Tag Archives: Russia

Rerailing a tram with a front end loader

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Marcus Wong

Derailed trams aren’t an uncommon occurrence, but using a front end loader to get it back onto the tracks is – an activity captured by Вечерний Краснотурьинск in the Russian city of Krasnoturinsk. They provide the backstory here (via Google […]

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How do trains change to daylight savings time?

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Marcus Wong

Timekeeping is something that railways take seriously – but what happens to trains when the clocks changes from ‘normal’ time to daylight savings, and an hour is either lost or gained? Germany Deutsche Bahn cancel trains due to run in […]

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Moscow’s deepest metro station at Park Pobedy

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Marcus Wong

The Moscow Metro is known for deep stations, but Парк Победы (Park Pobedy) is the winner – at 73 metres underground it is the deepest station in the city, and third deepest in the world by mean depth. Underground there […]

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Kiev or Kyiv – what to call the Ukrainian capital

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Marcus Wong

During my 2012 trip to Europe the only reason I had for visiting Kiev was to visit Chernobyl, but I ended up loving the city so much I was sad to leave it so soon. But one thing I never […]

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Russian level crossings bite back!

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Marcus Wong

As I travelled across Russia by train there was an interesting feature at every level crossing we passed through – massive steel plates that lifted out of the roadway, preventing cars from driving around the boom gates. Some level crossings […]

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ОПЭ1 electro-diesel locomotives of the former USSR

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Marcus Wong

An electro-diesel locomotive is a unit that can operate from either an external electric power source, or standalone with an onboard diesel engine, and on the railways of the former USSR is an interesting example – the ОПЭ1 and subsequent […] Continue reading →

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Exploring the bizarre world of VDNKh

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Marcus Wong

On the outskirts of Moscow is VDNKh – originally built by an exhibition centre to show off the achievements of the Soviet Union, by the time I visited in 2013 it was a bizarre mix of fairground meets flea market, set amongst a collection of Soviet architecture.

Pavilions 58 and 59 - 'Ukraine' and 'Moscow, Tula and Ryazan region' Continue reading →

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Rubbing the dog’s nose for good luck

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Marcus Wong

The stations of the Moscow Metro are known for their ornate architecture, but Площадь Революции (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line has another form of artwork to offer. A series of bronze sculptures. For some reason the dog sculpture […]

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Barbed wire and guard towers protecting the bridges and tunnels of the Russian Railways

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Marcus Wong

On my journey across Russia by train I passed through many tunnels and over many bridges, and noticed something strange at each one.

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Freight trams of Europe

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Marcus Wong

Trams are usually used to carry passengers, but across Europe there are a handful of tramway networks that also carry freight. Pure freight The best known in the English speaking world is the ‘CarGoTram‘ of Dresden, Germany. Photo by kaffeeeinstein, […]

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