TU2-092 hauling four Pafawags in August 2004.
Photo: Michael Friedrich.
This pioneer railway is called the Small Južno-Ural railway. It opened on 31 August 1949 and is situated in the Sheršnevskom forest near Cheljabinsk. Eventually, the line had a length of 5.7 km.
Four TU2's have worked on the line: TU2-028, TU2-084 and TU2-189 were probably acquired in the late 1950s already. They were originally supplied to the Virgin lands railways. Since 1990 also ex-Bulaevo's TU2-160 has run in Cheljabinsk.
In 1995 the railway closed. But in 1997 it reopened. Nowadays 2.3 km of the line is again operational. The motive power fleet still consists of TU2-208, TU2-084, TU2-160 and TU2-189.
In 1971 a pioneer parade park was opened on the bank of the Chitinki River in Chita. On 2 September 1971 a pioneer railway was opened in this park. The line is 6 km long.
A large part of the rolling stock originated from the Zabaikal railway (Margutsek MPD), which closed approximately 1970-1972. From this railway the Chita pioneer railway obtained the diesel locomotives TU2-069 and TU2-208, twelve Pafawag passenger coaches and 21 freight wagons. In addition, Panevežys MPD in Lithuania handed over TU2-122 in 1972/1973.
Nowadays the railway uses two TU2's (122 and 208) and two modern TU7A's (3199 and 3214). TU2-069 has been transferred to the Svobodnij pioneer railway in 1995/1996.
Ekatarinaburg (Sverdlovsk) pioneer railway
The town of Sverdlovsk, nowadays again known as Ekatarinaburg, opened its pioneer railway on 9 July 1960. The line has a lenght of 2.4 km.
When opened, the railway posessed 8 Pafawag passenger coaches and diesel engine TU2-092. This loco was originally supplied to the Virgin Lands railways, where it probably never worked.
In the course of time, two more diesel locomotive came to Ekatarinaburg. In 1973 TU2-141 was acquired from Estonia. In 2000 the railway acquired TU2-236 from the closed MPS-line at Tula. Nowadays all 3 locomotives are in working condition. Aropund 2000 the rolling stock had a red-white livery.
By 2004 the trains were painted in a nice classic red and yellow livery. They were composed of a TU2 and four Pafawag coaches.
TU2-092 hauling four Pafawags in August 2004.
Photo: Michael Friedrich.
In August 2004 TU2-141 was found dumped in the open air. It is unclaer if it is still operational.
Photo: Michael Friedrich.
Already in 1939 a pioneer railway opened in Irkutsk. The line was of cource operated with steam engines.
The first diesel in Irkutsk was TU2-228, which was acquired in 1959 directly from the factory. In 1973-1976 Panevežys MPD handed over TU2-053.
Meanwhile, the pioneer railway was swallowed up by the ever more expanding city of Irkutsk. Already in the 1960s it was planned to move the pioneer railway to another location. Eventually it was decided to built a new pioneer railway near the city centre, on two islands in the River Angara.
The new line is 3 km long and opened on 2 August 1992. It works daily from 1 May until the end of August, except on Thursdays and Fridays. The trains are hauled by one of the TU2's or by TU7-2925. Originally the locos had different colors, but now are all painted blue.
TU2-228 in Irkutsk in 1993. In the background TU7A-2925. Photo: Marcel Schuring.
TU2-228 and TU2-053 in Irkutsk on 13 May 2006. The locos appear to be in an excellent condition. TU2-053 has recently been painted in a modern livery.
Photo: Kristof Avonds.
A complete blue train hauled by TU2-228 and composed of 4 type PV51 passenger coaches on 13 May 2006.
Photo: Kristof Avonds.
The Small Sakhalin railway is located in the capitol town of the Isle of Sakhalin, Južno-Sakhalinsk. It was opened on 6 June 1954 and has a length of 2.2 km.
Originally steam locos and an industrial class TU2M diesel locomotive worked on the line. Probably around 1960 TU2-029 was acquired. The loco was originally intended for the Virgin Lands Railways in Kazakhstan. The second TU2 to come to the Isle of Sakhalin was TU2-127. It worked on the Tula system until approximately 1972. In Južno-Sakhalinsk it probably replaced the class TU2M (which was still operational in 1966).
