Travel articles. Magazin Railways

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Double unit Class M62 haulage from Yagodyn to Sarny was followed by a single unit M62 from there to Korosten. This photo shows UZ loco 2M62-1014 (half a double unit) with the previous day's 21.35 Warszawa-Kyiv at Poyoski on 27th February. Note the smaller loading gauge of the Polish sleeping car at the rear.

Text and All Photos by Colin Boocock

In TR39, we published a long article on Leroy Demery 's impressions of travel around Ukraine. One notable aspect missing from this was a de­scription of the remaining steam traction in the country. Earlier this year, Colin Boocock and his wife travelled through Ukraine in the Dzerelo tour train, and found comfort mixed with run-pasts.

Entering Ukraine by train is always a mo­ment of excitement, if only because in a "sleeping car" no-one gets any sleep for at least four hours! Train 68, the 21.35 Warszawa-Kyiv (Kiev) reached the border in Poland at Dorohusk soon after 02.00, and the Polish passport team were polite and quick in their checks. Not so the Ukrain­ians! Half an hour later when we had crossed into the no-man's-land next to Yagodyn the compartment door was roughly slammed open and the lights switched full on. Every­one had to sit up in bed so that the passport controller could check that when we were upright we looked like our passport photo­graphs. Then the customs people came and demanded our declaration forms. Our tour operator, The Railway Touring Company of King's Lynn, had thankfully advised us in advance how to fill these in as they were printed entirely in Cyrillic script, some forms in Ukrainian and others in Russian! We had to keep the stamped copies so that when we left the country they could see that we were taking out less money than we had brought in. (Later we were told that none of this was necessary if our total declarable belongings on the trip amounted to less than USD 1000 each, so it had all been a waste of everyone's time, though it did provide employment.)

Ukraine Railways (UZ) sleeping cars forming the 21.35 Warszawa-Kiev ore jacked up to change to broad gauge bogies at Yogodyn on 25th February.

Bogie Changing

That all took two hours. Then the train was then shunted into the bogie-changing shed, a properly-equipped workshop building with two pitted tracks and five carriage positions on each track with lifting jacks. The nine car­riages on our train, including the Polish sleeper we were traveling in, were slowly jacked up after the brake gear and hose con­nections had been released. On the far road I was able to watch the process as the far end shed door opened and ten 1520 mm gauge bogies were winched in to run under the raised carriages, pushing forward the ten 1435 mm gauge bogies, which disappeared out of the shed door behind us.

It was February and very cold. There was much hammering to fit the replacement bo­gies and brake linkages, particularly under our coach, and no-one was able to sleep at all during the two-hour process. By 06.30 we were on our way again, by which time day­light was threatening and sleep would not return as we were interested in seeing this strange and foreign land.

We had double-unit 2M62 diesel haulage for the next four hours to Sarny, followed by a single half-unit for a further three hours from there to Korosten. Class M62 locos should be familiar to TR readers. Ferenc Joo recently described the locos still operating in Hungary whilst their equivalents - DB Class 220 and CD Class 781 are either gone or almost gone. All Class M62, of which around 3000 were built for Soviet railways and many other for Soviet satellites, were built at Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. At Korosten, a 25 kV a.c. Skoda Class ChS4 Co-Co came on. This electric locomotive looked ragged, its plastic body not holding its paint well. (We later saw another ChS4 with a rebuilt body at Kyi'v which looked much smarter.)

Coal Stoves

On all of this journey, carriage heating was by means of coal stoves, one in each coach, stoked by the sleeping car attendants. Even the modern Polish sleeping car in which we were travelling had a coal stove - Ukrainian locomotives do not provide a train heating supply.

By this time we had got used to low train speeds, some of which were clearly dictated by track condition. Indeed, in Ukraine sev­eral main lines, including this one west of Korosten, have been singled for long stretches so that the rails of the closed track can be recovered to maintain the remaining one. It took us just under 8 hours for the 512km from Yagodyn to Kyiv. an average of about 66 km/h. The electric Co-Co took us to the capital, Kyi'v where we arrived soon after 16.00. Our hotel overlooked the frozen Dniepr river. In the morning we watched two lonely souls saw holes in the ice to fish for breakfast.

