History of Pereslavl Narrow Gauge Railway

At the end of the 1920s, the plan for industrialisation of the young Soviet Russia called for the reconstruction of the textile mill and a rubber products plant in Pereslavl-Zalessky. The textile mill, previously belonging to "Co-operative of Pereslavl Manufacture", was renamed "Red Echo". The rubber plant, originally "Triangle", was reshaped to produce cinematographic film and became "Cinema Film Factory No. 5".

The fuel for these factories was to be peat, dug from the vast bogs of the Berendeyevo Kingdom, located on the opposite side of Lake Plescheyevo to Pereslavl-Zalessky, along the banks of Vyoksa river. To transport peat from the bog to the lake shore, a simple waggonway was laid. Open wooden wagons loaded with peat were hauled manually or with horses along a wooden boardway. On the lake shore, peat was transferred to barges for onward transport to the town.

The first "Cuckoo Train" could look like this. Photo from Orenstein & Koppel archive

In the middle of the 1930s the boardway was replaced by metal rails and the first steam locomotive appeared in the bogs.

In 1938, a railway line was laid along the western shore of the lake, connecting the peat cutting areas with the factories. First locomotives were joined by new class 159 0-8-0 engines built by Kolomna works. As peat extraction expanded, the settlement of Kupanskoye was founded on the right bank of Vyoksa river, to house the peat diggers.

Class 159 steam engine at Kupan' Photo from museum achive

During the Great Patriotic War, the narrow gauge worked hard to provide Pereslavl-Zalessky with fuel. The writer Michael Prishvin who lived in Usolje Village not far from Kupanskoye was witness to it. In his diaries, he often mentioned the Cuckoo train.

After the war, the railways in the bogs and forests of the Berendeyevo Kingdom were widely extended. In 1946 new peat extraction area was opened at Msharovo. In 1948, peatery was set up in Talitsy village on Bludovo bog. Each works had own engines and rolling stock.

The pre-war class 159 engines were joined by new standard class P24 0-8-0s. Trophy locos were brought in from Germany, and three locomotives were received from Finland, as part of war reparations. For shunting at factories and peat fields, diesel locomotives were used, of both domestic and foreign manufacture.

VP1-116 steam engine (class P24) at Talitskiy junction. Photo from museum achive

The rolling stock consisted mainly of standard 8-ton gondolas for peat transportation and 8-ton flats. Several flats were converted in the local workshops into passenger carriages and special vehicles. Alongside the peat trains, regular passenger and freight traffic was organised.

In 1958 the Pereslavl railway to the north of the lake was connected with the Beklemishevo-Ivanovskoye narrow gauge line, independent since 1930s. This line had been supplying peat to the Yaroslavl power station and other customers in the Yaroslavl region. In 1960 rails were laid to the west, up to the border with Moscow region, where new peatfields were opened near Vedomsha village (now Kubrinsk). The total length of the system exceeded 200 km. The four lines from the west, east, north and south joined at the bridge across Vyoksa.

The passenger train with TU4 diesel locomotive at Vyoksa station. Photo by Vadim Mironov

Peat was delivered not only to Pereslavl factories, but also to other customers in central Russia. It was exported through Beklemishevo station where facilities to transship peat into broad gauge wagons were built. In addition to fuel, peat was also supplied for use as agricultural fertilizer. The new diesel locomotives, all-metal peat gondolas and comfortable passenger carriages appeared on the line. Traffic became so intense that a second track had to be laid between Philippovskoye and Beklemishevo. Trains from Kubrinsk were often double headed - ran with two locomotives.

In 1960-1970s new narrow gauge equipment was tested on the Pereslavl railway. Meanwhile, steam locomotives were phased out and to the end of 1970s were all retired and scrapped.

Freight train with TU8 diesel locomotive. Photo by Vadim Mironov

In the 1980s the decline began. Perestroika brought on the collapse of old economy. The railway began to loose customers, and operations came to a halt. The system was saved from complete closure by the Yaroslavl cooperative "Dekor", which bought it out from "Yartorf" trust.

With support of "Dekor" the Pereslavl Railway Museum was established in 1990 - to become the only narrow gauge museum in Russia. Steam trains returned to Pereslavl and the Berendeyevo Kingdom. On the 2nd July 1991 the first tourist steam train ran between Pereslavl and Vyoksa.

Restored "Cuckoo Train" Photo by Vadim Mironov

From 2002 the Pereslavl Railway Museum together with the "Dekor" cooperative has been taking active measures to save the unique and almost extinct means of transport - the Cuckoo Train, by supporting regular passenger services on Pereslavl - Kupanskoye and Kupanskoye - Kubrinsk sections. However, at the end of May 2003 the lack of funding finally caused the closure of the network. Passenger trains to Pereslavl and Kubrinsk were replaced by buses.

The end of demand for peat resulted in cesssation of freight traffic. The Beklemishevo and Msharovo lines were dismantled. Peat extraction remained only in Kubrinsk, where a small length of narrow gauge is still operational.

The 2.5 km branch from Talitsy through the Bludovo bog was preserved for museum traffic.