Which of us, as children, did not play trains, using the possibilities of the game called "Children's Railway", clapping our hands. We were simply delighted with the plastic engine and the carriages running along circular rails on the floor. We parted with this fun when our eyes were already sticking together, or when vigilant parents, together with grandparents, sent us to rest in our beds. But times are changing, and today's children no longer have enough battery-operated toys.

Today, the younger generation really wants to feel like a conductor, driver or passenger. The kids want to drive real trains along the laid narrow-gauge roads. They have been participating in these games since the age of seven, but to say that fifteen-year-old teenagers will not jump for joy like their little brothers, sisters or younger friends is not true. These youngsters will also drive small locomotives with delight, they will command, while still in a high voice, taking the dispatcher's chair or becoming a real station attendant. Some will want to look into the past, becoming a stationmaster and fulfilling their gaming duties with partial zeal.

It should be noted that on such real, but children's railways, all players are under the close attention of adults, especially locomotive drivers. Some of the children during the school year become attentive listeners in railway circles, where real railway experts conduct theory classes for them. With the onset of summer time, all these fidgets acquire a profession that can become the work of the entire subsequent life of a teenager.

Such children's railways are now available in many Russian cities. The laid track lines in the mentioned towns reach a length of several kilometers; they do not have a common exit to the rail track of real Russian railways. Such tracks also have no transport value, and they can only be used in an attraction status in park areas or in recreation areas where guests become passengers or specialists on the railway. Modern statistics prove that 30% of the participants in the games on the ChRW acquire their future profession here. Such figures testify to the seriousness of the organization of such schools.

In fairness, it should be noted that the creation of the first Children's Railways of the USSR was discussed back in the thirties of the twentieth century. Subsequently, the acquired experience in the construction of the ChRW became interested in such countries as Cuba, China, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary.

What is a JD?

Children's Railway (Children's Railway) is an institution that provides additional education for children aged 8-15 who are studying railway specialties. The main part of the ChRW is a narrow gauge railway line, where all the practical lessons for young railway workers are held (more often during the summer holidays). At other times of the year, only theoretical classes are held at the Children's Railway. Children's railways strive to be as close as possible to the prototype - public railways. For this reason, the ChRW, as far as possible, uses equipment similar to the equipment of real railways. The list of operating rules established on the ChRW is similar to the rules applied on public railways.

History

The officially recognized chronology testifies that the birthplace of the Children's Railway is the Soviet Union. In 1935, the Tiflis railway appeared. But earlier archives speak of the appearance of the JWR as early as the nineteenth century. The initiative was shown by the leaders of the Nikolaev railway. The idea that arose was transformed into the creation of special brigades based on children from the families of railway workers. The children were doing the real thing, doing what they could. So the cause of their fathers is put forward by their cause. These created brigades served as the very model in the creation of modern ChRW.

The predecessor of the children's railways is a private entertainment complex, which was created in the 1890s. for Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich (son of Alexander III) and his sisters in the park of the palace in Gatchina. The composition of this attraction: a steam locomotive and 2-3 passenger trolleys that ran on rails; Michael was the driver.

The first Children's Railway of the Soviet Union, and indeed in the world, was created in 1932 or 1933 in Moscow, on the territory of the park named after. Gorky. She worked little, by 1939 she was closed. For some inexplicable reason, the existence of this children's railway was hidden in the USSR. The statement that the first railway was the Children's Railway in Tiflis (1935) is refuted by 2 sources: a note from the newspaper "Vechernyaya Moskva" dated 01/09/1933 and the brochure "25 Children's Railways of the USSR" 1936.

The Moscow children's railway that appeared on the territory of the park named after the writer Maxim Gorky immediately becomes the center of attention, thanks to publications in the central press. The stories that a home-made electric train was driven by simple boys sounded like a fairy tale, bewitching peers. Where the boys ruled the ball, it was impossible to do without the fact that the passenger train set was transformed and became a real armored train. The sounds of real battles sounded here, in which the troops of the Red Guards always came out victorious.

As a rule, they did not fight for long, because they also had to do peaceful work. This road did not become a real school for railway workers, it played the usual role, only a big toy. In these amusements, there were no real rules of the railway and the composition was carried out, as God puts on the soul. But when in 1936 two more children's railways began to work in Dnepropetrovsk and Tbilisi, they already made an appropriate selection of specialists who worked on the railway.

The Children's Railway in Tiflis was established on June 24, 1935 at the request of Georgian schoolchildren. And this road, according to official data, is considered the first in the world of the ChRW. Later, a children's railway opens in the city of Krasnoyarsk, receiving the title of the first in the RSFSR. After that, the ChRW began to be built in all the capitals of the RSFSR.

Children's Railways are of great help in training professionals for the railway at a time when there was a shortage of specialists.

As of the mid-1980s, at least 52 CHRs were operating in the USSR.

Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, China, Cuba and others are starting to build the ChRW. The difference between these ChRWs is mainly in branching and length at times. Most of them, having worked for 10-15 years, closed down, others turned into attractions, a few retained their purpose. A similar fate befell most of the children's railways of the RSFSR countries.

There are currently 25 CHRs operating in our country.

We must not forget that the thirties of the twentieth century experienced a rapid growth in the construction of gigantic industrial facilities, which is why the bulk of the inhabitants of the Soviet state were in some euphoria from their own victories. But then, probably, it was impossible to do it differently. I would like to note that these and other real children's railways appeared at that difficult time. The children were given the opportunity to create their own road projects and the future implementation of their construction. Children were allowed to work at their facilities for two hours over five days, but sometimes it was possible to drag them away from this work with great difficulty. They were so passionate about this work, because it was about their own, children's road.