Our train with UZ Skoda Class ChS4 Co-Co ChS4-108 at Korosten on 25th February. 230 of these 4920 kW locos were built.

Freedom from the Soviet grip came to the Ukraine in 1991. By 1992, the Dzherelo company had been formed and had obtained a train of sleeping and dining carriages in which to attract foreign business people and holidaymakers into the country. Valentin, an enterprising leading light in the Dzherelo company, had also purchased a number of steam locomotives from the former Soviet strategic reserve.

We made history on the morning of 26th February 2000. Our train was to be the first steam train to leave Kviv's main station for 29 years! The American 2-10-0 YeA-2026 (Alco. 1948) looked suitably ancient as it wheezed out of the open terminus with its 600 tone train of eleven heavy ex-Soviet sleeping, dining and service coaches. Class YeA (A stands for Amerikanskii) were 2-10-0 locos of which 2051 were delivered to the Soviet Union by Alco and Baldwin from 1944 to 1947.

As the train ran at a leisurely plod through the flat countryside south-west of Kyiv, we could see that little other enterprise existed

in the country. We learned from our guidebook that 75% of Ukraine's industry collapsed when Russia turned its back on the country. Ukraine is that rare beast, an industrial country that has regressed towards subsistence agriculture. Many of the people have a depressed aspect, without much hope of better things, a feeling that is deepened by the lack of bright colors in their clothing.

Sleeping Car Accommodation

By hiring the Dzherelo train for our tour, The Railway Touring Company had secured our comfort in this otherwise relatively comfortless country. Dzherelo rose wonderfully to the occasion. Our sleeping cars were to be home for the week. Each couple shared a small compartment with two low-level beds, and there were singles as well. We had our own window on the passing world, double glazed and fixed shut to keep out the cold. There were windows which open in the corridor outside our compartment. The dining car, bar car and music car were visually opulent in their decor. At one end of the train there was even a sauna car that also carried the diesel generator that kept the other carriages' lighting batteries topped up (well, most of them, anyway). All passenger-carrying vehicles were warmed by

The first steam loco to leave Kyi'v's main station in 29 years -YeA 2026, seen here taking water at Fastov on 26th February.

individual coal stoves. Additionally they had small stoves, also coal-fired, for providing hot water for tea and coffee, the modern equivalent of the infa­mous samovar.

At Fastov. some 60 km from Ky'iv, the en­gine was detached for filling with water from a slow hydrant. Freight trains that came by were headed by Class VL80 double-unit Bo-Bo + Bo-Bo electric locomotives, exter­nally in good condition, with their ventila­tion grilles covered with leather blinds to keep out the cold. Freight slumped by 50% in the years after Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union but still totals around 340 million tonnes per year and almost 200 bil­lion tonne-km, much of it generated by the Donetsk region in the south-east corner of the country. Around 50 million tonnes per year is formed of iron ore and a further 25 million tonnes of non-ferrous metals. Most freight is concentrated on the electrified routes in order to conserve diesel fuel which

Class VL80K double-unit electric locomotive VL80K096 heads through Fastov with a northbound freight on 26th February. No less than 718 of this class (K means silicon rectifiers) were built by Novocherkassk from 1964 to 1971 followed by 1073 Class VL80T (T = rheostatic broking) from 1970 to 1980 then 373 Class VL80R (R = re­generative braking) from 1974 to 1986.

is in short supply (as is money to buy it.) This is also the reason for the incredible reintro-duction of steam locos to service in 1994.

Local trains we saw at Fastov formed of ten-car fixed-formation electric multiple units. Ukrainians use their railways heavily for per­sonal travel, generating well over 500 million journeys a year and around 55 billion passen-ger-km. Indeed a recent study revealed that this country has the highest usage of railways in terms of the number of journeys made per head of the population, even ahead of Swit­zerland. It is interesting to reflect on the rea­sons that give these otherwise quite different countries their one statistical similarity: Ukrainians use trains because fares are low, because there is very little competition from buses and coaches and they cannot afford other means of transport; the Swiss do it be­cause of their topography, geography and the relative effectiveness of the SBB.

