 The super modern “Golden Eagle” train arrives at Tashkent railway station. The passengers alighting are foreign tourists from Australia, the UK, Norway and other countries - about 100 people in total – who are traveling along the following itinerary: China (Beijing) – Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan (Tashkent – Samarkand – Bukhara -Urgench) - Russia (Moscow).
They are delighted with “The Silk Road Journey” program, a journey of many days which would once have been undertaken on horses or camels along a camel path, but which they can now experience in comfort on the modern railway express along the steel trunk railway of Central Asia.
It is no wonder that on leaving the train many direct their steps to the railway museum where exhibits include some astonishing historical monuments of eastern cities and pages of history on the technological advances of the Central Asian region.
This unique museum of railway equipment was opened on the 4th August 1989 in honor of the centenary anniversary of the Uzbek trunk railway and it is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world. Among the many interesting exhibits are thirteen steam locomotives of historical period, approximately twenty diesel and electric locomotives, engines and mechanisms of the repair and engineering technician, all reasons why the Tashkent museum was included in the World Association of Technical Museums associated with the railway.
The main attraction (for adults as much as for children) is an opportunity to ride on a mini-diesel TU 7-A locomotive with two carriages. The train is managed by Razikov Makhmud, mechanic. He agreed to take us on this fascinating excursion along the museum. For him these are not simply museum exhibits, but a part of his life and history.
 He began his life on the railway aged 16 in the far-off turbulent days of 1942, and decided to devote his life to it. He became a mechanical assistant on steam locomotives and then a mechanic on diesel and electric locomotives. He retired about 25 years ago but did not want to stay sitting at home.
“Everything was boring, and it was only here that I met children and tourists,”- Makhmud-aka says. “They ask questions and I tell them things and show them around and take them on the train…”
We are coming to the “Tsar's carriage”, which is the sleeper carriage of the Nikolay II epoch, now full of exhibits, which tell of the construction and development history of the Central Asia railways.
How did all that start?
The second part of the 19th century was marked by the stormy beginnings and development of capitalism in Russia. It was important to find new feed and sale markets.
The imperial interests of the Russia reached to the east and the south but without the railway their plans could not be realized.
- 1874 A Russian special commission discuss the building of the Orenburg-Tashkent railway
- 1880 Pressure from the Russian Military Department forces the decision and the building of the Transcaspian military railway from the Mikhaylovski fort (later called Krasnovodsk, now Turkmenbashi) to Tashkent was given high priority. This would strengthen Russian influence in the region and secure the southern borders of the Empire.
- 1885 The railway was directed to Askhabad
- 1886 Chardjou
- 1888 After building a highly complicated wooden bridge through Amudariya, the railway was directed to Samarkand. The rate of construction in very harsh conditions was considered unprecedented for that period. Mr. Annenkov led the building work and Mr. Makarov was responsible for supplies. All building materials, techniques and equipment were delivered from Baku by ferry across the Caspian Sea. This allowed transport to begin by the Transcaspian military railway between the Caspian and Samarkand and strengthened the connection between Transcaucasia, Europe and Central Asia. But now a direct route from Central Russia to the south was needed.
- 1899 The Samarkand–Tashkent part of the railway was finished and building was begun in the Fergana valley.
- 1900 After twenty-five years and just before the turn of the century, simultaneous building of the railway was begun in Orenburg and Tashkent towards each other.
- 1906 After six years the building of greatest network of railways was finished and even now this network of steel trunk-railways connects Central Asia states and Europe.
Then there began the building of the Turkestan-Siberia and the whole network of regional railways. After independence Uzbekistan built the Uchkuduk - Urgench railway and is now setting in operation the new Guzar - Dehkanabad - Baysun line.
That is the brief history of the Great Silk Road, where thousands of tons of essential goods as well as traveling tourists from all over the world are transported, not by the old camel roads but by the steel railway.
….Close to the entrance of the museum is the first exhibit – “Shkoda KCH-4-228” a steam locomotive, small and neat, made in Czechoslovakia in 1949. The weight of this “kid”? 28 tons!
The oldest steam locomotive is the OB. This series started production in the Kolomenski factory in 1901 and in our country in 1914. Railway men fondly named it the “lamb”, probably for its accommodating character and easy nature.
This “lamb” with a weight of 53 tons and speed of 55 km/hr is a real film star having appeared in no less than seven films, but most famously in “Elusive Avengers”.
The express SU 250-94 giant of a train in construction of Malokhovski was produced in 1924 in Krasniy Sormov (S-Sormovski, U-Usilenni, that is intensive). Its size is staggering: height – 5 m 21 cm, diameter of the wheel – 1,85 cm.
There are also American steam locomotives such as the EA-2371, which was produced in the USA in 1944 by a Soviet design project and the DA-31-cargo-and-passenger diesel locomotive of 1945, produced by the “ALKO” firm (USA)
This huge object with a weight of 132 tons has a maximum speed of 96 km/hr.
Other “foreigners” include the Czechoslovakian steam locomotive ER-722, produced at the beginning of World War II in Prague (1939) and the trophy steam locomotive TE 5-200, which was captured from the Fascists in 1943 and then put in long years of work for our fatherland.
 The history of World War II is also shown in two armored trains that were made in Tashkent and waged war on the fronts with leading of the Uzbekistan crew. One of them is still kept in Moscow, although its native place should be in Tashkent’s museum, with our other steam locomotives.
Then there is the pride of the Soviet steam-locomotives – the last P-36, produced for the first time after World War II (1949-1956), which is why it was called “The Victory”. This is the best, most powerful and most modern steam locomotive of the passenger type ever made.
Its weight is 178 tons, its height 5.1 m and the diameter of the wheel is 1.85 cm. With 3,070 horsepower it could reach speeds of 125 km/h.
It was the last in the great history of steam locomotives and then came the era of the diesel and electric locomotive. These are also well represented in the museum. The huge TEP-70, produced by the Kolomenski factory (in 1973) with 4,000 horsepower and a weight of 126 tons, which could reach a speed of 160-175 km/h. Close to it is situated the no less powerful and fast TEP 70 and others: the diesel locomotives TE1, TE3, 2TE10L, the electric locomotives BL 22, BL 60 K (with 4,590 horsepower, a weight of 138 tons and speed of 100 km/h).
There are many other railway machine and aggregates, from the gigantic
liner-tamper-surface complex (BPO-3000) and the snow-plough diesel locomotive to the small hand car and diesel locomotives: DG-KU13, TM3-AGV2211, TGM-2 and many others.
The breath of history comes not only from the physical presence of these huge high-tonnage machines, but also from their names: FD-20 (Felix Dzerjinski), BL-Vladimir Lenin, the factory of Vorovski, Krasni Sormovo, Rostovski Soviet National Economy, the Czech Moravski factory, Czechoslovakia...
Our guide, Makhmud-aka, gave us new dates, details of history and names. The founder of the museum and its first director was Boris Sobolev - an untiring
enthusiast, romantic, and guardian of the history of technical culture.
Meanwhile our excursion train, which took us on a journey of 133 years is arriving at the terminal. The children’s eyes are shining after meeting the steam locomotives and the adults’ dreaminess reflects their encounter with the pages of history.
We say “katta rakhmat”(many thanks) to Makhmud-aka, who soon will be 81, for such an extraordinary, amazing and - most important - such an informative excursion along The Great Silk Road by the trains of the history.
Good luck! |