Features of the children's road

Usually, the ChRW is a segment of a narrow-gauge track separated from the general railways with a duration of 1 to 11 km, often a circular one. Children's railways do not play a special role; they are laid in parks or recreation areas. Children's railways are operated mainly in the summer, where children, under the supervision of an instructor, apply the knowledge gained over the year. Students at the Children's Railway receive benefits for further training in railway skills.

In addition to this training in railway skills, children in such institutions have the opportunity to engage in sections and develop as a person.

In some cases, children's railways are entertainment complexes depicting a train, which are located in parks. But such rides are not ChRW. The first difference is that they are served by adults, the second difference is that the Children's Railway teaches children the basics of the railway profession, which in itself is not entertainment. Unfortunately, at present, many ChRW - for example, Almaty, do not fulfill their mission, and are only historical monuments.

Absolutely all ChRWs have a track gauge of 750 mm. This is explained by the standards established in the Soviet Union, which allowed the Children's Railways to use equipment manufactured in the USSR. However, the Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway is an exception. In 1936, its track was only 305 mm, in 1961 the track was expanded to 508 mm. The Children's Railways of Astana and Vologda also differed. From a width of 600 mm, the track was expanded to a standard width of 750 mm.

In other countries where CRs exist, the gauges are smaller. In Poland, the city of Poznan - 600 mm, Dresden - 381 mm.

In order to demonstrate the operation of modern railway equipment to young railway workers, children's railways were often equipped with signaling, centralization and blocking systems similar to those used on real railways (despite the fact that there was no need for them).

And of course, the same rolling stock was installed on the ChRW, which was used by the USSR Railways with a narrow gauge. Before the war and the first years after the war, these were steam locomotives, in particular Gr, steam locomotives of the P24 project (different models). Since the 60s, steam locomotives have been replaced by diesel locomotives, but they remained on some CHRs until the 80s, but also until the 90s, and the Kiev and Rostov CHR steam locomotives Gr still fulfill their mission. On the small Gorky ChRW (Nizhny Novgorod) there is a steam locomotive Kp4-430 (modification P24).

rolling stock

locomotives

In the 1950s - 1960s, the railways of the Soviet Union were filled with diesel locomotives. Diesel locomotives also appeared on the ChRW. These were TU2, TU3, TU4, TU6 (less often TU4 and TU6). There was an idea to create a diesel locomotive TEU-16 specifically for the Children's Railway, but as a result of the collapse of the USSR, this did not happen.

Electric locomotives

Electric locomotives, unlike diesel locomotives, are not as popular on the ChRW. VL-4, which was created in 1960 at VNIITP, but the electrification of the Children's Railway was recognized as dangerous and the electric locomotive was not built. There is information that the ChRW uses 2 ED-1 electric locomotives in Uzhur, but there is very little information about the ChRW, and there is no confirmation of this data.

Wagons and multiple unit rolling stock

In addition to locomotive-hauled trains, multiple-unit trains were sometimes used on the ChRW. For example, the use of self-made electric trains was practiced at the Moscow and Uzhur Railways. On the Children's Railway of the city of Kommunarsk, the railcar AM1 was operated.

On the pre-war children's railway, wagons were used that were built at the Kolomna plant before the revolution. In the post-war period, Pafawag cars of the 2Aw, 3Aw models produced in Poland (from 1956 to 1960) for 38 seats were used on the ChRW. In the 1980s, they were replaced by the PV40 and PV51 cars, which had been produced at the Demikhov plant since the 1950s.

In 1989, the production of cars for narrow-gauge railways was stopped. Only in 2003 did the Metrovagonmash plant resume production of narrow-gauge railway cars.

Homemade rolling stock

Traditionally, the organization of the CRW is supported by the administration of the public railways. But there are cases when the Children's Railways is created on "naked" enthusiasm, as they say. In this case, real locomotives are replaced with homemade ones. For example, the Krasnoyarsk ChRW uses only self-made locomotives, but because of the non-standard gauge.

Meaning of JRW

career guidance

Children's railway specialists teach their students the basic skills necessary for almost all railway professions, and serving the children of the children's railway develops in them an interest in working on the railway. A large number of children who were engaged in the 50-70s of the last century on the ChRW chose the railway as their profession.

Parenting

The significance of the JWR in pedagogy is great. By developing the team spirit and the art of interaction in a group, children gain experience in working in a team.

Working on the ChRW also develops communication skills in children, as children of different ages study here, and during practical classes, communication with adult passengers takes place. Such work develops discipline, developing responsibility for oneself and others, and teaches safety.

Transport functions

Basically, the CRW is not a vehicle in the traditional sense, and most consider it a park attraction. Only the ChRW of the cities of Chita, Orenburg, Svobodny, Chimkent carry out the delivery of passengers from the cities to the suburbs. During the Second World War, the Children's Railway of the city of Svobodny was used to transport products from the surrounding collective farms. After the Second World War, the ChRW in the city of Vilnius delivered coal to the city's thermal power plant, and the ChRZ of Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) functioned as public transport, on a par with trams and buses, while earning additional money.

Additional facts about the ChRW

At the end of the 30s of the last century, a grandiose children's railway was designed in Moscow, the best architects and builders were involved, but the Great Patriotic War prevented the implementation of this project. The modern Moscow Children's Railway is located in Kratovo.

Electrified children's railways worked only in 3 cities: Moscow, Uzhur and Donetsk. At the moment there is none of them.

A tram for children functioned in Odessa, it worked on electricity, but had practically nothing to do with the Children's Railway.

Abroad, the electrification of the ChRW was used very rarely. But such children's railways were in Pilsen and Otsrava (Czechoslovakia), Germany.

