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PROMFOTO from LiveJournal: Volchansky tram. Volchansk is the smallest city in Russia with tram traffic GPS coordinates

Volchansky tram- the main mode of transport connecting the southern and northern parts of the city of Volchansk (Sverdlovsk region). The population of the city is about 10 thousand inhabitants. The tram has been operating since December 31, 1951. The system consists of one line with a length of approximately 7-8 kilometers. // Sourced from wikipedia.org

2. Tram traffic in Volchansk opened on December 31, 1951. At that time, Volchansk did not yet have the status of a city (it received it only in 1956), but the population reached thirty thousand inhabitants.

3. In the past, there were two city tram lines in Volchansk: to Lesnaya Volchanka and to coal mine No. 5. The last line was closed in 1994 due to constant theft of the contact wire. There was also an intercity tram line to Karpinsk, which operated from 1953 to April 22, 1965, dismantled due to the passage of the huge EVG-15 excavator from Karpinsk to Volchansk on the road between these two cities.

4. Volchansky tram consists of one line connecting the southern and northern parts of the city. The length of the line is about 7-8 kilometers. The line is single-track, the previously existing sidings have been completely dismantled. The tram track passes through overgrown meadows and taiga.

5. The tracks are worn out, however, the lupus maintain the tracks as far as possible with existing materials, equipment and means: re-laying the tracks, replacing the sleepers, smoothing the joints in the curves, installing shunts. There are derailments of wagons, but recently there have been fewer such cases.

6. The tram depot is located in the southern part of the city and is the final destination of the route. It is a one-story administrative building, a brick box for two cars, an industrial site for trams and a utility room.

Scheme. There is only one route. Travel time is approximately 28-29 minutes towards Lesnaya Volchanka and 23-24 minutes towards Volchanka. There is one car on the line. Exits from the depot (southern terminus) are carried out every hour from 7:05 to 22:05. Departure from the ring at the bus station (Lesnaya Volchanka) is carried out every hour from 7:35 to 22:35. Thus, the car enters the depot for the last time at 23:05.

7. From May 2010 traffic stops for the period from 10:00 to 16:00. Initially, the tram was stopped during the day due to difficulties in paying for electricity (electricity was cut off at the traction substation during the day). Then, even after paying off the debts, it was decided not to run the tram during the day, since the passenger traffic at this time is quite low.

8. The rolling stock consists of two cars 71-605 (side numbers 7 and 8), a car 71-608KM (side number 1), a car 71-402 "SPEKTR" (side number 2) and a car 71-619KT (side number 3) . The last one arrived in the city in January 2008. Thus, Volchansk has completely renewed its rolling stock and does not experience problems with a shortage of wagons.

10. Passenger cars are equipped with drag current collectors, which is due to the peculiarities of the contact network. In the depot, a platform from the KTM-1 car has been preserved, which, by attaching it to a passenger car, the Lupus workers use to transport materials and tools to the places of work on the way. The body of the MTV-82 car is used as a warehouse.

11. Until 2009, the depot had a GS-4 snowplow (presumably without a tail number), once stolen by hunters for non-ferrous metal. Volchantsy planned to restore the car, but the plans were not implemented: the car was eventually dismantled. Snow removal is done by a tractor.

12. According to local legend, Volchansk was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest city in the world with its own tram service. This story was originally told to the guests of the city by the Volchans themselves, from where it turned into a popular story both in the city and beyond. Currently, numerous stories about the city and even the official website of the city administration, created already in 2010, erroneously mention this “fact”.

Virtual tour of the entire route from two synchronized video cameras:

13. Correcting this mistake, the Head of the city in 2008 organized a fundraiser, the head of the municipal tram economy of the city prepared documents and on March 30, 2009 Volchansk was entered in the Russian book of records, where it was officially confirmed that this city is “the smallest city with tram traffic ".

14. As for the Guinness Book of Records, the thoughts remained to apply, but there was a city in Germany - Bad Schandau - with a population of about 3 thousand people, which also has its own tram. The tram route there passes through eight settlements and is not essentially urban transport. The analysis of the situation suggests that Volchansk is the smallest northernmost city with tram traffic.