Today normally TU7-2628 is used. Also TU2-127 is probably still in working condition. It was still used in the early 1990s and observed in the shed in September 2000. At that time also TU2-029 was still present inside the Južno-Sakhalinsk shed, but by then it was probably not operational anymore.
Kratovo pioneer railway
The official opening of the Small Leninist Railway (now called Small Moscow Railway) took place on 2 May 1937. By 1947 the railway had a length of 4 km. In the early 1960s the pioneer railway worked the whole year round. But soon afterwards the operation was restricted to the normal summer holiday period (May - August).
The railway has used class TU2's since 1957. In that year the brand-new TU2-078 was supplied to Kratovo. It has worked alongside a class Rp steam engine for 15 years. Only in 1972, when TU2-129 had obtained, the Small Moscow Railway was fully dieselised. This loco has worked on the Tula system until 1969.
On July 9th 1988 TU2-129 was in service on the Kratovo pioneer railway.
Photo: Mehis Helme.
In the mid-1990s two modern class TU7 diesel engines were supplied to Kratovo (TU7-2728 and 2729). These locos were not very beloved, because their long nose restricted the view over the tracks. This was especially a problem in the narrow curves of the Kratovo pioneer railway.
Until today, both TU2's have remained in service. TU7-2728 is also still operational. But TU7-2729 has been dumped in the late 1990s already. Its still relatively new diesel engine has been used to replace TU2-129's old 1D12 Bernaul diesel engine. It also delivers spare part to keep the other TU7 running.
In 2004/2005 TU2-078 was overhauled and reconstructed. TU2-129 followed in 2005/2006. The front of the cabs is modernised and now only has one large window instead of the two typical small "backward leaning" windows. Also the side windows have been enlarged to provide more light in the engine room. Pictures of the reconstructed TU2-078 and TU2-129 are published on railfaneurope.net
A video of the reconstructed TU2 can be found on YouTube.
The city of Kurgan did not open a pioneer railway until 13 August 1989. The 1500 metres long line runs on a small island in the city centre. The entire rolling stock originates from the MPS-line Bulaevo- Molodogvardejskaja in Kazakhstan, which closed in 1988/1989. The Kurgan pioneer railway obtained TU2-047, TU2-159 and 3 Pafawag class 3Aw passenger coaches. TU2-159 is in working order and TU2-047 is used to supply spare parts.
The Small Far-Eastern pioneer railway opened on 19 May 1958 and had a length of 3.3 km. Originally the line was steam operated.
Dieselisation took place only in 1968, when TU2-001 was taken into service. Its prior allocation is not known. TU2-243 was obtained from Panevežys MPD in Lithuania in 1973.
In 1970 TU2-001 was send to the broad-gauge depot of Khabarovsk for repairs. Apparently, this depot also overhauled narrow gauge locos for other pioneer railways. After it's overhaul, TU2-001 was send to the Svobodnij pioneer railway, instead of back to its original owner, the Khabarovsk pioneer railway. Another, thusfar unknown TU2, which was probably being overhauled at the same time, was handed over to the Khabarovsk pioneer railway instead. This loco was renumbered TU2-001". The original TU2-001 in Svobodnij kept it's original number, so since 1970 there have been two locos with number TU2-001.
TU2-001" and TU2-243 remained in service on the Khabarovsk pioneer railway until the late 1980s. In 1987 the new diesel locomotives TU7-2611 and 2612 were taken into service, which soon replaced the old TU2s.
In the city of Gorki, now known as Nižnij Novgorod, a pioneer railway opened on 8 November 1939 already. The line was 11 km long and is nicknamed Small Gorki Railway. In 1966 a large part of the line had to make place for new appartment buildings. Only a 1500 metres short section remained in service. In 1991 the line was reconstructed to a triangular system with a total length of 4 km. Today the Small Gorki railway is still operational.
TU2-155 was supplied to the pioneer railway in 1958. Later, probably already in 1959, TU2-233 was added to the motive power fleet. Remarkably, after the arrival of the diesels, the railway has kept using steam engine Kp4-430 until today, though nowadays it is only used for special occasions, such as the opening of the season. More recently, also TU7-2567 was supplied to the Niznij Novorod pioneer railway. But until today both TU2's have remained in regular service.
Both TU2s of the Niznij Novogorod pioneer, photographed in 1988 by Mehis Helme.
