Nowadays, the tram is one of the most beloved and popular types of public transport, not only in Russia but throughout the world. And this is not surprising. By tram you can comfortably and quickly get to your destination, avoiding standing in huge traffic jams.
You can learn about the history of the tram and see the very first tram cars that transported passengers many years ago by visiting the tram museum. About some of them - in our review.
Museum in Kolomna
In mid-February 2016, the Tram Museum in Kolomna was opened in the Forge Sloboda complex. The place to create the museum was not chosen by chance. Kolomna is the only city in the Moscow region where tram traffic is carried out. In addition, it is the birthplace of the first electric tram, which was created at the Kolomensky plant.
The collection of the Tram Museum in Kolomna includes tram cars not only from Russia. Here are models from all over the world, there are exhibits from the UK and even Japan. Each model presented in the museum is an exact copy of real trams. In addition, the museum presents photographs of old and modern wagons. Recently, the collection was supplemented by a photograph of the very first electric tram of the beginning of the last century. The museum plans to recreate the historical tram from which the history of the tram movement in Kolomna began, using an old photograph.
Museum in St. Petersburg
The first museum in the oldest tram park in the city was opened in September 1967 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the launch of the first tram in St. Petersburg. The museum is located on the territory of the former tram depot number 2 on Vasilyevsky Island. The collection consists of 45 tram cars and 18 trolley buses. Some exhibits are still on the move and take an active part in city parades, filming and excursions.
In 2010, the doors of the museum of trams and trolleybuses were open for free access. The main advantage of the museum is that it is fully interactive. Almost all exhibits are genuine examples of technology from different years. Museum guests have the opportunity to inspect the wagons from the outside, visit the inside and even ride the tram of the last century. Museum workers are making every effort to ensure that the history of urban electric transport is not forgotten, and also strive to form a positive attitude towards transport through a story about the history of the development of tram traffic in the country.
A great contribution to the development of the museum is made by volunteers who are actively working to find and restore new exhibits for the museum exhibition. In recent years, the museum began to gain more and more popularity and receives a large number of tourists not only from Russia.
The Tram Museum in St. Petersburg offers services that allow you to rent an old tram or trolley for organizing a thematic city tour, celebrating a birthday, graduation or even a wedding.
Museum tours in St. Petersburg
You can see the museum as part of the excursion group on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00. Independent visits to the museum are possible on tickets from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. Monday and Tuesday are days off. The cost of a ticket for adult visitors is 300 rubles, a discount ticket costs 100 rubles.
After visiting the exposition, you can ride a small route on an old tram. The cost of one circle is 160 rubles for an adult visitor, 100 rubles for children.
Helsinki Museum
The first tram tracks appeared in Helsinki in 1890. Initially, the city had two routes. As the capital expanded, new tram tracks appeared, and this type of ground transportation became the most beloved for the residents of Helsinki. Moving along the old route, you can quickly get to any part of the city. In addition, while traveling through the cozy streets you can enjoy the beauty of the city.
The Helsinki Tram Museum is part of the city museum complex, located on Eino Leino Street. Entrance to the museum is free. The exposition includes 6 old tram cars.
Museum guests have the opportunity to go into each of the cars of the presented trams and feel like passengers traveling through the old city. You can even try on the role of the driver, sitting in the driver's seat.
One of the exhibits is a Finnish tram built in 1941 in yellow-green colors. Trams of this color still run in the capital of Finland.
In the museum hall you can see a tram that traveled around the city until 1940, and was also used during the 1952 Olympics, held in Helsinki.
The most significant exhibit of the exhibition is a rare tram, launched in 1890.
In the Helsinki Tram Museum, you can see the shape of tram drivers from the last century. A strict coat, trousers and beret of gray color look very solid. However, a playful shirt of a bright blue color with a white pattern was worn under a coat.
The museum displays a map of the city's tram tracks. Above the map there are signs with numbers and routes that were removed from the old trams.
For the convenience of guests, a multimedia projector is installed near each tram, telling about this model of transport. Information is presented in several languages.
The museum has information stands where you can take a booklet about the museum for free and read in detail about each exhibit.
Museum in Nizhny Novgorod
The oldest tram system in Russia is Nizhny Novgorod, the first tram in the city was launched in May 1896.
At that time, 4 different tram systems were opened in the city, which belonged to three different owners, and the lines of different owners differed in the gauge.
The first tram cars were called Oerlikon and were open cars, which were very light and often turned over. Passengers had to lift them with their own hands to continue the journey.
Museum exposition in Nizhny Novgorod
Today the tram Oerlikon is the oldest exhibit in the museum.
In the Tram Museum in Nizhny Novgorod you can see such unique exhibits as 8 tram cars that were used on urban routes of the 19th century. In total, in the Nizhny Novgorod Electric Transport Museum, located on the territory of tram depot No. 1 in the open air, you can see 9 trams and 2 trolley buses.
There is even a horse drawn tram car. Among the exhibits of the museum, one can single out the first domestic tram, which was produced from 1906 to 1941. The museum collection has a tram issued by the Nizhny Novgorod, Leningrad and Riga foreign plants. All cars can be viewed both from the outside and from the inside. Almost all of the museum exhibits are on track and have come here on their own.
Anyone who wants to learn as much information as possible about Nizhny Novgorod trams can pre-book a guided tour with a qualified guide.
The museum is located on the outskirts of the city and is not very popular with tourists. It works on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 to 16:30.
Museum in Moscow
In Moscow, on the territory of the Bauman tram depot, a museum of urban passenger transport has been organized, which contains restored samples of equipment from past centuries. It should be noted that all cars are still functioning and entered the museum on their own, which gives the collection special significance.
Every year, the exhibits of the Tram Museum in Moscow participate in various thematic exhibitions, runs, cultural events, as well as parades, and even take part in filming movies. In addition to trams, in the museum’s exposition you can see various brands of cars and trucks, taxis, buses and trolleybuses that transported passengers along the capital streets many years ago.