15. In addition to the tram, passenger transport operates in Volchansk: a fixed-route taxi and a bus belonging to the same carrier and operating along the Volchansk-Karpinsk route, duplicating the tram route almost completely, as well as passenger taxis.

16. Since the city administration has ceased to provide reasonable competition since 2009, and the operational speed of motor transport is higher than that of a tram, and also due to the fact that a fixed-route taxi and a bus run twice as often as a tram, the choice of a solvent passenger is often not in favor tram.

17. Nevertheless, the tram was in Volchansk a kind of standard of stability and constancy: the traffic schedule is strictly observed, malfunctions on the track are promptly (as far as possible) corrected, even in conditions of extremely low passenger traffic on early morning and late evening runs, the management of the tram fleet does not intend to cancel those flights.

18. Organizational changes that caused financial difficulties in 2010 cast doubt on the future of the municipal enterprise and, consequently, the tram in the city. For the operation of the tram, large financial investments are required (for such activities as the repair of the tram track, contact network, rolling stock, payment for electricity, and so on).

19. There were fears that if the regional budget does not allocate funds for the maintenance of the tram in 2011, then electric transport in Volchansk may stop.

20. However, for 2011, small funds were allocated from the regional budget for the operation of the tram in Volchansk, but this amount of funds is so small that it will hardly be possible to keep the tram economy in working condition.

Also watch the movie:

I express my deep gratitude to the director of MUP "Volchansky autoelectrotransport" Smetannikov Alexander Anatolyevich for his help in preparing the material.

This object was visited as part of an expedition

Perhaps the main attraction of Volchansk is its tram system. It is largely thanks to the tram that the city, consisting of two parts with a total population of 9.5 thousand people, retains the status of a city.

The tram started working here in 1951, then it connected Severnaya Volchanka with a brick factory. A little later, the line was extended to the southern part of the then-not yet city.

MTV-82 and KTM/KTP-1 cars worked

There were three sidings on the line, 4 trains were under operation. In total, 7 trains operated together with the intercity line to Karpinsk.

01. The car arrived at the final

02. Catching up with him

The tram operates here in the morning and in the evening with an interval of about an hour.

03. And off we go!

The car shakes a little to the sides, but there is no rumble.

05. Old tickets have been preserved here, the same ones that are 3 kopecks each. But with an overprint "16 rubles".

06. We leave this part of the city

07. The path runs through the forest

09. Dense forest is sometimes replaced by small clearings.

10. The track makes several turns. By the way, each turn, or, if it is correct, "curve", has its own name.
"Curve "Wolf"", "Curve "Manasyan"", Large and Small curves.
Unusual.

Previously, there were sidings on the line, since two cars worked, and in the old days - even 4, which provided an interval of 15 minutes.

(photo by A. Olander, 1995)

13. On straight sections, the tram accelerates to 30 km/h, and the average speed along the highway is 24.5 km/h, which corresponds to a high-speed tram!

14. Entering Volchanka
(It could be lupus...)

16. The building is represented mainly by Khrushchevs, and in the center there are older three-story buildings

17. There are also abandoned

18. Along Karpinsky Street we drive up to the central square, where the line turns onto the street. Soviet.

19. Stop with stalls

20. Sovetskaya Street

22. Ultimate

23. The car leaves for the reversal ring passing through the depot

24. Depot workers showed us in the director's office a diploma from the Book of Records of Russia

The smallest city with tram traffic.
25. Management is interested in global trends in the transport sector

26. A little later, the director himself drove up Municipal unitary enterprise "Volchansky autoelectrotransport" Krinitsin A.V.. In a brief conversation with him, we found out that the tram in Volchansk works thanks to the annual financial support from the region. The deputies of the regional legislative assembly support the interests of this small town.

As a souvenir, we gave the director a badge with the emblem of our initiative group

27. The newest car in Volchansk - KTM-19 2007 release. Works mostly in winter

28. In the repair box there is a KTM-5 car No. 8

21. New sleepers. They are impregnated not with creosote, but with a special antiseptic that has a greenish color. Such sleepers can serve up to 60 years, unlike conventional ones.