The longest ChRW is the road in the city of Svobodny, the length of which is relative to the ChRW in the city of Krasnoyarsk, which is the shortest, 10 times, and is 11.4 km.

Russian Railways

After the bloody war, only three years have passed, but at the end of August 1948, the “Small October Railway” was opened, with a total length of 8100 meters of communication lines. With the launch of the road, the construction of the first three stations was completed, we are talking about Ozerny, Zooparkovsky and Kirovsky points. The stretch: Ozernaya - Zoo with a length of 2800 meters and the stretch: Zoo - Kirovskaya with a length of 4700 meters had an electric wand system with installed semaphores, which were signaling devices. The initial version of the rolling stock was represented by the V-32 steam locomotive and two PT4 steam locomotives with assigned numbers as PT-01 and PT-02. The "Small October Railway" was served by nine passenger trailers.

One year later, at the beginning of the summer season of the ChRW, the rolling stock fleet is increased by several more cars and the steam locomotive "VP1-170". Starting from 1958, the children's diesel locomotive "TU2-167" began to run from the Ozernaya station. After two years, the fleet of passenger cars renews its rolling stock. The "Small October Railway" was immediately replenished with two trains, consisting of five cars. The compositions had their own names: "Fairy Tale" and "Pioneer". On the road, two train trains ran at once, they met at the station of the Zoo station.

In 1964, a tragedy occurs. Due to the lack of working barriers at one of the crossings, in the area of ​​​​Nikitskaya Street, a railcar collided, on which four more children were with an instructor, with a dump truck crossing the tracks. No one was left alive on the railcar. According to the orders received from the management, the "Small October Railway" was to cease to exist. The entire rolling stock was written off, leaving only the new diesel locomotive "TU2-167". Subsequently, the decision was changed, the length of the road was reduced to 3100 meters, the exploitation of the dangerous section of the ChRW was abandoned.

The remaining section has undergone a major reconstruction, a semi-automatic blocking has appeared. The hauls and stations were equipped with new traffic lights. A signal dependence appeared on the station arrows with the installation of locks of the Melentiev system. After the reconstruction, the road is replenished with two diesel locomotives of the TUZ series, respectively with the numbers "001" and "002". The old diesel locomotive was used only as a replacement when the main diesel locomotive units underwent unscheduled or preventive repairs.

From the end of the sixties, the twentieth century, young drivers began to receive real certificates that gave them the right to drive a diesel locomotive, but this happened only after completing their work experience and passing the qualification exam. The issued certificates did not have any differences with those that adult professional drivers had. In the same period of time, the Pionerskaya station appeared, which was previously called the Zoo, since the construction of the menagerie did not take place.

Since 1982, diesel locomotives of the Leader type began to operate on the road: TU2-191 and TU2-060. In the mid-eighties, TUZ-002 was left without work, five years later TUZ-001 also stopped working, but in 1996 the diesel locomotive TUZ-001 became a museum exhibit for a long nine years. In 2005, the diesel locomotive was restored in the depot TC-7.

At the end of the eighties, the PAFAWAG type cars were decommissioned, and the PV40 brand cars were left on the Small October Railway.

In the nineties, one of the existing trains was laid up. In the next decade, already in the twenty-first century, part of the tracks of the road was dismantled. In 2015, the railway was replenished with rolling stock as a diesel locomotive "TU10-030"

Malaya Zabaykalskaya

The appearance of the children's railway "Malaya Zabaykalskaya" dates back to 08/01/1974. Since its construction was carried out in the city of Chita, it can rightfully be called the "Chita Children's Railway". It is a structural subdivision of the Trans-Baikal Railway and is merged into a branch of JSC Russian Railways. The actual functioning of this branch began on 09/02/1971. Since 1981, the Children's Railway has received well-deserved recognition, becoming the best children's railway among the forty-four existing railways at that time. The rail track width is 750 mm, with a total length of the operated section equal to 3750 meters. The mentioned ChRW has two stations, bearing the names "Northern" and "Porechye", in the middle of the way there is a platform with the name "Solnechnaya", but it is almost completely dismantled. The equipment of the rolling stock is represented by the following units: two cars, three gondola cars, three cargo platforms, three passenger cars and three diesel locomotives: TU7A-3354, TU7A-3199 and TU2-208.

A key dependence of signals and arrows is introduced into the equipment of the Severnaya and Porechye stations, output and input traffic lights are installed, there is inter-station and train radio communication. At the "Northern" station, the turnout sections and the track rails have insulating joints. This CHD is still in operation today.

On November 8, 1939, the opening of the Nizhny Novgorod Children's Railway took place. At that time it was called the Gorky Children's Railway.

Initially, the paths of the children's railway passed through the territories of the Avtozavodsky, Leninsky and Kanavinsky districts. One of the end platforms was called "Happy". Today, it is no longer passengers who come to the station building, but newlyweds in order to legitimize their civil status, because now the wedding palace, named as "Avtozavodsky", is located here.

The rail gauge is considered narrow gauge, its width is 750 millimeters. The length of the main path is 3200 meters, the total length of the paths is 4100 meters. On the diagram, the DZD looks like a triangle. In the area of ​​​​the park named after the first of May there is a platform of the main station "Motherland". The working season lasts only three summer months, the movement of trains starts from June 1 and ends on August 29. One of the narrow-gauge steam locomotives KP-4 No. 430 opens the summer season. Every year on the first Sunday in August, the professional holiday "Railwayman's Day" is celebrated. The main attribute of this holiday is still the same narrow-gauge steam engine.