The MPS opened this pioneer railway on 26 May 1955. Basically, it is a 2km long circle railway with 3 stations, situated in the city park.
Steam engines 159-556 and GR-211 worked on the railway until 1970. In that year steam was replaced by diesel locomotives TU2-241 (ex-Tula) and CKD's TU3-003 (ex-Panevežys). The TU3 was replaced by TU2-126 in 1971 already. This engine previously worked in Lithuania.
First, the TU2's had the normal dark green livery. Nowadays TU2-241 has a blue-red livery. TU2-126 probably received its present-day light blue livery following an overhaul at the Gajvoron main repair workshop. Both engines still have the red communist star on the front of the cabins.
In 2001 TU2-033 was obtained from the closed Tula system. It has not been observed in service; maybe it is used to deliver spare parts to keep both other TU2's running.
On the south bank of the River Ural in Orenburg a pioneer railway was opened in 1953. The line is 6 km long. Amongst others, the line was used as a means of transportation to the many pioneer camps situated along the River Ural.
In 1958 the original rolling stock was replaced by TU2-083, TU2-086 and 8 Pafawag passenger coaches. These are said to have been acquired from from the Virgin Lands Development Railway of Šilda, which - at that time - also fell under the MPS Orenburg railway region. In the 1980s also TU2-008 came to Orenburg. It worked on the Alapaevsk forestry railway until 1982.
After the political revolution of 1991, the pioneer railway has litterly fallen apart. Most station buildings have been destroyed by fire or have simply collapsed. But until today, the line has remained in service. Working locomotives are TU2-008 and TU2-086. TU2-083 has been cut many years ago already.
This line is situated in a forest area on the outskits of the city of Penza, near the suburb of Sosnovka. The system consists of a 2 km long straight line with two stations. It opened in 1985. The railway works on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 May until the end of September.
The rolling stock consists of TU2-188, TU2-195 and four class PV51 passenger coaches. The locomotives were obtained form Shilda and Atbasar and were first overhauled by the Gajvoron main repair workshop.
The Small North-Caucasian Railway opened on 9 November 1940. The 4 km long circular railway runs through the Ostrovskogo Park. Two TU2's work on the Rostov pioneer railway. TU2-173 has probably been running in Rostov since 1958. The other big diesel, TU2-152, was obtained from the Valmiera system (Latvia) in 1973 or 1974.
Leningrad's (St.Petersburg) pioneer railway opened in 1948. The Small October Railway runs through the Novo-Orlovskij Park, in the northeast of the city. When opened, it was 8 km long and used different class PT4 and VP1 war reparations steam locomotives. These continued to work even after TU2-167 was obtained from the Kaluga factory in 1958.
In 1965 the line was shortened to a 3 km short section. Also, all old rolling stock, except the TU2, was dumped and replaced by two class TU3 diesel locomotives and Pafawag passenger coaches. The TU3's (numbers 001 and 002) have been the regular motive power on the pioneer railway since 1965. TU2-167 became the reserve locomotive and has hardly been used.
In 1980 Leningrad's motive power fleet consisted of TU2-167 and both TU3s visible in the background.
Photo: Mehis Helme.
It became more and more difficult to keep the TU3's running due to a lack of spare parts. As a replacement TU2-060 and TU2-191 could be obtained from the Silda system, which closed approximately 1982. The TU3's were taken out of service in 1985 and 1989. Afterwards a standardised locomotive fleet consisting of TU2-060, 167 and 191 remained.
In the 1990s the railway has been radically reconstructed. The southern part is closed and a new line has been build to the northwest. Since 1999 the pioneer railway starts at the Beregovaja broad gauge station, which has been converted to dual gauge (750mm and 1520mm) for this purpose. The locomotives have received a nice red-white livery. The PV51 coaches are red.
TU2-191 was to be overhauled by the main repair workshop in Gajvoron (Ukraine), but it never returned due to problems at the Ukrainian/Russian border. But in 2003 it turned up in Daugavpils (Lithuania). Indeed, the St.Petersburg pioneers did not have much luck with their TU2's. On 30 May 2002 vandals set TU2-060 on fire. It burned out completely and might never run again. (Though it still preserved). So now TU2-167 is the only locomotive of the St.Petersburg pioneer railway. It works Wednesdays to Saturdays from May - August.