22. On the territory of the depot is the body of the MTV-82 car

23. Also in the depot is the Spektr wagon, which was decommissioned for the same reason as similar wagons in Krasnoturinsk - problems with electronics

25. The rails here are quite old.

27. Car No. 7, model KTM-5

28. Having made the last morning flight, car 71-608KM No. 1 returns to the depot. By the way, this car is quite young - 2000 of release.

29. During the day there is a break in motion, the car stands on the ring near the depot building

30. Ring, part of the path runs along the road

The ring is to the right, and in the direction of the road until 1995 there was a continuation of the line that went to coal mine No. 5, and in 1953-1965 there was also an intercity line connecting Volchansk and Karpinsk:

In Karpinsk, until 1994, there was also tram traffic, a ring route through the city. Didn't save...

32. Supports of the contact network in the direction of the section of the line to the section

34. Rails on the ring are even older than those in the depot

37. This rail supports the support. Made 100 years ago

The tram system of Volchansk is unique. This is one of the most interesting objects I have ever seen. I really hope that the tram in this city will continue to work in the future. I would like to wish good luck to the employees and management in their hard work!

In the next part I will talk about an unexpected meeting, a coal mine, and the central part of Lupus.

In the north of the Sverdlovsk region there is a small town of Volchansk. The city is quite tiny, almost a village, so that even many residents of other areas of Sverdloshchina have never heard of it. But transport fans heard well about him. After all, this is the smallest city in Russia, which has its own tram! Nearby there is a slightly larger Krasnoturinsk, which also has its own tram! Two small, but such spiritual systems in the remote Ural wilderness. How do they live?

Getting into this backwater corner of the Sverdlovsk region is not so easy. From the regional center of Yekaterinburg to go here more than 400 km. Directly you can only get by bus, and then several times a day. However, you can get by train to Serov, which is nearby.

Close by, but it wasn't there. If buses go to Krasnoturinsk every half an hour, then only one bus a day goes to Volchansk. Estimate the scale of the hole.

Volchansky and Krasnoturinsky trams can be called a "tram" in the literal sense. Because only one car works in each of the systems. Going to these cities on the second of May, I was really afraid that I might not catch the movement - what if the trams do not run because of the holidays? Both times the circumstances were such that it seemed that everything was over, there would be no tram ..

First, I came to Krasnoturinsk, because. there is a bus to Volchansk only during the day, and it was lazy to hitchhike early in the morning. I arrived at an unbearable early hour, at about 7.30 (the EKB-Priobye train arrives in Serov at 5.18, and there you still have to wait for the bus). Having reasoned logically that when the trams run exactly, it is from early morning, I immediately went to inspect the line. However, there were no trams in sight.

Approaching the tram depot, I found a timetable according to which on weekends and holidays the movement starts at 9 am. Well, while I walk around the city, since it is very interesting.

Built up with German houses, because. many captured Germans lived here.

The main attraction is the city-forming enterprise Bogoslovsky Aluminum Plant.

The view from the river is spectacular!

A tram line also leads to it.

Went to the other end, to the embankment. It was already 9 o'clock, in theory the car could have already left.

But something is not there and is not. Where does he ride?

For more than an hour I have been walking in the immediate vicinity of the line, but I can’t see the tram ..

The final embankment.

He climbed a hill from where an amazing view of the snow-covered Ural Range opened up.

After walking around the city, not meeting any signs of the movement of the travaychik, I was upset to look at the depot for the last time, and go to Volchansk in the hope of great luck there. And then .. He is coming towards!

It turns out that the tram on the weekend does not work from 9, but generally from 11! It's cool what kind of owls work in the Krasnoturinsky tram park. Ty-ty-ty-ty! Ty-ty-ty-ty!

There is no Wi-Fi in this car. And in the other, according to the conductor, there is. Too bad, it would be interesting to see.

The final "Factory-kitchen" near the aluminum plant.

Having made a full circle along the entire line, I went to look at the depot.

The depot is very funny: the territory is the size of a district courtyard, fenced with such a fence. You can easily enter the area.

