Railroad feats in St. Pete.

There are different kinds of museums.

There are real museums (in the classic understanding of the word), there are expositions, exhibitions, installations… What other words are there for describing such events? Graffiti! Btw, good quality graffiti done in good taste – is it an exposition or installation or hooliganism? The latter I cross out since good graffiti (IMHO) is real art. Oops. Off piste before even getting on piste. I do keep doing that…

So. Museums…

St. Petersburg is ram packed full of them. It’s like the museum capital of the world.

Now, I understand that if St. P’s museums were to be compared with, say, the Louvre or the British Museum, St. P’s may lag behind somewhat. However, considering the very difficult past St. Petersburg has had, its museums are a bit of a miracle. Museums weren’t all that well supported in post-imperial times; the same goes for during the 70+ years under Communism; obviously WWII was a major setback; and of late, post-CCCP, the city’s museums have continued to be somewhat neglected with no generous state or philanthropic sponsors coming forward as they do in the West. Maybe I’m wrong. But that’s how it seems to me. Do correct me if I’m mistaken.

There I go again… OK. Back to the main topic…

In Saint Pete there are the usual suspects: the museums children visit on school trips – the typical, the bland, the traditional, the obvious. So we, naturally, decided to shake things up a bit and go alternative, rebel, renegade! We went to… the Railroad Museum!

Straight off, I really recommend it – especially to young boys (oops, is that classed as sexist these days?). For the toys in the boys section of a toyshop, well, half of them are trains, and here – it’s train heaven! All sorts of railroad exhibits here, spanning the whole history of this unique, chic and romantic mode of transport, from the beautiful to the scary, and from the run-of-the-mill to the odd-ball; the latter being the most interesting of all…

I’ll shut up now – and let the pix do the talking. If you want more detail there’s this thing called the Internet these days – check it out). Or try zoom into the text on the info-plates shown in some of the photos.

Massive wheels with levers. Hmmm, forgotten what the physics of these mechanisms are called. Anyone jog my memory?

See, I told you there were some strange-looking contraptions. The symbolism of former times in full attendance too…

Some interesting imported items, some super Soviet shunters, and some speed records:

Magnificent military might on rails…

So if you’re ever in St. Petersburg for a while as a tourist but are getting a little tired of the usual haunts – come here for something a bit different. A good two hours will pass before you know it. Time flies goes by railroad when you’re having fun!

All the Peter pics are here.