Russian Railway Museum

In 1974, the trade union and the management of the Oktyabrskaya Railway decided to establish a museum for the employees of the enterprise. The first exhibition opened in 1978 and was located in the centre of Leningrad, on Liteyny Avenue. Later a small group of enthusiastic railway workers proposed to preserve the historical rolling stock pieces. Their proposal was met by the railway management that provided a site in the southern outskirts of the city to store and repair locomotives and carriages. The museum in Shushary opened for public in 1991, and the nearby commuter rail station "16-th kilometer" used by visitors to reach the museum was renamed to "Parovozny Muzey" ("Museum of Steamers"). The museum occupied 7500 square meters and possessed 40 exhibits including 18 locomotives of different kinds.{{Cite web|url=https://rzd-museum.ru/en/museum/history|title=History {{!}} Museum {{!}} Russian Railway Museum|website=rzd-museum.ru|access-date=2019-02-05}}

In May 2001, Varshavsky railway station in St. Petersburg was closed for the scheduled passenger services and the most valuable part of the museum's collection in Shushary was placed along its platforms. In August 2001, the new site of the museum was opened for public. On 20 thousand square meters, about 80 items of historical rolling stock were put on display. Once the collection was relocated to the central part of the city, the number of visitors has sixfolded, and the museum became one of the popular places of interest of its kind. Visitors could also make a rail journey on a train pulled by a retro steamer. However, as the Varshavsky station building was provided exclusively for the commercial use, the museum had no indoor exhibition. Besides, the tracks of the former station were to be removed to free up the space for the planned residential construction. Thus in 2007-2012, the project of the new site was drawn and by late 2017 its construction was accomplished.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dbmuseum.de/museum_de/versteckt/partnermuseen/Partnermuseen-3034378|title=Russian Railway Museum, Sankt Petersburg|website=www.dbmuseum.de|access-date=2019-02-05}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.spzeitung.ru/aktuell/mit-volldampf-in-die-bahngeschichte-neues-museum-der-russischen-eisenbahn-eroeffnet.html|title=Mit Volldampf in die Bahngeschichte – neues Museum der Russischen Eisenbahn eröffnet|date=2018-02-06|website=Sankt-Petersburger Herold|language=de-DE|access-date=2019-02-05}}

On 30 October 2017, the renewed site of the Russian Railway Museum was opened in the reconstructed building of the former locomotive depot of the Baltiysky railway station.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.spb.ru/gov/otrasl/c_transport/news/123021/|title=Музей российских железных дорог открылся в Санкт-Петербурге - Администрация Санкт-Петербурга|website=www.gov.spb.ru|language=ru|access-date=2019-02-05}} It consists of indoor and outdoor exhibitions storing around 35000 historical artifacts including 118 items of rolling stock.{{Cite web|url=https://tass.ru/obschestvo/4687295|title=В Санкт-Петербурге открылся Музей железных дорог России|website=ТАСС|access-date=2019-02-05}} Being one of the biggest railway museums in Europe,{{Citation|title=В Петербурге открылся крупнейший в Европе музей железных дорог. Новости. Первый канал|url=https://www.1tv.ru/news/2017-10-30/335368-v_peterburge_otkrylsya_krupneyshiy_v_evrope_muzey_zheleznyh_dorog|language=ru|access-date=2019-02-05}} in 2019 the museum became a nominee for the European Museum of the Year Award by the European Museum Forum.{{Cite web|url=https://europeanforum.museum/annual-conference/nominations-2019/|title=Nominations 2019 — Annual conference — The European Museum of the Year Award|website=europeanforum.museum|access-date=2019-02-05}}