I tried in vain to find someone who would let me take pictures, but there was not a soul in the whole territory. So I had to take pictures without permission. :)

Alas, it's very sad. Somewhere around 6-7 non-working cars - all the property of the tram park.

There are Spectra. They don't seem to have been on the line at all.

This is how parts are stored.

The second operating car, which is with Wi-Fi.

One of the wagons is in the workshop.

The length of the entire line is 3.5 km. It can be quickly walked. The line is completely single-track, but there are sidings.

The tram is not very popular with its intervals. More people just ride it. Although, maybe it was just a day off.

By the way, earlier there were two routes in Krasnoturinsk. The second one went from the depot to the west and turned around. She pulled in the other direction. The line is now completely out of service.

Here is the former ring "Chkalova Street".

Okay, let's go further to Volchansk. There are only 4 flights a day from Krasnoturinsk there. More often you can get from the city of Karpinsk (where, by the way, there was also a tram until the mid-90s!).

If Krasnoturinsk gives the impression of a small, but a city, then Volchansk is immediately perceived as an overgrown village.

The city consists of two parts, several kilometers apart. The bus first enters the "center", then returns to the bypass and stops at another, known as the "4th section", there is a bus station. However, the bus station is generally tiny, it consists of a small room 4 by 4 meters and a ticket office .. Over there in the distance.

The tram just connects these two parts (diagram from here).

Previously, he drove workers from the southern part of the city to the coal mine, located in the northern part. But now the enterprises have closed, the city is depressed, there is no work ..

The ring is right next to the bus station. Convenient, no need to think which way to go.

Local residents told me that it was pointless to wait for the tram, no one uses it, because. he walks completely unpredictably, and that I'd rather take the bus. Yeah of course. Did I come here for the bus?

While the car was not there, I went to meet him along the line.

I remember that on the lurk about Volchansk they wrote something like this: "they were going to build a city in the taiga, first they built a tram for it, and then there was no longer enough money for the city." Somehow it looks like this, the line is laid a little in rural areas, but for the most part - in nature!

Few new houses.

Very soon, the residential areas ended, and the dense forest went!

A characteristic feature of the Volchansk tram! Walk through the forest.

Someone even burns fires right on the rails. It’s convenient, probably, if you wish, you can set fire to firewood directly from the contact wire :)

The length of the entire line is 8 km. The line is completely single-track, while it does not have a single siding. Those. even if desired, it will be impossible to start up two cars! Except just one by one.

Most of the line (about 5 km) passes through the forest!

I immediately pay attention to the state of the roads. When you step on some rails, they squelch under the weight of the weight .. It's scary to imagine how the cars go along such tracks ..

I walk and wait for the tram to pass towards me. But he is not and is not! I have already walked five kilometers, walked for about an hour and a half ..

Is it still not working? Here's the breakdown. It would also be great to ride a tram here. But if he walked, he should have already passed at least once in so much time

Coming out to the clearing, I decided to make a halt and sat down on the rails to rest. Apparently I will have to come here again, although such inconvenient logistics. Can you arrange a car rental, gather amateurs? So many photogenic places..

Suddenly ... A roar in the distance! tykh-tykh-tykh-tykh-tykh. tykh-tykh-tykh-tykh-tykh. Can't be! For the second time today, I have been brought to the point that this sound causes me universal joy and happiness.

And here it is shown from around the corner. It was not difficult to stop the tram and leave the forest.

Let's go!

There are very few passengers. There were two more fans from Yaroslavl in the carriage. and the tram usually runs empty ..

Returning to the Volchanka district, where the bus station is located, I immediately took the tram back to the southern end of the line. Again the forest.

The tram travels the entire route in about 40 minutes. There is a depot at the other end of the line. Unlike Krasnoturyinsky, there is not even a fence and a fixed territory. Just a reversal ring, a small track development, a couple of workshops and idle cars.

After talking with the locksmiths, I realized the full scale of the tragedy. The Volchansky tram is in its death throes. There are no spare parts, no instructions for trams either. The mechanics themselves came to the depot recently: one from the mine, the other from electric locomotives. No one had dealt with trams before, but it seems like electric locomotives have a lot in common with them ..

