Has anybody seen any Russian HO rolling stock? I recall once seeing > a tank car or something similar in a Finnish layout, but have never > seen any other ie passenger etc. I would like to do something along > the lines of a Trans-Siberian sometime, preferably with a P-36 steam > locomotive, but in years of hoping someone will come out with one, I > have yet to have this dream realised.
That is fascinating, I guess though I am rather amazed that Marklin has not picked up a Russian train set in it's lines. I have one of the videos that was produced right after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it is fascinating, because the film crew was travelling on steam excursions, through numerous rail yards that still had hundreds of steam locomotives that were being held in "strategic reserve" A group of Brits are said to have purchased one of the 4-8-4 P36 Locomotives with the intention of bringing it to Britain, however I do not know if that project ever came to fruition.
Actually there is quite considerable number of Russian cars and locos being produced in Russia, Latvia, Finland and Germany. I think there still could be some problem with steam locos (most of the models are hand made, thus expensive and difficult to find), but you can easily find boxcars and flatcars (Konka, Russia and Modela, Latvia), refrigerators (Modela, Latvia and older Piko, East Germany), tankcars (Feniks, Latvia), gondolas (SGM, Latvia and Aigars Klavins, Latvia) and passenger cars (Sachsenmodelle, Germany and Kursk, Russia). Once there had also been produced beautiful DMU set (DR-1a, 4 passenger cars, 2 of them powered, Sokol, Russia), but now it is dicsontinued though can be found in Moscow for around 150 USD. Among locos I would mention diesels TEP-10 (Kursk, Russia), M62 (various conversions from BR120, older Piko, Germany) and beautiful TEM-1 (Modellhouse, Russia) - I suppose the prototype was made 'with the help' of some American diesel design :) There is also Ov steam engine in H0 around (Kursk, Russia). You may want to search what Russian stock is available for sale online
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With best regards, Sun Cheek Moscow, Russia
P.S. My photoalbum of my Russian theme H0 collection (sorry, the descriptions are all in Russian):
Actually Russian H0 is not 17.5 but standard 16.5 mm according to the international conventions which prescribe 1:87 scale and 16.5 mm gauge for models of prototypes with 1435-1676 mm gauge.
Maerklin did a single run version of it's BR 50 in Russian guise a couple of years ago. It had a large headlight and a star on the smokebox door. From memory they had a train to run behind it.
those steam engines were more than 'strategic' reserve. When the Ukraine was having trouble paying its energy bills in the early 1990's, they were using their steam engines for yard service in some cities.
Subject: Re: Russian HO??? From: "Scottishmoney" snipped-for-privacy@charter.net Date: 1/31/2004 6:45 AM Eastern Standard Time Message-id:
That is fascinating, I guess though I am rather amazed that Marklin has not picked up a Russian train set in it's lines. I have one of the videos that was produced right after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it is fascinating, because the film crew was travelling on steam excursions, through numerous rail yards that still had hundreds of steam locomotives that were being held in "strategic reserve" A group of Brits are said to have purchased one of the 4-8-4 P36 Locomotives with the intention of bringing it to Britain, however I do not know if that project ever came to fruition.
Folks, I'm told that the Feb. issue of the British magazine 'Continental Modeller' has an article in it on 'de-Americianising' the Bachmann 2-10-0 back to a Russian Yea class. Most Yea's worked in the Russian Far East, so unlikely to have been seen much in European Russia. Could 'de-Americainising' be considered by the FBI as an 'un-American' activity? Take care, they're out there! Regards, Bill.
Thanks, Mark! Sorry, never heard of _any_ commercially produced narrow gauge models of Russian prototypes. Those few modelers who like NG here usually model with, I guess, BEMO (german prototypes).
Thanks again, Mark, great pictures (and I think maybe the first color photos in the world?). Actually I already have copies of almost all of them from that very site. You know, sometimes it is so nostalgic to know how (nice) your country looked hundred years ago (oops, getting OT :)).
With best regards, Sun Cheek Moscow, Russia
Hello, Mark! You wrote on Mon, 02 Feb 2004 17:51:19 +1100:
MN> On a related note, have you ever visited this site?
MN>
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MN> If not, you will probably find it very interesting, I reckon.
MN> All the best,
With best regards, Sun Cheek. E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@No.spam.suncheek.tk
To "Sun Creek" - I've enjoyed your postings in this thread. In my rail travels in Russia on business a few years ago (Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok - Komsomolsk na Amure), I enjoyed observing the rail equipment. My impression riding in sleepers is that they were perhaps 6" to 12" wider than US equipment (10'), but about the same length (70' to 80') and height (13' 6"). The box cars (closed vans) seemed to be about the same size as US - about 45' long and the same height and width as the passenger stock. Most of all, I remember feeling that the standard recent tank cars were much larger in diameter than typical US cars, and being awed by their size when a train of them rushed through the commuter station where I was waiting outside Vladivostok. Can you provide some basic dimensions, or refer me to a source that might have basic plans or dimensions for standard Russian rolling stock? GQ
I can say having travelled back and forth across Ukraine on the train a couple of years ago I thought the sleeper cars were quite comfortable. You can buy the whole compartment, I think for the 7 of use from Odesa to Kyiv cost $45 each way, so it is cheap. I thought the hot tea in the morning was a welcome site. There is nothing like waking in the morning and looking out the window at the endless rolling fields of sunflower plants. For some reason, and I think it maybe the same in Russia, still they continue to run the passenger trains at night which maybe a holdover from the USSR days.
I watched the Trans-Siberian trains in the Khabarovsk Oblast when I was there a few years ago, I wanted to travel to Irkutsk and Ozero Baikal but ran out of time... Besides events several thousand miles west in Moskva were making me think it was time to go home, ie August of 1991. I would really like to travel across Russia via P-36 Powered 4-8-4 Steam.
- The largest photogallery and information collection on xUSSR railroads (the site should have english text as the author lives in USA),
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- Haven't checked this for a while, but some time ago there happened to be a scanned catalogue of all prototype rolling stock (dimensions, weights, main usage of boxcars, tankcars, gondolas, hoppers and special cars, e.g. for auto and sheet steel transportation). I guess I have a copy of this site at home, so you can contact me by email (remove obvious nospam) for some specific info (I can send you drawings with some comments).
With best regards, Sun Cheek Moscow, Russia
You wrote on Mon, 02 Feb 2004 19:57:37 GMT:
To "Sun Creek" - I've enjoyed your postings in this thread. In my rail travels in Russia on business a few years ago (Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok - Komsomolsk na Amure), I enjoyed observing the rail equipment. My impression riding in sleepers is that they were perhaps 6" to 12" wider than US equipment (10'), but about the same length (70' to 80') and height (13' 6"). The box cars (closed vans) seemed to be about the same size as US - about 45' long and the same height and width as the passenger stock. Most of all, I remember feeling that the standard recent tank cars were much larger in diameter than typical US cars, and being awed by their size when a train of them rushed through the commuter station where I was waiting outside Vladivostok. Can you provide some basic dimensions, or refer me to a source that might have basic plans or dimensions for standard Russian rolling stock? GQ
With best regards, Sun Cheek. E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@No.spam.suncheek.tk
Scottishmoney wrote on Mon, 2 Feb 2004 17:12:27 -0500:
S> For some reason, and I think it maybe the same in Russia, still S> they continue to run the passenger trains at night which maybe a S> holdover from the USSR days.
Wow! What's wrong in running passenger trains at night? :) I guess it would take much longer to get from Moscow to Khabarovsk by train travelling only in daytime ;-)
With best regards, Sun Cheek. E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@No.spam.suncheek.tk
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