The range of the locomotive depot is represented by three narrow-gauge diesel locomotives: TU10 No. 003, TU7A No. 3346 and TU7 No. 2567. The rolling stock consists of two Stagecoach open cars and six passenger cars.

Malaya Moscowskaya

The Small Moscow Railway is recognized as a children's railway. It has the unofficial name of the Kratovskaya Children's Railway, due to its territorial proximity to the Kratovo village of the same name, where its educational buildings are located.

This line has two terminal stations named "Pionerskaya" and "Youth" and two intermediate platforms "Children's" and "School".

The opening of the children's railway in Kratovo took place on 05/02/1937. The length of the path was 4962 meters. The initial rolling stock consisted of eight cars of the PV51 model, cars of the PAFAWAG type, three wooden passenger cars, steam locomotives: Rp-771, IS-1 of type 63/65 and VL-1. Then diesel locomotives appeared: "TU7-2729" and "TU7-2728". Now on the ChRW in Kratovo you can see a staff car, model 20.0016, diesel locomotives TU2-129 and TU2-078.

It should be noted that at the end of the Great Patriotic War, the restoration of the Children's Railway in Kratovo was carried out by the children, future railway workers. Today, teenagers begin their training in the profession in a circle located in the building of the Moscow State University of Railway Transport.

The Small Moscow Railway allows vocational training for school students. The lower age bar starts from eleven years old, the upper age bar has reached the value of 17 years. It should be noted that students from twenty-five Moscow schools are being trained. Within five years, teenagers can complete the full course of study. Children study in classes that are equipped directly in the administrative building of this railway. There are other opportunities to try to learn the chosen profession of a railway worker. This is, first of all, a visit to the Central House of Children of Railway Workers or in the circle "Young Railway Worker", located on the territory of the capital Moscow, in the building of the Moscow State University of Communications or in the building of the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers.

On the Malaya Moskovskaya ChRW, the movement of trains is carried out seasonally, starting from the end of May, and ending on the last Sunday in August. The work schedule is limited to five days, the countdown goes from Tuesday to Saturday, but every Tuesday of the week, preparatory work is carried out to transport the passenger flow. The movement of trains starts at 10.00 Moscow time with an interval of one hour. During the day period, no more than four pairs of trains pass. In the summer, when the air temperature rises above + 29 °, or trains follow with a big delay, the number of pairs may be reduced or completely canceled due to bad weather conditions.

Malaya West Siberian

Children's road Novosibirsk with the length of the rail track counts its start of work from 06/04/2005, Built on the territory of the Zaeltsovsky Park. It has three station points with the following names - this is the "Second siding", "Sportivnaya" and "Zaeltsovsky Park". The length of the tracks is 5300 meters. The Novosibirsk children's road is equipped with two metal bridges, the length of which reaches 72 m and 24 m, two metal overpasses, their height is three and four meters, and concrete retaining walls.

The rolling stock is equipped with three converted diesel locomotives: TU7A-3343, TU7A-3339 and TU7A-3338. Four-axle fire truck. Three cars, model 43-001, were built at the Kambarka Machine-Building Plant and six cars, model 20.0011, were manufactured at the Metrovagonmash plant.

The East Siberian Children's Railway opened on November 8, 1939. It is a loop shape, with a length of 3250 meters. On the route there are three station points with the names: "Angara", "Rodniki" and "Solnechny". The road is located on the territory of the Konny and Yunost islands of the Angara River, in the central part, in the city of Irkutsk. The ChRW is currently equipped with three diesel locomotives: TU7-2925, TU2-228 and TU2-053, fourteen cars of the PV51 model. In the first years of the existence of the road, the mobile railway consisted of four cars of the PAFAWAG model, three wooden passenger cars, a tank locomotive of the Compound system, made at the Krauss-Linz plant, and one steam locomotive of the 159-070 brand.

The construction of the East Siberian Children's Railway was initiated by the Irkutsk pioneers themselves back in 1936. This initiative was supervised by the oldest machinist of the Irkutsk hub Andrey Evtikhievich Dryagin. Subsequently, he held the position of head of the DRR.

In February 1937, the project of this road was completed, and two years later, its first passengers were already using the road.

The decision to create the Kazan Children's Railway was made by Mr. Vladimir Yakunin, the then President of Russian Railways, and Mr. Mintimer Shaimiev on May 27, 2006. In a widespread press release, it was indicated the seriousness of this work for the future generation.

When the next day of the city of Kazan was celebrated, on August 30, 2007, that is, after only one year, in one of the most picturesque areas - this is the forest park zone "Lebyazhye", the children took their places in the rolling stock of the Kazan Children's Railway. The locomotive horn sounded, the wheels rattled, and the children rejoiced at the opportunity to ride along this road.

Small Sverdlovsk Railway

The Small Sverdlovsk Railway was put into operation on 07/09/1960, which allowed young railway workers to get the opportunity to start practicing without leaving their city. The current rolling stock of the road has diesel locomotives in its asset: TU10-013 and TU7A-3355, replenishment has also come in the form of three cars manufactured at the Kambarka Machine-Building Plant.

The road was equipped with four stopping points: "Don", "Istok". "Park" and "Birches". Today, the rolling stock has eight cars of the VP750 model, three diesel locomotives: TU2-126, TU10-018 and TU10-002. It all started with post-war technology. Since 1974, in the area of ​​​​the Beryozki station point, the doors of a new educational production building for future railway workers have opened.

