One of the oldest railways in Russia under the name Kuibyshevskaya has been over 140 years old. For all her years, she actively served absolutely all the regions that were in the middle of the Volga region. Since the fall of 2010, there has been a museum in the marvelous town of Samara, which is completely dedicated not only to the Kuibyshev Railway, but also to all the technology that has served faithfully all these years. This museum is very popular among students of railway workers who every summer come there to practice and improve their professional skills.
Description
The Samara Railway Museum is located not entirely in Samara, but not far from it. It is located on the territory of the former training ground of the Samara State University of Railways near the Bezymyanka railway station. During World War II, trains arrived at this point to transport equipment of important enterprises and evacuated people from the western territory of the Soviet Union. In general, the importance of this railway junction during World War II was very important, since the Kuibyshev highway not only allowed people to be transported, but also delivered valuable goods and food from the Siberian and Ural regions. The idea of these difficult times is given by the exposition of the museum car, which stands right at the entrance.
The museum area is very large and is approximately 1.5 hectares. A unique feature is the office building, which is very similar to the train station. But there are no secrets in this. This building is the former building of the Dashkovo station, which was located in the Penza region. To more accurately convey the spirit of the time, the restoration was carried out from materials of the 19th century. But the Dashkovo station exists to this day, is named after the most famous Russian countess Ekaterina Dashkova, who at one time was the head of the Academy of Sciences.
Inside the administrative building of the museum of railway equipment in Samara, you can see the station ranger's place. Historical furniture, samovars and glasses with metal cup holders that have long been familiar to everyone, in which they still bring tea on trains, are presented here. Also here you can see the Morse apparatus, which used to be employees of railway stations. All visitors are also interested in old paintings, photographs of railways of the 20th century and antique documents. In addition to all this, some rooms feature models of trains and maps of the railways that existed in the 19th century. For viewing rare photographs, there is a separate room that can accommodate a little more than 30 people.
Main exposition
But the most important exhibits of the Samara railway museum are presented on the street and are in the open. There are locomotives and cars of different times. Visitors to the Samara Museum will be interested to see the first steam locomotive released in Russia. It was created by two ingenious designers - the Cherepanov brothers in the early 19th century. No less interesting will be: a model of a steam locomotive called “general with stripes” 6, created specifically for this museum of the high-speed train “Sapsan” and many other locomotives operating in the USSR and Russia.
Other exhibits
In addition to trains, in the museum you can see various road and construction equipment, railcars and carts of the 19th and 20th centuries. Traffic lights, arrows, signaling and communication devices, rails and platforms of railway stations are also presented. Some train models are open to visitors, and control cabins can be freely entered and moved across all compartments. Also, guests of the Samara railway museum can go into special wagons and see how they used to prepare food in the conditions of long trips and emergencies.
Among the rare things are not only maps, photographs and documents, but also the surviving details of the Syzran railway bridge, which was built during the reign of Alexander II. The total number of rare details here is about 100 units. Many branches of the Russian Railway donated things for the development of this beautiful museum.
Prices
In 2018, prices at the Samara Railway Museum differ and vary depending on the services ordered. If you come and inspect the exhibits alone, the cost of the admission ticket will be 90 rubles for adults and 30 rubles for children. If you hire a guide, then a group of up to 10 people will pay 110 rubles per visitor, and if more than 10, then 100 rubles.
The museum itself is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17. A lunch break is also provided, so it is better not to fall into this time interval.
Important information
A visit to the Samara Museum of Railway Engineering will be interesting to the whole family. It is important to choose a day to visit so that there is no rain or snow, because most of the equipment is on the street.
The museum, which is located on Litvinova Street, 332a, can be reached in various ways, but the most convenient is the bus that stops at the Railway Museum stop. If you get by metro or tram, you will have to walk for a very long time. Therefore, it is better to use buses or taxis.