Alma-Ata children's railway
| Alma-Ata children's railway | |
|---|---|
 Italian diesel locomotive, 2007
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| Route length: | Main route: 1.24 km, total length: 1.47 km |
| Gauge : | 750 mm ( narrow gauge ) |
The children's railway Alma-Ata ( Russian Алма-Атинская детская железная дорога , Alma-Atinskaja detskaja seleznaja doroga ) is a narrow-gauge park railway in Almaty in Kazakhstan , which was called Alma-Ata from 1921 to 1993. The main route of the 1.47 kilometer long route with a gauge of 750 mm has a length of 1.24 kilometers. It has two train stations. The line was opened on September 13, 1952 as one of the many pioneer railways in the Soviet Union and temporarily shut down on July 20, 1997. It has been back in operation as a children's attraction since 2006.
history
The pioneer organization and the Komsomol of Alma-Ata built the 1.24 km long, ring-shaped railway line, a wooden platform and a wooden station building in the Maxim Gorki Central Park for Culture and Recreation in the summer of 1952 . In the beginning there was the completely overhauled locomotive UP-40 of the type 63/65 and two self-made wooden passenger cars. The rail vehicles were replaced in 1958 by a diesel locomotive of the SŽD series ТУ2 and by three new all-metal passenger cars from the Polish Pafawag . A new building for the head of the department and the two-track Komsomolskaya station were put into operation in the same year, 1958.
In the mid-1980s, four type PV40 (PV51) cars made in Kazakhstan were procured in 1985 and the TU7A -2921 diesel locomotive in 1986 . The two points in Komsomolskaya station were equipped with electric drives in 1993 and the stations were given the new names Dostyk ( Kazakh for friendship instead of Pawlik Morosow ) and Shastar (Kazakh for youth, instead of Komsomolskaya ). In 1995 the line was equipped with locomotive radio. On January 13, 1997, the children's railway was transferred from the state railway company of Kazakhstan Temir Scholy to the city of Gorky Park, which shut it down on July 20, 1997 for reasons of cost. Within a month, the locomotive was completely vandalized, the cars were removed from the rails and used as sales pavilions.
Todays use
In 1999 Gorky Park was privatized. The tracks and one of the train stations have been partially restored. Meanwhile, an Italian diesel locomotive stylized as a steam locomotive with three open carriages is making its rounds. A pseudo tunnel was built over the route , the clearance profile of which cannot be passed through by any TU series locomotive or the PV40 wagons. Before the train enters the tunnel, it is occasionally attacked by actors disguised as Indians. In the tunnel, the train stops for a few minutes and there is a short puppet show , like a cave train . At the end of August 2001, the Dostyk station building burned down to the ground.
Cultural meaning
Russian railroad fans in particular criticize the fact that the Alma-Ata children's railroad has developed from a pioneer railroad used to train future railroaders to a normal park railroad where children only take on the role of passengers and are no longer responsible for their operation. It is the only children's railway in Kazakhstan whose future there is no need to worry about. The route is short and lies within the city park in one of the richest cities in the country. Therefore, it has a significant and stable traffic volume. As a result, it has made satisfactory profits since privatization.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Дмитрий Сутягин (Dmitri Sutjagin): Детские железные дороги СССР - История и современность: Алма-Атата. 2000-2015. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ↑ a b c С. Болашенко: АЛМА-АТИНСКАЯ ДЕТСКАЯ ЖЕЛЕЗНАЯ ДОРОГА. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
Coordinates: 43 ° 15 '28.91 " N , 76 ° 58' 7.86" E