I had the opportunity to go to Russia 5 times in the last 7 years. Each time I searched for HO trains. Once I found a few tyco or Bachman cars which were greatly overpiced, but they were just American road names and stuff probably from the U. S. I would really like to get a box car with Russian lettering on it. I enjoyed riding the Russian rails. They were old cars, but ran a tight schedule.
Try: http://www.redstarrailways.com/ Red Star Railways is the only place I know of to get Russian Prototype equipement.
Nick
Be sure to check out the other sites on the Russian Railway Ring linked from the Red Star site. There’s a lot of info there.
It is interesting that it appears the best source for Russian prototype models is:
Red Star Railways
P.O. Box 352
Cheswold, Delaware 19936
U.S.A. [8D]
Thanks. I tried to contact a Russian model club who posted a short note in the 2001 May, June or July issue of MR, while I was in Moscow. The phone number listed didn’t work.
GREAT!!! Thanks nbrodar and DSchmitt
I just checked the site out and it is just what I wanted.
Bolshoi spasiba
(great Thanks)
Interesting. Nice models, but it looks as if the trucks on most of the models offered are HO standard gauge as opposed to broad gauge. Is this true?
For some reason I really liked the background Soviet era apartment building modules [:)]
Red Star Railways is always present at each Timonium (MD) show.
The equipment is very neat when you see it in person.
Dale Latham
I’m fairly sure that the Russian rails were 5 feet. I think the still used HO. I don’t think they adjusted the car size to make it to scale. I do have a few photos of some Russian trains, but most were of a moving train from a moving vehicle.
Yes, Soviet/Russian (and Ukraine/Khazastan/etc.) are 5foot (well… in reality 1520mm as opposed to 1435 standard gauge) - so if the car bodies are HO scale, and the trucks which are supposed to be 1520 vs 1435… ugh, do we get another scale mess like the origins of O gauge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_gauge)
Hmmm, in a few years, the Russian modelers will be demanding Proto HOb1520…
Historically the Russian Empire deliberately chose its own gauge (in a Russian unit of measurement I think) in order to prevent their railways from being used by an invader from the west.
Their wisdom was “proved” by the Prussian use of railways through to Paris in the Franco-Prussian war.
British Army railway practice is to run single line working regardless of what they find on the ground. If there are two good lines they work both as single lines. Toward the end of WW2 the German practice while retreating was to rip a length of ties on one track with a loco hauled plough, add explosives and then rip the opposite track the same for a length. Whether they intended to be able to re-instate a wiggly single line when they advanced again no one knows as they didn’t come back… but the British army did mend things with a wiggly single track and carry on as normal. I had this information from guys who were involved when I was a kid.
There is certainly flm of the damage the Germans did… for some reason they loved filming everything they did… even while they were retreating.
Good luck with the Russian models.