Vladikavkaz Children's Railway

Grand opening of the small Vladikavkaz Children's Railway named after V.V. Tereshkova took place on October 30, 1967. The territorial location is located on the left bank of the Terek, which is part of the southern part of the city. The rail tracks are installed in the form of an irregularly shaped ring. The length of the tracks is 2200 meters, the width of the rail track is 750 millimeters. The road has three station points, four turnouts, three unguarded crossings, the equipment has a semi-automatic blocking in the area of ​​​​the stages, electrical interlocking and train radio communication. Today, the rolling stock has three cars of the VP750 model, four cars of the Pafawag model and three diesel locomotives TU10-009, TU7A-2991 and TU2-056.

For more than 60 years, the Children's Railway has been operating in Minsk, the roles of drivers, conductors and controllers are performed by schoolchildren. Children in grades 5-7 are recruited for training, in autumn and winter they undergo theoretical training at the training center, and in spring and summer - practice, during which everyone can ride on the narrow gauge railway from Chelyuskintsev Park to the forest park area in Slepyanka. Along the way, the railway crosses three highways, a bridge and an overpass.

The main station of the Children’s Railway does not look so childish, it would pass for a full-fledged station in one of the regional centers:

The station "Zaslonovo" was opened on July 9, 1955, although then it was called "Park Kultury", in honor of the partisan hero Konstantin Zaslonov it was renamed in 1971. The station building was built according to the project of architect Georgy Zaborsky, the same one that he designed in Minsk. Inside the station there is a ticket office and a waiting room:

After buying a ticket, you can take a seat in the car:

The ticket will be checked by controllers, they are usually younger guys:

Those who are older work as machinists:

The road itself also bears the name of Konstantin Zaslonov:

This is a narrow-gauge railway standard for the USSR with a width of 750 millimeters:

The length of the main path is 3 kilometers 790 meters, a one-way trip takes only 10 minutes:

We show tickets, sit in the car:

Here, too, everything is grown-up, there is even a stopcock:

An urn hangs between each row of seats; there is no such service even in adult trains:

Having passed three intersections, an overpass and a bridge over the canal, the train arrives at the Sosnovy Bor station:

In fact, this is just a mound in the middle of a forest clearing:

On May 9 and some other holidays, various performances are arranged here, tents are set up:

But on ordinary days, the clearing is absolutely empty, there is absolutely nothing to do, and the most interesting thing is that even a mobile phone does not catch here, although it is only 300-400 meters to the nearest street:

Children take their duties very seriously, conductors stand at their cars, help passengers with small children get off, answer questions:

After turning around on the ring, the locomotive stops at a special sign, the drivers are always in the cab, they don’t go anywhere:

The containers and the number of seats are indicated on the wagons - everything is like in real trains:

The parking lasts only a few minutes, after which the conductors call the passengers on the way back:

The journey to the starting point takes the same 10 minutes, the train arrives at the same platform from which it left only half an hour ago:

The train's operating mode depends on the day of the week, but on average, the running interval is about half an hour, so, having dropped off old passengers, the train picks up new ones and again departs along the same route:

The children's railway operates from May to September, the ticket price is 3.5 rubles, for children from one year old you need a full ticket. On holidays, when mass events are organized, the price of tickets can increase several times. The ChRW is very popular with Minsk residents: on weekends, trains leave full every half an hour; during the 2016 season, young machinists transported about 43,000 passengers.
On December 24, in honor of the New Year holidays, the Children's Railway will resume work with the New Year's Express 2017 program for two weeks, they promise fairy-tale characters on the train and a theatrical performance at the Sosnovy Bor station.

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Posts about Belarus:

1. At the station, parts of the trains - passenger and freight - were mixed up. Cut out the pictures from the app and assemble the trains. Ask your desk mate to check you out. After checking, stick the parts. Tell me what kind of goods the freight train is carrying.

A freight train carries cars, sand, timber, chemicals, various goods.

2. Do you know what a children's railway is? This is a wonderful place! If you have the opportunity, visit such a road and get acquainted with its work. If not possible, find out about it using the Internet or other sources of information. Be prepared to share what you saw and learned in class.

Children's Railways

Children's railways are special educational circles in which children aged 8-15 study railway specialties. Children's railways are trying to get as close as possible to the prototype - public railways. Therefore, children's railways, as far as possible, use the same equipment as real railways.
Sometimes children's railways are called attractions located in parks of culture and recreation, which are a train that rolls children in a circle. However, such attractions are not children's railways. Firstly, they are operated by adults, and secondly, real children's railways are organizations that teach children the basics of railway professions, which does not apply to attractions.
The first children's railway was built in Moscow in 1932. By the mid-1980s, at least 52 children's railways were operating in the USSR. Now in Russia there are 25 children's railways in the cities: Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Kratovo, Kurgan, Liski, Nizhny Novgorod, Novomoskovsk, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Penza, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Svobodny, Tyumen, Ufa, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Yaroslavl.

The Children's Railway is a legacy of the great and mighty USSR. Dozens of narrow-gauge railways throughout the vast country were built for the development, education and leisure of the country's children. Years have passed. In many cities of the former USSR, these roads were closed, in others they were preserved, but passed into the full ownership and management of adults. And there are actually very few left that, as before, are controlled by children. Minsk Children's Railway K. S. Zaslonova continues the tradition. Our Children's Railway is actually a children's one. People come here not only to ride with children, to spend a weekend or a holiday. But even every week children work here, starting from the head of the station and the driver, and ending with the conductors in the cars.
Our children's railway was opened in 1955, the length of the track is 4.5 km, there are three crossings, an overpass, a bridge over the river.
Once we started traveling here with little Elya when she was one and a half years old, then we tried to come here often, especially on holidays, because these days additional entertainment was organized on the ChRW - concerts, treats. Time passed and already with the boys we rode on the children's railway. Probably not a year goes by that we don't come here.
My daughter, being still small, dreamed of how she would come here to work. And now, in the sixth grade, her dream came true. At first we signed up for classes at the Children's Railway at the beginning of the year, but there were some changes - a move, a new school, a second shift. And I had to cancel my visit. And again, in the middle of the year, girls from the children's railway came to my daughter's school and were invited to classes in the morning. And Elya happily went to work.

