myaroslav
Straight to the south: exploring the Turkistan-Siberia railway, the first successful large-scale construction project of Soviet Union. Started in unsettled 1920s, the construction was probably driven by socialistic slogans and exploiting mostly the poverty of locals than forced labor. The Turksib route was intended to have a pioneering value, bringing modern life (and propaganda) to rural steppes and deserts. That feeling of arriving new life was later depicted by official painter Kasteev who had been a worker on railway construction. Enlarged copies of his works are now installed in Semei station building. One can recognise an old #Ov steam loco there. Turksib was finished in 1931, aiming to give the southern Kazakhstan, already connected to the European part of the Russia, a link with the Trans-Siberian route. It allowed shipping of siberian bread and coal to the south, returning fruits and cotton - a strategic source of gunpowder. Today Turksib is serving mostly inner Kazakhstan services, though a train to Russia was recently restored after covid closure. The large part of the freight traffic are direct container routes from China to the west: two railways from China have been connected to the line during last 30 years. Since the construction the route still remains single-tracked and non-electrified. Each 20 minutes you see sidings with waiting freight or make a short stop for opposite train to pass. There are 3-4 passenger services along the main part of the route, including faster Talgos and slower regular trains both pulled by localised GEVOs. Riding the route you can feel the change of several seasons from snowy winter to hot summer in a day required to pass this scarcely populated terrain, observing distant mountains and muslim cemeteries resembling old ruins on the adjacent hills. (to be continued) #trainspotting #train #diesel #station #Turksib