Most of the exhibits were previously displayed in the October Railway Museum at the former Varshavsky railway station. However, more exhibits have been added to the collection and much of the museum collection is under the roof. The whole story of railways is shown from Richard Trevithick to the present day. Two HO railway models are also present. One model is of Russia’s first passenger railway – the Tsarskoye Selo Railway and the second of Vladivostok Station. The RT-23 Molodets railway missile train and the Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 gun#1938 Railway gun TM-3-12 Railway gun are parked outside at the open exhibition area. One of the unique pieces is the TEP-80 (ТЭП-80) diesel locomotive that set the world record of diesel train speed – 271 km/h – in 1993. The museum features the first diesel locomotive built in Soviet Russia in 1924 by Lenin's decree.{{Cite web|url=https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/show//oktyabrskaya-railway-museum/|title=ERIH: Oktyabrskaya Railway Museum|website=www.erih.net|language=de|access-date=2019-02-05}} Interactive elements such as a simulator of TEP-70 (ТЭП-70) locomotive are available. The museum provides lecturing and educational facilities.{{Cite web|url=http://test.visit.iac.spb.ru/en/leisure/194464/|title=Russian railway museum|website=test.visit.iac.spb.ru|access-date=2019-02-05}}

Most of the locomotives and cars may be only watched from the outside, but there are ones that may be boarded. The environment of the museum is designed to be disabled-friendly. Full descriptions of exhibits are provided in both Russian and English. Guided tours are provided at extra charge.{{-}}

{{gallery

|title = Exhibits at the museum

|File:SO17-2413 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Steam locomotive SO17-2413

|File:Model of the Cherepanov locomotive.jpg|Model of Yefim and Miron Cherepanov's locomotive

|File:The Official Saloon Car of the Chinese Eastern Railway Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Official Saloon Car of the Chinese Eastern Railway

|File:S017-2286 outside the Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Steam locomotive S017-2286 outside the Museum

|File:Cutaway loco Er-791-81 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Cutaway Russian locomotive class Er 791-81

|File:Cutaway loco Er-791-81 showing the pit for viewing the underside.jpg|Er 791-81 showing the pit for viewing the underside

|File:SOm17-1137 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Steam locomotive SOm17-1137

|File:LV18-002 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class LV18-002

|File:9p 15387 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Industrial steam tank locomotive 9P-15387

|File:Yel 534 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class Yel 534

|File:Shch-el-1 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class shch-el-1

|File:SU 253-15 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Passenger steam locomotive Su 253-15

|File:Er 750-04 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class Er 750-04

|File:Tk3-1105 Finnish locomotive Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Finnish VR Class Tk3-1105 steam locomotive

|File:B-2023 Russian locomotive.jpg|Oil fired Tank steam locomotive b-2023. Built in 1897 by Kolomna Works

|File:TT-1770.jpg|TT-1770 a captured German Trophy. She is a re-gauged Prussian T 9.3

|File:Od-1080 Nineteenth Century Freight locomotive Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class Od-1080 a Nineteenth Century Freight locomotive

|File:Class FD20 Soviet locomotive and Fireless Locomotive No9305 Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Russian locomotive class FD 1103 steam locomotive and Fireless Locomotive No.9305

|File:S.68 Russian Railway Museum.jpg| Steam locomotive S.68, one of only 2 surviving pre-revolutionary Russian Passenger locomotives

|File:Provorny' Russia’s first main line passenger locomotive.jpg|Model of Provorny Russia’s first main line passenger locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company for the Tsarskoye Selo Railway

|File:Model Railway of Vladivostok Russian Railway Museum.jpg|Model Railway of Vladivostok

}}

• The Museum of the Moscow Railway, at Paveletsky railway station, Moscow
• Rizhsky railway station, Home of the Moscow Railway Museum
• History of rail transport in Russia
• List of railway museums (worldwide)
• Heritage railways
• List of heritage railways
• Restored trains
• Finland Station, St.Petersburg
• Emperor railway station in Pushkin town
• List of Russian steam locomotive classes
• Tsarskoye Selo Railway

{{Reflist}}

• [http://rzd-museum.ru/en The Official Museum Website]
• [http://rzd-expo.ru/museums/spb/ A further Official Museum Website]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNibfDzMn2k A drone view of the museum]
• A [http://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/russia68.htm review on the International Steam Pages] by Harvey Smith with a [http://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/russia69.htm supplement].
• [https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/show/Sites/oktyabrskaya-railway-museum/ Announcement on the European Route of Industrial Heritage site]

{{commons category|Oktyabrskaya Railway Museum}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Transport museums in Saint Petersburg

Category:Railway museums in Russia

Railways