Therefore, even elementary problems, which are usually solved in other cities in 5 minutes, here can lead to a complete halt in the movement of a single carriage. It's just that nobody knows how to fix them. And if they know, then there may not be the necessary details or diagrams. They need to be ordered from Yekaterinburg or from somewhere else.

The director of the depot does not want to spend much money on calling qualified specialists, or at least on instructions for the cars. His approach is "driving and ok".

Having learned that I was from Moscow and was interested in trams, the locksmiths began to try to find out from me how to connect which resistors. Maybe I know. But alas, my level here is purely amateurish, I have no idea how the tram works inside, shame ..

The depot has several idle cars, including a recently purchased new KTM-19. It has been standing for almost a year due to a burned-out microcircuit. It hurts to watch.

The only operating car KTM-8 No. 1 is called "Rossel". By the name of the governor who gave it. The current one, of course, is conditional. Locksmiths check it after each flight if it ends successfully.

In general, the car breaks down almost constantly, almost every flight. But if the breakdown is minor, then usually it is eliminated by the driver with a sledgehammer. Nevertheless, each departure of the carriage is like going to war. It is not known if he will return.

People stopped using the tram altogether. Have you seen how many people were on it? They started the bus, and everyone began to ride it. Previously, when the tram ran steadily, people traveled. And now someone who hunts through the forest through snowdrifts drags several kilometers. It's still nice to walk now when the weather is good. And imagine what it's like in winter, or in the rain?

Almost every 2-3 days the car breaks down somewhere. We leave on a technical, repair on the spot, or pull it to the depot. And it’s good if the car reaches residential areas, otherwise if it gets stuck in the forest, you have to call a tractor. That's how everything on January 1 was carried with him. We used to dream about electric locomotives, but now we dream about trams.

While I was inspecting the depot, the tram left for another run. I went to meet him, thinking just to find him in the forest.

On the way I examined the southern part of Volchansk. Street along the line - almost the entire city! Think in scale!

Also German houses. Pay attention to sparsely populated and small machines. Really very quiet and sparsely populated. And the tram!

But the tram passed the route faster, and I met him even before leaving the residential area. The tram did not go to the next round, because. repair was required.

I decided to wait, there was hope that the car would be repaired - I wanted to ride to the northern part again. The tram was being repaired for about an hour, and when I was about to leave Volchansk, he did leave!

On the way there was another emergency stop, when the driver had to hit the contacts with a sledgehammer. And I drove to the northern part, where there is still a tram railway. moving!

How many places do you know where cars pass trams at railway crossings? In general, it is necessary to do this everywhere so that it would be disrespectful for gas guzzlers not to respect trams. :))

And here is another confirmation that the tram in Volchansk was laid along the railway line!

Coming out in the same clearing where I sat down, I decided to walk along the rest of the line. And if in the part that I walked in the afternoon to the line there is a parallel road, then here is really a deep forest.

Once upon a time there were sidings in the forests and several wagons ran on the line. And even earlier there was a second line for the 5th section. And quite in Soviet times, in the 50s, there was an intercity line to Karpinsk. I think that a large agglomeration of three cities with a single tram network could grow here. It would be cool:) But, it turned out what happened.

The locksmith from the depot intimidated me with activated ticks, so I walked along these paths with caution.

By the way, I mentioned here at the beginning that Volchansk is the smallest CITY with a tram in Russia. However, it is the city! Not a locality. Because there is an even smaller village than Volchansk Cheryomushki

Yes, in general, tiny electric transport facilities always catch such soulfulness. A small depot, sometimes not guarded or fenced at all. Where you can safely go, chat with employees - drivers, mechanics. They are often friendly in such places - they will tell and show everything. Lines passing through some incredibly deaf, completely atypical places for this type of transport. And you are impressed how it got here and how it works?

The Volchansk tram left me with a very ambiguous feeling. On the one hand, such a unique system, well, how can one not preserve it, at least for the sake of heritage?

On the other hand, it is certain that if the tram in Volchansk disappears tomorrow, there will not be a transport collapse in the city. It's just that Volchansk will lose a very cool feature. But this will already be an end to bullying by a few employees and drivers.