The meals in the Dzherelo dining car were excellent, both in variety and quantity. There was nightly entertainment in the music coach. The on-board doctor had little to do, except to massage limbs damaged by slipping down embankments during run-pasts, a remedy that made her very popular among many otherwise hardy menfolk.

4-8-4s P36-0050 and 064 carry out a run-past in the snow at Belokorovitch on 27th February.

Complete Excitement!

For our complete excitement we had two of the glorious semi-streamlined Class P36 4-8-4s to take us along the main east-west line from Korosten to Kovel. Class P36 were built as late as 1954 to 1956 when Kolomna turned out 251 of them. They were nick­named "Pobeda" (victory) and had roller bearings throughout and mechanical stokers. Their appearance on Moskva-Leningrad expresses made them one of the best known Soviet steam types.

Over the next 300 km we had run-pasts in the snow, and many opportunities for footplating these large engines. To me, the footplate of P36-0050 was the largest, clean­est and quietest steam locomotive footplate on which I have ever travelled, and I wa^ brought up among Mr. Bulleid's wonderful Pacifies!

At Kovel P36-0064 was released to return to its home base in Belarus earlier thar P36-0050 which was kept for a second day'' haulage, but this latter engine then sufferec from some horrible coal that it took on a;

Kovel depot. After the fire had clinkered up beyond hope. we summoned the half-uni'. 2M62 that had been following us all day tc help the train into L'vov. Impressed by it' grand Austro-Hungarian-style station, we en­joyed a vintage tram tour of this attractive city. L'vov was host to 3000 V d.c. loco an>-EML' types - different from those we hai:

seen near Kyiv. The city is one point where the 3000 V d.c. network and the 25 kV a.c lines join. Of the 22 500 km UZ network, almost equal lengths of line are electrified b' each system - around 4000 km at 25 kV ;" 4600 km at 3000 V. 3000 V d.c. lines sprc--south and west from L'vov and cover muc-ofthe eastern half of the country, with a couple of sections in the Donetsk area.

Ex Soviet Railways 2-10-0 S017-4371 pilots (and dwarfs) "Kriegslok" TE-6115 at a run-post on the plateau south of Chertkov on 29th February.

Kriegslok' TE-6115 that was booked to take the Dzherelo train overnight to Chertkov ran a hot box while we were all asleep, so we did not have the planned five hours layover there. Three half-unit diesels were needed to haul this heavy train through the Carpathian foothills, so slowly that we won­dered how the other traffic got past. But of course in Ukraine off the main lines there is not so much traffic nowadays.

The hot box had cooled by breakfast time. Our tour leader, Nigel Dobbing, negotiated for TE-6115 to stay on the train so that pho­tographers could get shots of it at run-pasts. The rostered 2-10-0 S017-4371 came on the front as pilot. Class S017 were built by sev­eral different companies from 1935 to 1951 and in the end 4404 had been built, not to mention others for industrial operators.

Never before did I realise that a Russian-designed freight engine can make a German 1- KM) look •~m;ill. but No TE-6115 really was dwarfed by the older, taller if somewhat dumpy ex-Soviet machine. The pair gave us some superb run-pasts including a series on the grand bridge over the river Dniestr.

After three nights on the train we were bussed to a hotel in the splendidly Austro-Hun-garian/Romanian-style city of Chernovtsy. This gave the Dzherelo team the chance thoroughly to clean and re-equip the sleeping cars and to restock the kitchen and bar.

Inside the music coach on the Dzherelo tour train in southern Ukraine.

A Visit to the Depot

After the day with the large 2-10-0 at the head of the train, we had an evening reminiscent of many that we had experienced over thirty years ago in the UK when the party visited the depot at Chernovtsy. In addition to the usual Class M62 family of Co-Co diesels and the almost-as-common Czech-built Class ChME3 hood units, there were five steam locomotives on shed with four in steam! One was our own S017-4371 being serviced, whilst the second loco, 3535, a more modern Class L 2-10-0 of which 4200 were built from 1945 to 1955, was being prepared for our train the next day. So was the green Class SU 2-6-2 express engine (2680 built 1925-51) that we were to have two days later. Be­ing shunted around was one of five Class ER 0-10-Os (almost 3000 built 1935-57) that we saw in use as stationary boilers. This one, ER-799-82, had been repaired and was be­ing placed for its next static duty. Another, ER-700-29, was inside the semi-roundhouse under repair.

