The St. Petersburg Outdoor Railway Museum, 2013

After many years in Moscow, Harvey Smith relocated to St. Petersburg in 2014. There is a list of linked reports at the bottom.

This museum no longer exists, most of the exhibits have been relocated to the new St. Petersburg Railway Museum which opened on 1st November 2017.

Harvey went back here in October 2015 and reports "Good new no more heavy security. I was unmolested and there was no tannoy shouting orders. The locomitves and other rolling stock are being renovated for a new museum at Baltiski Railway Station. It was all being done outdoors but better than nothing." (This added 1st January 2016.)

Harvey Smith has been back to St. Petersburg. It makes a depressing read as it seems the museum has many of the faults familiar to those of us who have been visitors to outdoor railway museums which are both under-resourced and left in the hands of people with no great interest in their charges. At the bottom are the historical pictures from Harvey's original 2006 posting.

My wife and I travelled up to from Moscow on the High Speed Sapsan train. Sapsan was a great experience.

Three things to note on this journey.
1. At Tver, on the left hand side of the train as you journey to St. Petersburg or the western side of the tracks, you will see steam locomotive E^M-726 39 (incorrectly numbered E^M-725 39).
2. At Chudovo, (once again on the left hand side of the train as your journey to St. Petersburg or the western side of the tracks), I saw behind a fence a small rail mounted crane of a type that that was probably once a steam crane coupled to a small blue locomotive.
3. Just before you get into Moscow Station in St. Petersburg, (again on the left hand side of the train as you journey to St. Petersburg or the western side of the tracks) a sand coloured T80 battle tank appears on a plinth.

We quickly went to the Outdoor Train Museum at the old Warsaw Railway Station. The quickest way I have found of getting to this museum is to go the metro to Baltiski metro station. As you come out of the metro turn right walk through the tunnel under the road and walk along by the canal. Walk passed the huge hypermarket on the right. The old station soon comes into view. It is now a shopping centre. If you get as far as the large church you have gone too far. The museum sits behind the old station building. The shopping centre was almost empty when we visited (a Saturday). St.Petersburg, like many Russian cities, has had a large number of shopping centres constructed in the last 10 years. As a result, Warsaw Station shopping centre has now been left with few customers. I only hope someone has the sense to use the old railway station as a new national museum and not leave rare and valuable exhibits rusting outside.

The entrance cost 100 roubles per adult and an additional 50 roubles for a camera. 50 roubles is about 1 English pound.

The experience of visiting the museum after 7 years was very mixed. Sadly most of the exhibits have not seen paint in years. As a result, corrosion and plant growth on many locomotives is widespread. The ballistic missile wagon has stood with its roof open since 2006 with resulting “weathering” to the inside of the roof. I removed a plant growing from a hole in the firebox lagging of E^A-2201. A coach from the Chinese Eastern Railway is badly in need of varnish. The depressing sight of decaying museum exhibits experience was made far worse due to constant harassment from the security staff. A loud speaker system kept up a bombardment of commands telling us not to climb on the locomotives and stick to the paths. I was severely told off by a woman security guard for standing on the ballast while trying to take a decent photo of the cab of the LV18-002. I was not alone in this experience. The woman security guard was even brandishing a large police truncheon. For those seeking the authentic “Gulag Experience” the museum would be perfect. Only Esh 4444 and TT 1770 sported new paintwork.

P36-0027 has left the museum and is at Shushary Museum (14 km south of St Petersburg)
P36-0251 is still at the Warsaw Railway Museum. It was the last Soviet Passenger Steam locomotive constructed.

Military Railway Missile Complex 15P961 Molodets

As regards the good points the museum now has benches and a selection of locomotives and rolling stock that I did not see in 2006. These including:

Military Railway Missile Complex 15P961 Molodets The only one left and this is how they preserve it. The roof has been left open outdoors for 7 years and the second picture shows corrosion on a wagon

The Official Saloon Car of the Chinese Eastern Railway, it desperately needs varnishing.

Steam locomotive Ye^I-534 with terrible paint finish and corrosion and E^L538 with plant growth in 4 places.