Life in the circle "Young Railwayman" boils all year round. From October to April - classes in the city center, in offices. Children study a huge number of subjects that are directly related to work on the railway, are engaged in modeling, participate in competitions, tournaments, and lead a social life. The children from this circle somehow remind me of the very pioneers that we were or did not have time to become. Very active, friendly, harmonious.
From May to September, another life begins - children start real work. The train from Zaslonovo station starts running in May. The guys get a real uniform, fasten shoulder straps and go to work in accordance with the schedule. In general, the working days for children are Saturday and Sunday during the school months and all days of the week in the summer. There are several groups on the WCR that have curators, and the work schedule is drawn up so that these groups alternate. Working hours - from 1 to 3 times a week for 3-4 hours. Children also work during the winter holidays. At this time, the New Year Express runs.
There are many specialties on the railway, children try them on during the entire working period. You can come to work and choose where you will go today, what you will do. The train is also controlled by children, only, of course, not the first year of study, and not even the second. The driver's cab accommodates children who have been attending the circle for 3-4 years. But classes at the Children's Railways are for everyone, even fifth-graders. Today I will talk about the professions that were available to my daughter last season, she tried most of them.

Conductor and assistant conductor.
Probably, every child, having noticed a boy or a girl in uniform on the Children's Railway, who rides with you in the car, opens the doors and waves flags, would like to be in his place. This is exactly what Elina dreamed of. But from the very beginning, she did not have a chance to try it. The conductor's work only seems quite simple and insignificant, in fact, a number of actions that the conductor must know and perform must be memorized. Therefore, at first, everyone who wants to go to work as an assistant conductor. More experienced comrades, tell and show all the actions, give a try. If you worked three times as an assistant conductor, then you can go to the exam, which is taken by the same children - employees of the Children's Railways of the third or fourth year of study. Passed the exam - received the right to be called a conductor. As a rule, they pass everything the first time, here, as elsewhere, a lot depends on the examiner. There is one guy on our Children's Railway who sets a goal - to fill up everyone. Maybe he prepared difficult questions at night, which children do not even think about, working as a guide, but in the end everyone who goes to him to take the exam fails. However, you should not be upset, come next time and go to the exam again, usually everyone tries not to get it again). So, due to inexperience, Elya ended up with a picky examiner, so she then took it again. And yet she became a conductor.
Conductor's responsibilities include:
- checking the availability of tickets at the entrance;
- give the go-ahead with flags - twisted yellow means that everything is in order, straightened red - you can’t go;
- closing the car doors;
- filling the "meadow" for the registration of passengers;
- if there is no auditor, then checking tickets;
- keep order in the car;
- Take out the trash as needed.
Elina liked to work as a conductor and his assistant. True, it happened that she came home from work and complained that she was tired of riding the train. And it's only 3-4 hours of work! Poor train conductors! Of the minuses of this work, the daughter names the problems that may arise if you serve the car alone. It is very difficult to do everything in time, and especially to take out the garbage, because you need to do it very, very quickly and reopen the doors for the next travelers.

Auditor.
As in any self-respecting transport, there are ticket inspectors on the ChRW. There must be one auditor in each car. But since there are not always enough children to play all the roles in this adult railway game, they may refuse auditors, because the conductor is able to perform his functions.
The duties of the auditor include checking the tickets after the train starts moving and recording the revision in the "meadow".
Elya did not like the position of auditor very much. Here the opposite problem is boring. Less responsibilities. And it may also happen that two auditors work at once in the car, then you will have to check tickets only in one direction.

Guide.
Every time there is a guide on the train, sometimes with an assistant. It is located in the technical car (the second after the diesel locomotive). The task of the guide to the microphone for the whole train is to conduct a tour of the children's railway. It is necessary to tell the history of the ChRW, that the train passes at one time or another.
Ellinka never went to work as a tour guide. On the one hand, this is boring, as it seemed to her, but on the other hand, you need to speak without hesitation, not to distort words, to pronounce everything clearly. So it's an exciting job.
Train leader.
This position, as well as his assistant, is given to children of 3-4 years of study. The task of the chief is to keep order on the train, to check the fulfillment of duties by all employees. The boss can ride in a diesel locomotive, in a technical or any of the passenger cars.

Train driver and his assistant.
Every boy's dream and my daughter's fear. What she never dreamed about was driving a train. But here no one forces you: if you want to study and work, if you don’t want to, then perform other duties. To get the profession of an assistant driver, you need to study during a non-working period, then pass an exam. These classes are open to children in their second year of study. Ellina does not yet know how to become a machinist, most likely she needs to work for some time as an assistant, perhaps study again, and then take another exam. It seems that here the exams are more serious than for conductors. Only those who have been studying for 3-4 years can be a machinist and his assistant.
The profession is serious and very responsible. Of course, children are not left alone in the locomotive. Adult leaders also go with them. There is also maintenance.
In addition to the train itself, workers are needed everywhere: at the station, at the station, at the crossing. Most of these specialties are available to children from the first year of study. Apart from a few.
Shift Supervisor.
All students of the circle "Young Railwayman" are divided into groups - shifts. That is the way they work. Each shift is assigned an adult instructor, mentor. Every year he recruits new children. And the elders leave the walls of their children's, but such a serious educational institution. But while they are still working, in their third or fourth year, they can become a shift supervisor. This is the second person after the instructor in the shift, the most direct boss of all the children in the group. He, together with the instructor, monitors the work of all units in his shift.

