St.Petersburg-Tsarskoe Selo Railway

The Tsarskoselskaya Railway is the first Russian public railway running between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo. Until 1851 it was the only railway in the country and the 6^th in the world. Its construction started on May 1, 1836 and took 18 months to complete.

On January 6, 1835, Franz Anton von Gerstner, an Austrian engineer sent a letter to the Russian Emperor Nicholas I proposing to construct a railway network in Russia. Von Gerstner had perfect qualifications for the project since he had been the engineer of the first public railway on the European continent – the Danube-Moldavia line. He wrote about the advantages, which railway construction had brought to other countries. Von Gerstner gave the examples of American railways to show that they could operate under severe weather conditions in the winter. He also emphasized that due to Russia’s geography, railways would benefit the country’s economy. The relatively flat terrain made railways easy to build and the large distances made them profitable to operate. To convince the Emperor, von Gerstner proposed to build an experimental line from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo. According to the project, the railway was to start near the center of the Russian capital, travel along the Obvodnyi Canal and then lead to Pavlovsk Park in Tsarskoe Selo. The Obvodnyi Canal would be crossed by a bridge. The route would be a straight line with only one curve.

On March 21, 1836, the plan was approved. Von Gerstner had promised that the line would be completed by October 1, 1836. He immediately left for Europe to order locomotives, cars, rails, and other equipment. He chose the best manufacturers and insisted on high quality despite added costs.

When von Gerstner returned, earthworks were underway and bridges were being erected. The forest on either side of the line was cleared to 420 feet out, the swampy areas were drained and embankments were built. The large bridge over the Obvodniy Canal was being constructed slowly due to the size and location of the bridge, but the other 34 bridges were erected rather quickly.

By the end of 1836, eight kilometers of track had been laid down. The track was constructed with the heaviest cast iron rails available. The wooden sleepers were treated with tar¹ to prevent them from decay. Special measures were taken to ensure that the tracks would not be damaged by winter freezes and thaws. Everything was done to the highest possible quality.

Although none of the locomotives had arrived by the October 1 deadline, von Gerstner demonstrated the line on September 27. Horses were used to pull two trains of two carriages each along the 3 km. Trials were also held on the two following Sundays with great success. By November, several locomotives had been delivered and were ready to be tested. On November 3, 1836, one of the locomotives pulled 5 carriages up and down the completed sections of the line.

The official opening of the Tsarskoe Selo Railway took place on October 30, 1837. Many guests of honor, including Emperor Nicholas I, and a crowd of curious spectators attended the ceremony. Driven by von Gerstner, the Provornyi locomotive pulled 8 passenger cars from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo, reaching the top speed of 64 kmh on one section of the track. That day, it took a train 35 minutes to cover 23 km.

After the inauguration, regular service between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo began. Initially, trains were drawn by horses and only on Sundays by steam engines; but after April 4, 1838, steam power was used exclusively.

Note: ¹tar – смола

Ex. 16. Each of the sentences below is followed by two paraphrases. Decide which paraphrase (a or b) is closer in meaning to the original statement.