of narrow gauge lines in our country.
In the USSR, the general pace of railway construction in comparison with the era Russian Empire decreased markedly. But the number
narrow gauge railways continued to grow rapidly.
The years of terrible Stalinist terror brought a new type of narrow-gauge railways - "camp" lines. They appeared on
enterprises located in the Gulag system connected factories and camps with mining sites. Scales
railway construction of those years are impressive. Contrary to popular belief that what's in the northeast
our country never had railways, known about the existence on the territory of the present Magadan region of at least
seven narrow gauge railways, some of which reached a length of 60 - 70 kilometers.
In 1945, the first section of a sufficiently powerful and technically advanced 1067 mm gauge railway was opened,
started in Magadan. By 1953, its length was 102 kilometers (Magadan - Palatka). The railroad should
was to become a significant highway crossing the vast Kolyma region. But after the death of I.V. Stalin began mass
the closure of the Kolyma camps, which meant the actual curtailment of the industrial development of the North-East of the USSR. As a result,
plans to extend the railroad were abandoned. A few years later, the constructed site was dismantled.
Small narrow-gauge railways also appeared in other regions of the Northeast - in Kamchatka, in the Chukotka Autonomous
district. All of them were later demolished.
Already in the 1930s, two main specializations of the narrow gauge were clearly manifested: timber transport and transportation
peat. The standard narrow gauge of 750 mm was finally approved.
In 1940, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were included in the USSR. These states had an extensive network
narrow gauge public railways. In terms of their technical condition, these roads turned out to be almost the best in
country. It was in Estonia that the record for the speed of movement on the 750 mm gauge railway was set. In 1936, the railcar
covered the distance from Tallinn to Pärnu (146 km) in 2 hours 6 minutes. The average speed was 69 km/h,
the maximum speed achieved is 106.2 km/h!
During the Great Patriotic War, the number of narrow-gauge railways was replenished by many dozens of "military field"
railways built both by the enemy and by our troops. But almost all of them lasted a very short time.
In August 1945, South Sakhalin was included in the USSR, where there was a network of railway lines with a gauge of 1067 mm,
built in compliance technical standards and dimensions of the main railways of Japan. In subsequent years, the network
railways has received significant development (with the preservation of the existing gauge).
The first half of the 1950s proved to be the "golden age" of narrow-gauge timber-carrying railways. They developed from
amazing speed. Dozens of new narrow-gauge railways appeared during the year, and the length of the lines increased by
thousands of kilometers.
The development of virgin and fallow lands was accompanied by the mass construction of narrow-gauge railways in Kazakhstan. Later
many of them were converted to broad gauge lines, but some remained in operation until the early 1990s. As of
As of 2004, only one "virgin" narrow-gauge railway has survived - in Atbasar (Akmola region).
Narrow-gauge public lines owned by the Ministry of Railways (in 1918-1946 it was called NKPS) occupied the last place
among narrow gauge railways. But since the 1960s, their length has been steadily reduced. Mostly, railways
750 mm gauges were replaced by broad gauge lines built in parallel, along one embankment, or slightly to the side, but by that
same direction. The 1000 mm and 1067 mm gauge lines were most often "changed" ( a new rail track was laid on the same embankment
other gauge).
In the 1960s, it became apparent that for timber-carrying narrow-gauge railways better times passed. New narrow gauge
peat-carrying railways were built until the end of the 1970s (and isolated cases of the creation of new "peat carriers"
noted later).
Until the early 1990s, the development and mass production of new rolling stock continued. chief, and then
The only manufacturer of narrow gauge trailer rolling stock was the Demikhov Machine-Building Plant
(Demikhovo, Moscow region), and the manufacturer of diesel locomotives for 750 mm gauge - Kambarsky machine-building plant
(Kambarka, Udmurtia).
The 1990s were the most tragic years in the history of narrow gauge railways. economic downturn along with
transition to new form economic relations and political changes led to the fact that what started a landslide
reduction in the number and length of narrow gauge railways. Each passing year "diminished" thousand kilometers
narrow gauge railway lines.
In 1993, the production of cars for ground narrow-gauge railways with a gauge of 750 mm was completely stopped. Soon
the production of locomotives also stopped.