The station attendant and his assistant.
This position is open to students in Year 2 and above. His responsibilities include:
- departure of the train with the help of metal discs - special signaling devices
- the duty officer must also keep order at the station.
Perhaps the duty officer has some other duties, but Ellina is not yet familiar with them.
Station chief.
All visitors to the ChRW must be at the station. Here they will be able to purchase tickets at the box office (an adult acts as a cashier), see the timetable, see models of trains and railways. Of course, not everyone always knows where they need to go, where everything is, and so on. In order to understand everything, you should contact the head of the station. Children in the first year of school are quite capable of this role. The head of the station is in the central hall, sitting at the table and ready to advise visitors. He also keeps order at the station.
The difficulty of this work lies in one thing: if you do not know what to answer to the passengers. It happens that tricky questions are asked, to which the answer is not always immediately found. For example, the head of the station once had to think hard about where to look for a book of complaints and suggestions. The fact is that they asked him for the first time (as you understand, children are constantly changing, each time they perform new duties, so it can sometimes be difficult for a beginner).

Operators.
Each station has a control room. This is where the operators are. Their task is to contact the operator at another station and transmit all the information. And it is about when the train arrived and departed. The exact time must be recorded in the log, and then call the operator at another station. And you also need to receive calls with similar messages from another station. Everything is logged again.
Ellina liked being a cameraman, she called the disadvantages that it was impossible to go anywhere. All the time you have to wait for calls. However, in many positions at the Children's Railways, it will not be possible to leave. The operator must be very attentive - accurately track the time, write down and remember to call.
Speaker.
The announcer is also at the control station. His task is to announce the arrival and departure of the train, ask those who see off the cars to leave and wish them a pleasant journey. Here, too, attentiveness, clarity of speech is very important, you can not stumble and make mistakes. It is also very important to make messages on time.
Ellina got to this position on her first working day and did not want to repeat it again. She felt very tense.

DNC.
Don't ask me who this is?) We don't know. Only the duties of this responsible person are known. Although, judging by what he does, it is possible that the position is deciphered as the dispatcher of the observation center. From his center, he sits at a computer, remote control and monitors the movement of trains. The main task of DNU is to notice emergencies and report them to the driver. The work is very responsible, Ellinka did not dare to go for it. The reason was that by the time she decided to work, the emergency began to happen too often. For example, a car at a crossing slipped under a lowering barrier and remained on the tracks. The train braked urgently and even slightly derailed. Everything was fixed, there were no victims, the passengers probably did not even understand what had happened. But such situations, of course, scary.
In this regard, I would like to appeal to drivers, pedestrians and other people who find themselves near the real road, albeit a childish one: be careful and attentive, follow the rules. CHR is not a toy, but a real train, which is not possible to stop quickly! Do not endanger yourself, train passengers, do not put young railway workers in difficult situations!

layout operator.
In the waiting room at Zaslonovo station there is a model of a railway with moving trains. All the kids are sure to be attracted by the running wagons between the hills, houses, passing through the tunnel and over the bridge. A special operator has been set to manage this layout. At will, both first-years and older children are taken here. True preference, for some reason, is given to boys. But a girl, if she really wants to, can also become an operator of a model railway.
Relocation attendant.
In addition to stations, children are also on duty at crossings. There are semi-automatic and automatic barriers. It is for the work of these barriers that the shift attendants monitor the work. There are usually several of them. When a train approaches, an audible signal sounds and the barrier lowers. The one that is fully automatic, after the train crosses the road, rises by itself. And the second only lowers itself, it is raised by those on duty at the crossing. In addition, children with a yellow flag should signal the driver about the free path. Sometimes the train is delayed here in order to miss the one that comes from the Zaslonovo station, if two trains are working on the way at the same time. In addition to children, an adult is also on duty at the crossing to supervise the work of young railway workers.
There is a significant disadvantage in working at the crossing - the weather. When it is cold, rainy or hot, it becomes hard to work here.

Every month, children receive a work schedule from their instructor. Here are the days and working hours. You need to arrive at the Zaslonova station 10-15 minutes before the start. Since we are talking about children who cannot yet take on full-fledged obligations, it is quite possible that the child will not come to every lesson. There are 5 working months in total - in the training May and September, children come to the ChRW only on weekends. And in the summer every day. You can visit in free mode, but still stipulates that everyone must work out 30 days of practice. Since the work is carried out in shifts, each group has its own days and time. It turns out in May or September about 4 working days. And in the summer months, about 12. Since many people leave during the holiday season, it can be very difficult to work all 30 days. And they turn a blind eye to it. They can be kicked out of the "Young Railway Worker" circle only for serious violations, for example, security. Before the start of the working day, the entire shift gathers for a planning meeting, mainly at the meeting it is determined who and where will work. Work is graded on a 10-point system. Eli has one 10 and 10+.

