Soviet steam locomotives: red wheels, recycling problems and other railway mysteries

Confident in their strength giants. Proud giants. But how much romance there is in these iron giants. Graceful, intelligently designed, today they have the status of "dinosaurs". They died out, gave way to "younger", much more beautiful, comfortable and fast railway expresses.


Steam locomotives could only dream of a speed of 200 km/h. Well, yes, there was the "Englishman" Mallard No. 4468, which reached 1938 km/h back in 202,7. And the Soviet record holder "Joseph Stalin" reached 1957 km/h in 175.

How much have we lost from this lag?.. Not at all: to transport the amount of ore, oil products, timber that were loaded onto our trains, sprint speeds are not needed. The steam locomotives of the Land of Soviets plowed like... sheep. You heard right: the drivers called the Ov-6640 models "sheep". More about them later, but for now...

Let's take a ride on a steam train

It will be a long journey – 124 thousand kilometers. That is the length of Russia's operational railways. Here we are in third place after the USA and China. And the Moscow railway junction, formed on the eve of the 20th century, is not going to yield to anyone the title of the largest complex in the world.


However, I felt like delving into history a little. The first steam locomotives of the early 19th century rolled coal trolleys along rails in mines. When the machines "came out of the ground" and madly rushed at a speed of 19 km/h, they were called "catch me, who can." The public was outraged.

From a letter from a concerned Englishman to the government:



The most "optimistic" supporters of progress predicted: "Birds will disappear, cows will stop eating grass, chickens will stop laying eggs, houses will burn down, and horses will die out." So, if your cattle rebel, rest assured that an iron monster with red wheels will puff past in clouds of white steam.

By the way! Why was this color used to paint the spoke wheel centers, the brooms (shields on the lower part of the front end), the ends of the running bridges and the frame? You won't believe it: for aesthetics and to continue the tradition established in Tsarist Russia. Other parts of the steam locomotives, due to their design features, were covered in soot and char. The "rollers" remained clean.


But the prosaic answer does not satisfy everyone. Horror fans and Jack Sparrow fans argue that the wheels were covered in red for the same purpose as the decks of pirate ships. So that, supposedly, the blood of someone caught under the a train man. A funny explanation, considering that Soviet steam locomotives are recognized as the safest type Transport in comparison with by cars, by air and sea vessels.

Here's another opinion about red wheels: against this background, they say, cracks are more visible. Why then do track walkers concentrate on hammering the wheels? A ringing sound means everything is in order, a dull sound means damage has been found.

Let's stop, have a bite to eat and continue on our way.

Who's there "at the little station in a colorful shawl"

Railways are not just rails that "converge on the horizon, as usual." They are a complex network with many objects and a developed infrastructure. In the USSR, there was a clear division into stations and way stations.


The first - large hubs - were located in capitals, large cities, industrial centers, and intersections of important railway routes. The stations had several tracks and platforms, a covered station with ticket offices, waiting rooms, cafes, and shops. Depots for locomotive repair and maintenance, loading and unloading platforms were provided. And also modern means of warning, security, and train control.

The station is the perfect place to have some tea with a biscuit and buy a fridge magnet, since the stops lack such amenities. These facilities provide transport accessibility to small and remote settlements. They look shabby and standard: a wind-blown pavilion, a bench, a trash can, an information board. Only passengers board and disembark here.


The events do not coincide chronologically, but together with the steam locomotives, the official name "half-station" disappeared from the railway dictionary. Now girls in beautiful shawls are forced to be sad about the past years at "junctions" and "stops". Or they can apply for a "station".

However, let's move on.

To the factories

By type of service, steam locomotives were divided into freight, passenger and shunting. In the USSR, the locomotive fleet belonged entirely to the state. Machines were produced at nine factories, including the union republics.


The largest locomotive-building enterprise was located in Kolomenskoye. Here, among other things, 4 monsters of the P38 brand were built, 22,5 meters long and weighing 215 tons. Voroshilovgrad produced a record number of locomotives - 522 units, which worked in the national economy until the 70s.

The steam era in mechanical engineering ended with the 1956th Congress of the CPSU in 1986. Factories retrained for diesel and electric locomotive construction. The last steam locomotive "retired" from service due to old age in 1991. Shunting locomotives, however, continued to operate at junction stations until XNUMX.

Where now?

To the cinema and museums

The Soviet steam railway machine of the "E" series is considered the most widespread in the world. From 1909 to the middle of the century, 11 thousand units of "Eshkas" were manufactured in the Union. On the "Eshkas" the Soviet people flew into a bright future, confident that "there is a stop in the commune."


Filmmakers have chosen the Ekhovsky locomotives for filming iconic Russian movies. Vasily Lanovoy ran along the roof of the train in the movie Officers, hurrying to give a bouquet of wild flowers to Lyuba Trofimova, who had just given birth to a son. The desperate rascals from The Elusive performed their unprecedented feats on Ekhovsky locomotives. And Alexey Batalov's character from The Cranes Are Flying left for the front in the Great Patriotic War.

Fortunately, the Echo model has been preserved in the large Russian Railways Museum. St. Petersburg has amassed a huge collection of rolling stock – 80 exhibits. Among them are the famous “sheep” (Ov-6640).

These proved themselves to be tireless workers, unpretentious and reliable. They worked on everything that burns: coal, firewood, fuel oil, peat. The unique locomotive in the armored train was able to pass along broken and hastily repaired tracks.


Remarkably well-preserved exhibits also adorn the "Military Glory of the Urals" museum in Verkhnyaya Pyshma. Some of the giants stand on pedestals near the railways.

We will finish our journey “at a gallop across Europe”… at the cemetery.

Steam Locomotive Cemetery

A whole great era has passed away with the steam workers. They used to rush in clouds of white smoke with a characteristic whistle, alarming and joyful at the same time. Now they represent historical value.

There are plenty of these "values" in the town of Shumkovo in Perm Krai. Dozens of Soviet steam locomotives stand and rust on the spare (sedimentary) tracks. But even in their neglected, deplorable state, the machines look epic and impressive.


Why didn't they recycle it, why didn't they melt it down, because each unit weighs tens of tons? How many kilometers of rails could have been used more rationally.

They say the base served to store strategic reserves of equipment. At first, the machines were looked after, lubricated, covered with roofing felt. In the event of a collapse of the energy system, some transportation could be carried out. The same diesel locomotives need diesel fuel, but here you throw in some firewood - and off you go!

But it turned out that maintenance costs a lot of money. So the good cause was abandoned. The dump in Shumkovo unwittingly became a local landmark, an open-air museum. You can wander among the ghosts of the past, but you can't take them for souvenirs: the guard is watching.

It's quiet here. Sad. A graveyard...