The Small Zabaikal Railway is the pioneer railway of the town of Svobodnij. This is one of the important stations on the Transsiberian Railway (km 7818), between Irkutsk and Khabarovsk. However, its pioneer railway started at the station of Michajlo-Chesnokovskaja, 5 km further down the Transsiberian Railway. The pioneer railway runs via the State Farm of Svobodnij to pioneer camps near the village of Bardagon. The line was 11 km long and was built 1940-1951.
TU2-044 has been working on the Svobodnij pioneer railway since approximately 1958. In that year the loco was transferred from the Karaganda Railway Region in Kazakhstan to the Zabaikal Railway Region, which is responsible for the Svobodnij pioneer railway. (Based on documents of the Daugavpils workshop, it has remained in stock of the Kazakhstan railways, indicating it was only loaned by the Kazakhstan railways to Svobodnij?). Around the same time a number of Pafawag passenger coaches have been supplied.
Until the early 1970s the last steam engines have gradually been replaced by TU2s. Also the TU2-fleet has undergone some changes:
In 1997 Svobodnij obtained TU2-069 from the Chita pioneer railway. This loco had been overhauled at the Gajvoron main repair workshop before it arrived in Svobodnij.
Nowadays TU2-001, TU2-069 and TU2-072 are still in Svobodnij. Of these engines, at least TU2-001 is operational.
The Small Tjumen Railway opened on 3 August 1969 and has a length of 4 km. Presumably since the opening of the line TU2-080 has worked here. It was handed over by the MPS-Orenburg region and most probably worked in Šilda before it came to Tjumen. In 1973 TU2-143 was obtained from Estonia. Both locos seem to be in Tjumen still. By 2004 the pioneer railway was in use.
In 1980 TU2-142 was obtained from Panevezys MPS. But later it turned up on the Evpatori pioneer railway.
Ufa's pioneer railway runs through the Jakutova Park. It is 2 km long and opened in 1953. Originally steam operated, it was dieselised when TU2-104 was obtained in 1959 (ex-Tselinograd railway region i.e. Kokschtav MPD?).
However, the curves were to narrow for the TU2. Hence the line was reconstructed to a minimum curve radius of 40 metres. Note that the nominal minimum curve radius of a TU2 is 50 metres, but apparently in praxis a 40-m curve could be passed - at least at low speeds! In 1961 the line was reconstructed for the second time. The curves had to be widened to 50 metres, because contrary to a TU2, the newly obtained Pafawag coaches really did require a curve radius of 50 metres.
Today the railway works almost daily from 1 May through 30 September. Annually approximately 20.000 passengers use the trains. TU2-104 is still in use but the Pafawag's have been replaced by PV40-coaches in 1991
An older pioneer poses next to the only locomotive of the Ufa pioneer railway (TU2-104). The photo was taken in July 2004 and the TU2 seems to be in a very good condition.
Photo: Michael Friedrich.
TU2-104 peeps around the corner at the depot.
Photo: Michael Friedrich.
Vladikavkas (also known as Ordžonikidze) is a town in North-Ossetia, in the Caucasian Mountains. The town's pioneer railway opened on 2 May 1968. It is just over 2 km long. When opened, the railways posessed TU2-056. This engine was obtained second-hand from an unknown location in 1967. Later also TU7A-2991 has come to the system. Both engines are still in use today.
The Volgograd (Stalingrad) pioneer railway is nicely situated on the Shore of the River Volga. The 3-km long line opened in 1948.
Originally the gauge was 600mm. But approximately in 1960 the gauge was converted to the Soviet standard of 750mm. On the new line diesel engine TU2-099, a class TU2M industrial petrol-drive locomotive and Pafawag class 3Aw passenger coaches started to work. Noticeably, the TU2 worked in Estonia until 1960.
Later two more TU2's were added to Volgograd's loco-fleet. Around 1970 Margutsek MPD (Zabaikal system) handed over TU2-040. TU2-251 was obtained from Valmiera MPD in 1974.
TU2-040 seems to have been handed over to the Donets pioneer railway ion teh Ukraine in the early 1970s already. Also, the original TU2-099 went to the Nakhichevan pioneer railway in Azerbajdzan in 1978.
TU2-251 continued to work on the pioneer railway, even after it had been moved to another location in Volgograd in 1979. Approximately in 1986 two brand-new class TU7 diesel locomotives replaced it. TU2-251 has probably been cut soon afterwards.
