Vapnjarka's TU2-180 ended its carreer in the Gajvoron main repair workshop, where it was photographed in June 1996 by Helge Harling.
Vapnjarka's TU2-180 ended its carreer in the Gajvoron main repair workshop, where it was photographed in June 1996 by Helge Harling.
The depots, where the TU2s were allocated, could of course do most of the repair and maintenance works necessary on the locomotives themselves. But there was a limit to their possibilities. For major repairs and overhauls the TU2s were send to the specialised repair workshops for narrow gauge locomotives. There were two of such workshops, situated in Orenburg (South-Ural region) and Gajvoron (Ukraine).
Very little is known about Orenburg's workshop and much more about the one in Gajvoron. The Gajvoron workshop is officially called Gajvoronskij Teplovozoremontnij Zavod (GTZ). It opened in the 1930's and reached its present size in the late 1950s. It did not only overhaul TU2s from the state railways, but also other classes of steam and diesel locomotives from state, industrial and pioneer railways. Since 1974 GTZ has only overhauled diesel engines.
The Gajvoron workshop (GTZ) should not be confused with Gajvoron MPD. The TU2s allocated to Gajvoron MPD work on the southern supply railway (Gajvoron network), whereas the workshop overhauls TU2s allocated to different depots. (Compare this with the situation in Austria, where the main workshop of the Austrian State Railways and the depot of the narrow gauge Mariazellerbahn are both coincidentally located at St.Pölten Alpenbahnhof). The Gajvoron workshop is connected to the Gajvoron narrow gauge network, which makes it possible to perform trial runs on the line. As far as known, the Orenburg workshop did not have such a facility.
GTZ overhauled the TU2s running on various lines in the European part of the Soviet Union. But the workshop in Orenburg also overhauled European TU2s. At least TU2s from the Baltic republics have been send to Orenburg, which is a distance of roughly 2000 km. In the 1960s the Baltic TU2s were also send to the workshop in Daugavpils (Latvia) and also one year to Vilnius (Lithuania). An overview of the TU2s overhauled by the Daugavpils Locomotive Repair Workshop (DLRZ) in 1963-1965 can be found on a seperate page. Since 1969 all TU2s, including those from the Baltic republics, were overhauled at the GTZ workshop in Gajvoron.
The former head of Paneve˛ys MPD remembers that a TU2 was transported to the workshop, accompanied by representatives from the depot. A few months later the representatives from the depot travelled to Orenburg or Gajvoron again in order to take their loco 'back home' (and maybe bring other locos to be overhauled).
It was easy to recognise a recently overhauled TU2. It was a habit of GTZ to paint the locomotives in a light blue livery instead of in the traditional dark green. This is the same colour as the livery of the class TU4 diesel locomotives.
TU2s in the light blue 'workshop-livery' have turned up all over the (former) Soviet Union. In more recent years such locos have been observed in Gajvoron (TU2-179 and 263), Novopoltavka (TU2-274), Antonovka (TU2-062), Teresva (TU2-268), Ni˛nij Tagil (TU2-046 and 260), Tula (TU2-240); Tumskaja (TU2-226 and 237), Bulaevo (TU2-160) as well as in Atbasar. The depots which received light blue TU2s normally seem to have repainted the TU2s in their original dark green livery after some time (during regular maintenance works or small overhauls).
In the 1980's the costs for overhauling a diesel locomotive in one of the main repair workshops increased. Therefore Paneve˛ys MPD started to overhaul their own TU2s. The staff of the depot stayed in close contact to the main workshops, which made it possible for them to acquire the necessary diesel engines and other spare parts. Soon Paneve˛ys MPD did not only repair its own locomotives but also those of other state and industrial railways in the Baltic States. It is likely that other larger depots also started to work as a regional repair workshop. At least this could be confirmed in the case of the workshop of the Alapaevsk forestry railway in Russia.
In 1982 Niznij Tagil's TU2-046 was overhauled by the Gajvoron main repair workshop.
Photo: P. Klaus.
As recent as in April 1996 no less than 33 diesel locomotives were observed at the GTZ Gajvoron workshop. But now that most narrow gauge lines are closed, there is no future for a narrow gauge repair workshop. In order to survive, GTZ is repositioning itself as a repair workshop for broad gauge diesel locomotives. In May 2003 no narrow gauge locos were found inside the workshop. Also, the narrow gauge track to the depot of the Gajvoron network was replaced by a broad gauge one.
Three TU2s on the premisses of GTZ in June 1996: Starting on the left TU2-191 from the St.Petersburg pioneer railway, TU2-060 from the closed MPS-system of Shilda and finally one more unidentified TU2.
Photo: Helge Harling.
To date the latest TU2 from the Ukrainian state railways to be overhauled by the Gajvoron workshop is TU2-066 from the Antonivka system. It is seen here during the overhaul in November 2002.
Photo: A. Roosma.
TU2-144 from the Zaporozhe pioneer railway (Ukraine) on the premissess of the workshop in 2002.
Photo: A. Roosma.