I really feel sorry for the driver, for whom this constantly breaking car seems to be eternal torture .. And it would be fine if he still drove people. So no one uses the tram. Now it turns out that this is really "a tram for the sake of a tram" ..
Nevertheless, I believe that Volchansk needs to preserve this type of electric transport by investing in the modernization of its infrastructure. At least for the legacy.

So, hurry up to see the Volchansky and Krasnoturinsky trams! I think it's best to come on a weekday. And, of course, if you are traveling, it is logical to visit both cities, bypass both lines. Between cities somewhere 20-25 km. With successful logistics, a visit to both trams fits into one day. But if Karpinsky still existed, it would be more difficult.

Volchansk is the smallest city in Russia with tram traffic. Its population is about 10 thousand inhabitants. On a single-track tram line with a length of 8 kilometers, one car runs in one direction.

It all rests on the pure enthusiasm of the people working there and meager budgetary funds.

The main text is taken from Wikipedia.

Route map

Sad film about Volchansky tram

1. Tram traffic in Volchansk opened on December 31, 1951. At that time, Volchansk did not yet have the status of a city (it received it only in 1956), but the population reached thirty thousand inhabitants.

2. In the past, there were two city tram lines in Volchansk: to Lesnaya Volchanka and to coal mine No. 5. The last line was closed in 1994 due to constant theft of the contact wire.

3. There was also an intercity tram line to Karpinsk, which operated from 1953 to April 22, 1965, dismantled due to the passage of the huge EVG-15 excavator from Karpinsk to Volchansk on the road between these two cities. Traces of this line are still visible along the road to Karpinsk.

7. There is only one route. Travel time is approximately 25-30 minutes. There is one car on the line.

8. From May 2010 traffic stops for the period from 10:00 to 16:00. Initially, the tram was stopped during the day due to difficulties in paying for electricity (electricity was cut off at the traction substation during the day). Then, even after paying off the debts, it was decided not to run the tram during the day, since the passenger traffic at this time is quite low.

9. The rolling stock consists of two cars 71-605 (side numbers 7 and 8), a car 71-608KM (side number 1), a car 71-402 "SPEKTR" (side number 2) and a car 71-619KT (side number 3) .

10. Somewhere in the depot, a platform from the KTM-1 car has been preserved, which, by attaching it to a passenger car, the lupus use to transport materials and tools to the places of work on the way.

11. The depot is heated by a stove.

12. Passenger cars are equipped with drag current collectors, which is due to the peculiarities of the contact network.

13. In addition to the tram, passenger transport operates in Volchansk: a fixed-route taxi and a bus belonging to the same carrier and operating along the Volchansk-Karpinsk route, while almost completely duplicating the tram route, as well as passenger taxis.

14. Since the city administration has ceased to provide reasonable competition since 2009, and the operational speed of motor transport is higher than that of a tram, and also due to the fact that a fixed-route taxi and a bus run twice as often as a tram, the choice of a solvent passenger is often not in favor tram. Nevertheless, the tram was in Volchansk a kind of standard of stability and constancy: the traffic schedule is strictly observed, malfunctions on the track are promptly (as far as possible) corrected, even in conditions of extremely low passenger traffic on early morning and late evening runs, the management of the tram fleet does not intend to cancel these flights.

15. Warehouse of running electric motors.

16. Fry are bred in the bath.

17. There were fears that if the regional budget does not allocate funds for the maintenance of the tram in 2011, then electric transport in Volchansk may stop. However, in March 2011 (when these photos were taken) the tram was running. Now what, I don't know. But I couldn't find any information about closing.

18. Winter protection from the cold.

19. The fare is 14 rubles (March 2011).

20. The tram line intersects with the railway twice: in one case - with a little-used railway line, and in the other - with more unused access roads to the former sawmill.

21. Yurievich catches the sounds of extraterrestrial civilizations.

22. Approximately 2.5 km of the line on the interurban segment between the southern and northern settlements passes through the virgin taiga forest.

23. Here is such an unusual tram.

Virtual tour of the line.

Many thanks to the director of the Volchansky tram and all the employees for their hospitality and help!

Original taken from griphon in Trams of Volchansk and Krasnoturinsk