Typical Trans-Siberian Haulage

[superalbs]

Hello,

With the Trans-Siberian being a good 6+ days of travel, I am curious as to what locos you could expect to get on a typical journey, and where they would change. It must change a lot, and have a decent variety of locos. Presumably all electric throughout.

Does anyone have any ideas, perhaps from experience on such a journey?

Thanks.

 

[JonathanP]

Try this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL68mFhvasDdZQhC1NPMSC95_w-koAkH6a. He usually specifies which locomotive type is hauling the train.

It would appear that RZD is divided internally into different regional districts which have their own rolling stock, and at a minimum the locomotives have to be changed periodically for one of another region.

 

[KeithMcC]

We did the full route to Vladivostok about 4 years ago, but in several stages, only some of them on actual train No. 2. The coaches and the sleeping car staff do the full journey with stops every so often for maintenance, water, toilet emptying etc. (including that long forgotten sound of the wheel tapper!).
I wasn't really paying too much attention to the haulage as we weren't close to the front, but I don't think it was changed very often, but the big Russian electrics all look very similar!
I do remember that the train was surprisingly short, as we were expecting something on an American scale. Several post vans, a diner, 2 1st class sleepers and 3 or 4 lower class sleepers.

 

[MarcVD]

I did Moscow to Beijing in 2011, with stops in Ekaterinburg and Irkutsk. From what I remember, we had engine changes 2 to 3 times per day. If I remember well what I read at that time, Russian locs are still assigned to a unique driver, so when the driver exhausts his driving time, the loco is exchanged too. I took quite a lot of pictures, can post some here if there is any interest.

 

[superalbs]

I did Moscow to Beijing in 2011, with stops in Ekaterinburg and Irkutsk. From what I remember, we had engine changes 2 to 3 times per day. If I remember well what I read at that time, Russian locs are still assigned to a unique driver, so when the driver exhausts his driving time, the loco is exchanged too. I took quite a lot of pictures, can post some here if there is any interest.

That would be of great interest, thank you.

 

[MarcVD]

That would be of great interest, thank you.

Here is already one : EP1 loco taken somewhere between Etaterineburg and Irkutsk on July 6th, 2011. Picture taken when it was added to the train.



And the same when it was removed from the train, some 7 hours later :

 

[superalbs]

Here is already one : EP1 loco taken somewhere between Etaterineburg and Irkutsk on July 6th, 2011. Picture taken when it was added to the train.

View attachment 85876

And the same when it was removed from the train, some 7 hours later :

View attachment 85877

Lovely stuff! That's quite the run for one loco then!

 

[MarcVD]

Lovely stuff! That's quite the run for one loco then!

Here is another one, this time between Moscow and Ekaterinburg. First picture taken when the loco was put in front of the train :




And second one when it was replaced, this time some 8 hours later. The loco closer on the picture is the replacement, but you can see the one that has just been detached in the distance :

 

[superalbs]

Here is another one, this time between Moscow and Ekaterinburg. First picture taken when the loco was put in front of the train :

View attachment 85910


And second one when it was replaced, this time some 8 hours later. The loco closer on the picture is the replacement, but you can see the one that has just been detached in the distance :

View attachment 85911

Awesome to see the ChS4T leading such a train! They're amazing looking locomotives.

Can't say that I know the ID of that second one, but they look cool too.

 

[Cowley]

Here is another one, this time between Moscow and Ekaterinburg. First picture taken when the loco was put in front of the train :

View attachment 85910


And second one when it was replaced, this time some 8 hours later. The loco closer on the picture is the replacement, but you can see the one that has just been detached in the distance :

View attachment 85911

Really impressive. Thanks for posting the photos.

 

[oldman]

This page has a set of maps under the caption Карты участков Транссиба, which says 'Large green circles mark the stations where the change of locomotives or their crews takes place. ' There are a lot of them.

This is followed by Текстовые схемы участков и ответвлений Транссиба (Text schemes of sections and branches of the Transsib). Dated 2014 each section states what types of locomotive are used. For example the first section out of Moscow says

Moscow-Yaroslavskaya - Aleksandrov - Yaroslavl - Danilov (locomotives used: VL10, VL11, ChS2, ChS7, direct current); Danilov - Bui - Sharya - Svecha (used locomotives: ChS4T, VL80S, VL60PK, VL60K, alternating current). (Google translate)

 

[Taunton]

There's a useful illustrated page here on Russian electric locos

Railfaneurope.net

Welcome to Railfaneurope.net, the European Railway Server. This server provides information about the European Railways, for railway fans as well as for travellers who wish to explore Europe by train.

www.railfaneurope.net

I don't believe Russian locos each have a specific driver, but changing locos with each shift of them is more common, keeping them within their division. This is of course quite different to crossing the USA or Canada, where through trains have long used the same power set throughout, over several days, with the diesels being refuelled in situ at the head of the train periodically.

the big Russian electrics all look very similar!

