The Trans-Siberian Railway was built from 1907 to 1916. Already during the project development period, it was clear that it would become a strategic road for hundreds of years, uniting the country into a single space. During the laying period, many complex engineering structures were put into operation, the bridge across the Amur became a stumbling block. Russian engineers Lavr Dmitrievich Proskuryakov and Grigory Petrovich Perederi were able to brilliantly solve this problem, using new technologies and materials for their time.
Amur miracle
The bridge project was presented in 1908 at the World Exhibition, held in Paris, where he received the Grand Prix and a gold medal, displacing the famous Eiffel Tower. Before this informed idea appeared, all bridges in the world were built of wood. The crossing bookmark took place in 1913, the work was carried out without interruption, in several shifts. The construction of the bridge cost the royal treasury 13.5 million rubles, which at the current rate is approximately 1 billion rubles.
The bridge is based on 27 supports, the total weight of metal structures is 17.8 thousand tons. It was planned to finish construction in 26 months, but the outbreak of World War I postponed the deadlines. To complete the main part of the overpass, only two farms were not enough, the merchant ship transporting them was flooded by the German fleet. New flights ordered in Canada.
The strategic object was commissioned on November 5, 1916, on the birthday of Tsarevich Alexei. Such a coincidence could not be unnoticed, therefore the bridge was named after the heir - Alekseevsky or Tsarsky.
Reconstruction
The bridge became the final link connecting the Russian Far East and the European part of Russia, opening up access to the Pacific ports. Over the years, the significance of the road only increased; the flow of trains increased. It is much easier to repair and lay a new railway track, with bridges the situation is more problematic. Any, even ingenious, engineering solutions become obsolete.
The Amur bridge of Tsarevich Alexei served in pristine condition, with periodic repairs, until the 1980s, remaining the only one-way crossing in the entire USSR. Trains reduced the speed of the section of the bridge to 40 km / h due to its decay. Over $ 800 million was spent on the reconstruction. During the period of assessing the volume of work, specialists fully appreciated the quality of construction in Tsarist Russia and the talent of engineers.
The bridge piers were freed from granite cladding and found that their margin of safety was more than enough to withstand a two-lane highway and a double track. Not to pay tribute to such a well-deserved design, talented developers and the army of builders would be a crime. One of the historical arches became the starting point for the creation of the Museum of the Amur Bridge.
Save for posterity
The idea to create a museum of the Amur bridge arose during the reconstruction of the crossing. They decided to make one of the dismantled arches of the Alekseevsky bridge the main exhibit of the unusual exposition. After being removed from the supports, she was transported to a site equipped on the right bank of the Amur River. There she stood until the summer of 2008. The place for the exposition was prepared, and the procedure began to turn the farm 90 degrees in relation to the coastline.
The work was carried out by specialists of the Khabarovsk company "Dalmostostroy". The reversal of a voluminous, historically valuable construction is a complex matter, requiring not only filigree work, but also, as it turned out, remarkable patience. At the first stage, a retaining wall on the shore and supports in the Amur riverbed were erected, and at the second stage, it was necessary to moor the farm to the place of permanent deployment.
To carry out the last stage, it was necessary to use 180-ton hydraulic jacks, it took three weeks to carry out the operation, in one day the structure moved only 10 meters. The idea of the museum was based on the desire to establish the historical part of the Tsar’s bridge in parallel with the crossing. In the initial plans, only the installation of the arch and the installation of an observation deck on it were considered, but the idea was further developed and resulted in a park zone.
Open-air museum
The main exhibit of the Amur bridge open-air museum is an old bridge arch designed by engineer Proskuryakov. In 2009 it was restored, the length of the structure is 127 meters, height - 30 meters, weight - 1100 tons.
In addition to the arch, other unique exhibits of railway equipment were also collected for acquaintance:
- A copy of the monument “To the military builders of the Ussuriysk railway”, the original in full is installed at the central railway station of Khabarovsk. Opposite the monument of the tsarist period, another one was established in memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. It is dedicated to the railway front-line soldiers of the Far East.
- Locomotive of 1944 of release of the Ea 3255 model. He was taken to the museum from the Sibirtsevo station, where he stood at a reserve base. This model was produced by the United States, drawings were provided to the Soviet side and transported to the USSR by Lend-Lease. Locomotives served faithfully until 1965.
- The AC-14 model official car tram is a railway carriage equipped with an engine; the car entered the museum in 2010. Engines were not installed in the first models of self-propelled cars, a separate engine was allocated for them, in one of these cars was the headquarters of V. Blucher, commander of the Far Eastern Red Banner Army.
- A locomobile is a steam engine for actuating various mechanisms (pumps, electric generators, etc.). The presented copy was released in the 30s of the last century, the design is so reliable that it worked constantly until it became part of the museum's exposition. The installation can now be started at any time, if it can be used, in recent years it has been used as a heating boiler.
- The railway tank is the oldest exhibit of the exhibition, it was made before the revolution, as evidenced by the method of assembly using rivets.
Today, more than 20 unique exhibits are installed at the exhibition site of the Amur Bridge Museum. Almost all of them are available for internal inspection, which is especially interesting for children - you can visit the driver’s cab, twist the handles, hit the station bell and spend several hours in the museum.
Railway station
On the territory of the complex of the Museum of the History of the Amur Bridge in Khabarovsk, a small wooden house attracts attention - this is a copy of the station of the 19th century. The drawings of 1897 were chosen as the basis for which the first stationary station was built. He adorned the Vyazemskaya station of the Ussuri railway.
The modern building was built in 2010, reducing the initial volume of the station by 1.5 times. The premises have a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of construction, operation and reconstruction of the Amur bridge. Also, materials and exhibits covering the development of the Far Eastern Railway are presented here, and talks about the construction of tunnels, bridges, equipment and equipment for builders.
At the stands of the Museum of the History of the Amur Bridge presents costumes and underwater equipment, miraculously preserved since 1929. Exhibits are constantly being added, several layouts are interesting, giving an idea of how the bridge was built from the right and left banks. It is possible to consider in detail what the caissons are and why they were so important in the construction of the bridge.
Underwater tunnel
Part of the exposition of the Museum of the Amur Bridge in Khabarovsk is dedicated to the 7-kilometer underwater tunnel. It was laid under the Amur River, the decision to lay was made in 1936, construction began a year later, traffic on the secret facility was launched in 1941.
In the postwar years, the underwater structure served as an additional route for the Trans-Siberian Railway, periodically missing passenger trains. The completion of the reconstruction of the Amur bridge was the reason for the start of repair work in the tunnel. Over the entire period of its existence, it has never undergone a major overhaul, in some places leaks appeared, and some equipment has been working since the launch. Since 2015, reconstruction has been carried out, the opening date has not yet been specified.
On a note
One of the biggest advantages of the exposition is its richness and free access to all objects of the Amur bridge museum. Photo and video shooting also do not require payment. An important condition is a preliminary agreement with the administration about the visit and the desire to conduct a photo session.
Opening hours of the Amur bridge museum in Khabarovsk:
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - the exposition is open for visits by organized groups by prior arrangement.
- Saturday, Sunday the museum is open from 10:00 to 16:00.
- Monday, Tuesday - days off, sanitary days.
You can get to the place by public transport to the stop "Plant" Baltimore "" by bus (No. 15, 16 or 16c), minibus (No. 68).
