Miller's line
{{Short description|Railway line in Russia}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width = 300px
| name = Miller's railway
| other_name =
| native_name = Железная дорога Миллера
| native_name_lang = ru
| color = 000000
| logo =
| logo_width =
| logo_alt =
| image = Miller's pier in 1913.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| image_alt =
| caption = The railway and station on the sea coast at Miller's pier
| type = Regional rail
| system =
| status = Defunct
| locale = Saint Petersburg
| start = Sestroretsk
| end = Beloostrov or Miller's pier
| stations = 3
| routes =
| daily_ridership =
| ridership2 =
| planopen =
| open = 1873
| yearcommenced =
| yearcompleted =
| close = 1886
| event1label = Succeed by
| event1 = Zavodskaya Line
| event2label =
| event2 =
| event3label =
| event3 =
| owner = Moritz von-Dezen and Michael Ivanovich Miller
| operator = Societies of the Sestroretsk railway
| character =
| depot =
| stock = Leased from Finnish State Railways
| linelength_km = 9.5
| linelength_mi =
| linelength =
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| tracks =
| gauge = {{Track gauge|1524mm|allk=on}}
| old_gauge =
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| electrification =
| speed_km/h =
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| elevation_m =
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| website =
| map = {{Miller's line|inline=1}}
| map_name =
| map_state = collapsed
| embedded =
}}
{{Infobox rail
| name = Societies of the Sestroretsk railway
| other_name = {{langx|ru|частное "Общество Сестрорецкой железной дороги"}}
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_alt =
| system_map =
| map_size =
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| map_caption =
| image = Miller Pier in 1900s.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| alt =
| caption = Miller's pier railway station
| franchise =
| nameforarea =
| regions =
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| fleet =
| stations =
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| parent_company =
| headquarters = Sestroretsk
| marks =
| locale = Saint Petersburg
| start_year = 1873
| end_year = 1886
| predecessor_line = Finnish State Railways
| successor_line = Primorskaya Railway
| gauge = {{Track gauge|1524mm|allk=on}}
| old_gauge =
| electrification =
| length = {{cvt|9.5|km|mi}}
| tracklength =
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Miller's line was a passenger railway line in Russia from 1873 to 1886, run by the Finnish State Railways. The line ran from Beloostrov to Sestroretsk, and was the site of the world's first functional electric railway.
Organisation
The private organisation Societies of the Sestroretsk Railway was established to control the railway, headed by Collegiate Assessor Moritz von-Dezen and Titular counsellor Michael Ivanovich Miller. It had been built for the military as the Sestroretsk spur line.
There were plans to build a station 3 versts (approximately 3 kilometres) from Sestroretsk, on the bank of Sestroretsk Bay, and also an additional branch line to the Tarhovsky pier, where an operational station already existed.{{cite web|url=http://terijoki.spb.ru/railway/rw_dir_sestr.php#red|last=Chepurin|first=Sergey|author2=Arkady Nikolayenko|date=May 2007|website=terijoki.spb.ru |title=Sestroretsk and Primorskaya railways(Сестрорецкая и Приморская железные дороги)|language=ru|accessdate=2009-02-21}}
Experiments with electrification
File:Sestroretsk miller rail.jpg|Place on Miller's line where Fyodor Pirotsky's first electric tram was tested
In 1875, on an area between Miller's pier and Sestroretsk rail station, the engineer Fyodor Pirotsky experimented on the adaptation of rail transport to be driven by an electrogalvanic cell. These experiments later led to a patent "For an electric way of transfer of forces on rail and other conductors", that is, for the creation of the first electric tram.
The experimental area consisted of a site with an extent of 3½ versts (3.73 km), which passed along the sand of beach for a large part of its length, with rail cars travelling distances of over one kilometre.
The system used the rails as conductors for electricity transmission; one rail carried the direct current, and the second rail functioned as a return wire. After establishing the necessary connections on the joints between the rails, the transmission of electricity was successfully carried out.
Pirotsky stated that current leakage to the earth was not appreciable, and the transfer efficiency was calculated to be acceptable. Expenses for the adaptation of existing railways to electricity transmission were determined to be insignificant – from 50 to 100 roubles per verst.
Closure
In 1877, the line operated four pairs of trains. They primarily served residents during the summer period, while in the winter they were only used by officials.
The recorded volume of patronage was very insignificant because of a disputed tariff policy of Finnish railways, and ultimately the Miller's pier station was left idle. As a result, the operators appeared to be in a disastrous financial position, and the majority of the proposed plans were left incomplete.
By the mid-1880s, the Society of the Sestroretsk railway was definitively ruined, and on January 1, 1886, the railway was closed.
See also
References
{{Commons category|Miller line}}
{{reflist}}
{{Lines seaside direction (Saint Petersburg - Sestroretsk)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller's Line}}
Category:Railway lines in Finland
Category:Railway lines in Russia
Category:Electric railways in Finland
Category:Electric railways in Russia
Category:Rail lines by company
Category:Railway lines opened in 1873
Category:Railway lines closed in 1886