When my daughter was going to attend this circle, many relatives were surprised: why do you, are you going to work as a conductor? But I supported Elya.
Firstly, the child dreamed, and received the fulfillment of desire, and this is already very important.
Secondly, additional employment in a serious matter will never be superfluous.
Thirdly, the work of the circle, the cooperation of children, all-round development, and not just the railway slope, are very well organized. Children are united by a common cause.
Fourthly, children learn to work seriously. In practice, they begin to understand what it means to fulfill their duties, to go to work.
Fifth, they become independent. After all, literally getting to the place of employment or work is often independent movement around the city. And real work with a load of responsibility adds to this quality.
Sixthly, children get acquainted with the internal structure of such a complex mechanism as a railway, expand their horizons.
Seventh, they learn a profession. Not much is not enough, of course, after the Children's Railway they won't be hired as a driver right away, but all graduates easily enter the railway. Those who want to connect their lives with rails and trains receive a base. And many of them reach heights in a real career - the heads of departments of the Belarusian Railways, the authorities of the Minsk metro, honored machinists.
Eighth, children acquire and develop such qualities as attentiveness, caution, punctuality, accuracy, patience, and endurance. After all, on the ChRW everything is strictly to the minute, all documents are according to the rules, all clothes are brand new, sometimes the work is monotonous, requiring increased attention, sometimes the work is uncomfortable and not the most pleasant, but you need to do it.
In addition, all employees of the Children's Railways have the privileges of railway employees, for example, free travel in commuter trains. And, of course, relatives of children are allowed free train travel).
Our Arthur is already preparing to replace Ellina on the children's railway. After all, he even dreams of being a subway train driver, so he definitely needs to attend such a circle. For now, we're just traveling around and seeing Ali and her friends work for a bit.

Every child has a favorite toy. Sometimes a toy becomes the "blue dream" of a lifetime, not always available, but forever loved. In the USSR, a toy railway became such a dream for many.

The toy began to go on sale around 1955 and lasted about 15 years. Until 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 "Children's World" or "Dom toys." Most often, the road was bought by budgetary organizations of children's creativity - houses, clubs and circles of young technicians.

For the first time on the shelves of the Central Baku department store I saw "Pioneer" in the summer of 1958. I remember that with difficulty I was able to get closer to see the sparkling green cars and the bright blue diesel locomotive. To one side was the most beautiful railway station in the world, with benches for waiting trains and ticket windows. On the other side - a booth with a pipe, a traffic light, a crossing, a bridge ...

Older children were especially delighted, they almost completely blocked the view of the curiosity for us, the little ones!

It must be said right away that in September 1958 I was supposed to hit the first round date - 10 years! I also note that we were children not spoiled with toys, especially technical ones.

On another summer vacation Sunday, our family was walking around the city and, of course, by hook or by crook I dragged everyone to the cherished department store. 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 an older brother, who turned 23 in the spring. They removed me by force, but he stayed and suddenly suggested: "Let's chip in and buy this very railway for our brother for the 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 that even implemented the idea of ​​auto-blocking, which had just appeared on a large railway! It is for this reason that the path itself was three-rail.

With a broad gesture, the brother laid out 6 rubles! Mom, shaking her head disapprovingly, nevertheless scraped 10 rubles in her purse. And the father, sighing and scratching his head, silently took out 20 rubles from a thick bundle and put them in a common cauldron! I stood without breathing. Really today this wonderful railway will be at our house!

For some reason, we were sent to the basement along the side stairs for 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 complexities 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 launched immediately. For example, there was a lot of uncertainty in the installation of electrical wires and terminals. It seems that everything is visible in the drawings, clear and understandable, there are markings on the wires and terminals, the veins are all colored, and when you start collecting in reality, it doesn’t work right away ... Some pages of the instructions are given according to the original.

It took about an hour to assemble the rails for the first time. Fortunately, all the lashes are numbered. In total, there were 7 straight rail sections and 16 curves (the instructions say - radius). I was struck by the automatic closing of barriers at the train's approach to the crossing and the appearance of a switchman from the checkpoint booth. At the same time, a bright green lantern lit up in his hands. The station attendant on the platform famously raised a green flag and held it up to the very passage of the train ... It's a miracle, even the lights were on in the passenger cars!

When, in the end, the railway was launched, there was a quiet delight of all relatives, well, there’s no need to talk about me!

The rolling stock consisted of an IS-51 locomotive (Joseph Stalin - 1951) with an axle formula 2-(1 + 1) -2, two passenger and one covered cars, as well as an open platform. The motor bogie had an ultra-modern group electric drive through an articulated gear train. The heavy body of the locomotive relied 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 descent, which, however, did not affect the further movement of the train ... until the first switch! If you thought that it was here that the derailment took place, then you are deeply mistaken, no, on the turnouts the wheels themselves jumped onto the rails. Why not modern "frogs"!

And in the event of a descent or any other short circuit, after a couple of seconds, the protection worked and a bright red light on the central control panel turned on! The restoration of the circuit was possible only after the cooling of the bimetallic plate and, of course, the elimination of the derailment or short circuit.

All these innovations brought my brother and me into indescribable ecstasy: perfect protection against short circuits, smooth speed control, reliable three-digit auto-blocking, illumination of the path with searchlights of the locomotive, and turnouts and crossings with separate lights. Bright festive lighting of the station, light at the box office. To my great regret, a commutator AC traction motor was used on the locomotive-electric locomotive, which did not allow remote reversing. It was possible to change the direction of movement only with a switch located in an inconvenient place on the motor bogie under the body skirt.

I was also fascinated by the automatic coupler, which made it possible to connect the cars without my participation. The figure shows the coupling of two passenger cars. But there were problems with the 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 got a little boring, I made a dead-end station. Often in the summer he took out the box and laid out the road 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 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 passenger cars and the auxiliary hand brake of the locomotive were made, which protruded from the window of the assistant driver.

Of course, the sprawl of the decomposed railway did not allow it to be left on the floor for a long time. Collected, played - carefully disassemble, fold and slide the box under the table. The family used a weekly incentive: if there were no triples in the report card, then it was allowed to lay out the road on Sunday ... How I didn’t want to collect it in the evening, put it in a box !!

And one more thing to pay attention to: after the game, I was smeared from head to toe in machine oil and some soot. Isn't this the ultimate dream of a guy who dreamed of devoting his life to a real railway!