Everyone knows that Petersburg is a city of museums. They are very different, including in the open. There is a Museum of steam locomotives near the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg. This is a fairly young exhibition. It is located at the Warsaw station.
Petersburg - the center of transport development
The second half of the 19th century in the Northern capital was the era of the formation of the city as a major transport hub, including the railway. At the end of the XVIII century, from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo, the first horse-drawn railway began to operate: the train consisted of only two wagons and its horses dragged it.
In the first half of the 19th century, a mechanical engine was invented in Europe, and the innovation quickly spread and reached St. Petersburg. All enterprises gradually began to switch to a mechanical engine - instead of manufactories and craft workshops, factories and plants appeared. In 1815, Charles Bird first used a steam engine in water transport - the first ship was tested on the Neva. And already in the second half of the century, the steam engine was also adapted for the railroad - instead of horses, a steam locomotive began to drag cars.
History of railway transport and Petersburg
By 1851, the first railway was laid, which was built at the direction of Nicholas I and in this regard was named Nikolaevskaya. And on Znamenskaya Square (now Uprising Square), Konstantin Ton erected the Nikolaev (now - Moscow) station. This road connected Petersburg to Moscow, and a little later, in 1860, a branch was built from it to the Volga region, which connected the capital with the city of Rybinsk.
In the same years, the construction of several more railway lines was completed - to Vyborg, which will be extended at the beginning of the 20th century to Finland, to Revel (later extended to the port of Baltiysk). These were the Finland and Baltic branches, which in St. Petersburg began from the erected Baltic and Finland stations. At the beginning of the 20th century, the road to Vitebsk was completed through Ukraine, and the Vitebsky station was built.
Warsaw Station in the history of the Northern Capital
Warsaw station was also built in the 60s of the XIX century, as was the Baltic one. This railway line connected Petersburg with Poland. The construction of the Warsaw branch began thanks to the initiative of Nicholas I in 1852. And a year later, the old station building was built on the banks of the Obvodny Canal. It was no different from an ordinary apartment building. Then the first section of the road was opened - to the suburban residence of Paul I - Gatchina.
A modern station building and service buildings appeared here in the late 1850s. The main facade of the station was decorated with five arched windows, in the central of which a stained-glass window was placed. The center of the facade stands out with a clock tower and a flagpole. A stucco frieze stretched along the top of the facade, which is now absent.
Foundation History
During the years of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Railway Station was the only international, but gradually its significance began to decline sharply - communication with the Baltic states ceased to be popular. The Warsaw station was closed, and the remaining routes were transferred to the Baltic station.
Initially, the building of the Warsaw Station was supposed to be demolished, but it was able to defend and restore. In the new building, there is now a shopping and entertainment center, and in 2011 the Museum of Railway Transport or, as the residents of St. Petersburg call it, the Museum of Steam Locomotives opened in the open air on the railway tracks.
Museum exposition
The new Museum of Locomotives in St. Petersburg presents 2 buildings: an old depot and a new entertainment center in the building of the restored Warsaw Station. The enclosures are connected to each other by a suspension passage.
The exposition of the Museum of Locomotives and Trains of St. Petersburg presents rare models of not only locomotives, but also diesel locomotives, electric locomotives, wagons, locomotives, as well as their current models. There are also armored trains, armored platforms, an artillery mount.
All exhibits are located far enough from each other, which makes it possible to have a good overview. You can even enter some exhibits and see their internal structure.
Of special interest are special architectural structures, including water towers for servicing railway equipment, the old Imperial Barn, where in Soviet times there was a car depot, a turntable.
Thanks to amazing installations, the museum provides interactive classes, modern exhibitions, children's educational programs, excursions and lectures. The Museum of Locomotives Museum complex in St. Petersburg provides important assistance to an educational institution in terms of early career guidance and professional self-determination of students.
The current state and prospects of the museum
Since 2011, design work has been underway to reform and create a railway museum in the Baltic, however, moving the collection to the newly allotted building can cause irreparable losses.
It is assumed that most of the railway tracks to the station are destroyed, and the equipment will have to be disassembled for movement, which could lead to its complete loss. In addition, there are four buildings on the territory of the former station that relate to the historical and cultural heritage of St. Petersburg, and if three of them are registered with the KGIOP and their fate is controlled, but one of the cultural heritage is not officially recognized and may be destroyed. We are talking about the car depot of Russia built in the second half of the XIX century.