Not helped by many of the types over time having been built with separate versions for 3Kv DC and 25Kv AC, different class numbers but using the same bodyshells. The Trans-Siberian is basically DC west of Mariinsk and AC east of there. For each of the loco types there are commonly different livery variations in use, which I have always thought reflected the division it belonged to.

Soviet-era passenger locos (and for the decade or more after Perestroika when none were acquired) were all built in Czechoslovakia by Skoda, this is what class ChS (ЧС in Cyrillic) stands for, there were different body styles (both AC and DC) but they have a certain high-set cab similarity. Most are still around.

Can't say that I know the ID of that second one, but they look cool too.

That's an EP1M (ЭП1М in Cyrillic), the current passenger type in production with a single-piece windscreen (great styling idea, until you see the cost of replacing one when broken ...), built at Novocherkassk works, near Rostov, the first non Czech-built passenger loco since probably WW2 EP1 = Electric Passenger design 1; Russian classes are pretty simple. The original EP1 was pretty much in the body of the electric freight loco, of which Novo had built thousands over many years, the M variant has a new body and cab. It's not unknown for Russian types to change cab styles radically, the old long-running suburban passenger "Elektrichka" with the 1950s space-rocket classical front profile later got replaced by something a lot flatter and plainer.

The big high-up roof mountings on Russian electric locos are winterisation equipment, hopefully (but not always) beyond the snow!

 

[superalbs]

That's an EP1M (ЭП1М in Cyrillic), the current passenger type in production with a single-piece windscreen (great styling idea, until you see the cost of replacing one when broken ...), built at Novocherkassk works, near Rostov, the first non Czech-built passenger loco since probably WW2 EP1 = Electric Passenger design 1; Russian classes are pretty simple. The original EP1 was pretty much in the body of the electric freight loco, of which Novo had built thousands over many years, the M variant has a new body and cab. It's not unknown for Russian types to change cab styles radically, the old long-running suburban passenger "Elektrichka" with the 1950s space-rocket classical front profile later got replaced by something a lot flatter and plainer.

The big high-up roof mountings on Russian electric locos are winterisation equipment, hopefully (but not always) beyond the snow!

Rail Fan Europe has it down as a EP2K, apparently based on a TEP70. Interesting!

 

[Taunton]

Rail Fan Europe has it down as a EP2K, apparently based on a TEP70. Interesting!

I hadn't read it properly! EP1 is the AC version, EP2 is the DC. This was between Moscow and Ekaterinburg. That's indeed the DC part of the line.

 

[yorkie]

Thread unlocked to enable @superalbs to post an update

 

[superalbs]

The holy grail of stock formations has recently posted an update showing the formations of the main workings in Russia.

Here is train #2, the flagship train on the Transib route:

vagonWEB » Řazení vlaků » 2021 » РЖД С » С 2Щ Россия

www.vagonweb.cz

Moskva to Kostroma: ChS7
Kostroma to Galich: TEP70BS
Galich to Balezino: ChS4T
Balezino to Ekaterinburg: EP2K
Ekaterinburg to Barabinsk: EP2K
Barabinsk to Maryinsk: EP2K
Maryinsk to Zima: EP1P
Zima to Chernyshevsk: ED2T
Chernyshevsk to Belogorsk: EP1
Belogorsk to Vladivostok: EP1

It changes nine times, for ten locos in all. Not bad for nearly a week of travel!

 

[popeter45]

could a EMU last for the entire trip on its own with driver changes?
somthing like the Bi-Mode version of the Talgo 250 could work quite well for the Moscow-Beijing trains as no need for loco or bogie swaps could shave quite a few hours off it

 

[KeithMcC]

When we went a good proportion of the train was postal vans so an EMU might not be that useful.

 

[popeter45]

When we went a good proportion of the train was postal vans so an EMU might not be that useful.

depends on how consistnt the postal goods are
either add a few goods cars to the EMU of go with multible portion working and add a La Poste/class 325 style EMU to the consist