Spartan DMUs

Next, we had a day's fun with the two ex-Soviet 2-10-Os, by which time we had got into the routine of things - slow travel, punc­tuated by run-pasts or false starts, and time off for splendid meals. Occasionally we had to wait in loops to pass diesel railcars. Those DMUs indigenous to the area were actually old (1963-89) Class Dl Ganz-Mavag ma­chines with the unusual 1 B-2 wheel arrange­ment of the end power cars. The above-floor engine in each power car drives a transmis­sion that is linked to the widely-spaced inner axles of the power bogie, the leading wheelset being just to spread the weight. We noticed that passengers in these vehicles had to en­dure either slatted wooden seats, or worse, flat padded seats with no back-rests: in the latter the passengers could only lean back on to the bare compartment walls. Near the end of the day we visited Kolomiya depot to which we were shuttled in a train of two vintage coaches hauled by a Beyer Peacock 0-4-OT of 1932, No 'b-2137.

The next day was a pleasant ramble through the Carpathian foothills behind the green 2-6-2 which was piloting a similar-vintage-design 0-10-0, though ER-799-79 had actually been built in Hungary in the early

0-8-0 loco GR-6N286 carries out a run-post north of the town of Beregovo on 4th March.

A Toe in Romania

Many of us were becoming excited about the prospect of travelling for part of a day along a railway line that had, as an accident of his­tory, found itself on the wrong side of the border with Romania. The line from Rakhov to Chop enters Romania just north of the vil­lage ofValea Visaului, keeps close to the south bank of the river Tisa that forms the border. and after Cimpulung la Tisa it recrosses both the river and border to regain Ukraine.

In reality the process is not that easy. The border guards, passport officials and customs personnel of both countries puzzled at length over British passports and travellers' luggage items, particularly the seemingly vast quan­tities of cameras and video equipment that western railway enthusiasts deem it neces­sary to carry about. One official with a small step ladder unscrewed the lighting fitting in each compartment to peer into the roof cavi­ties to check for contraband (or drugs?). It took us nearly four hours to get through all the formalities at the first border crossing.

The actual distance to the next border cross­ing was only about 30 km, so after a couple of false starts and run-pasts our train duly pre­sented itself and us for the whole procedure to be repeated. Now that we are used to the openness of western European borders, one tends to forget that this sort of bureaucracy still exists in Europe. We actually reached the first station in Ukraine five hours late! This must be why there are no regular trains along this line, though the two governments are talking about opening it up again. In passing we should record that this line has dual-gauge track. On this border railway there are four rails interlaced with one another. (We were also very naughty in that our last run-past in Romania took place after we had been cleared by the Romanian customs to leave the country!)

CHME3-3375 houls Romanian and Czech wagons over mixed gauge track at Vinogradovo on 4th March 2000.

Narrow Gauge Time

We went to see one of Ukraine's really local railways, a 760 mm gauge line, on our penul­timate day there. Dzherelo had their own steam locomotive boiling up and ready for us at Beregovo. This was green 0-8-0 No GR6-286. Because the previous day had been unseasonably warm, the railway staff had not lit the coal stoves in our carriages, so we froze in our seats for the three hour run to a market town in the depth of the rolling countryside.
We learned that the government does not subsidise this line (and indeed I've since learnt that this applies to Ukraine Railways as a whole). It has to survive from the booking office takings. There is only enough money com­ing in to pay the staff one-third of what they are due for their full wages, which works out at less than £6 per person per month, and that leaves nothing surplus for the railway to cover any future investment or major repairs.

The line runs a useful passenger service with small B-B double-cab diesels, but it serves a largely rural community apart from the towns of Beregovo and Vinogradovo which are on    the main line. With little or nothing available in the form of social benefits, the prospects for these people look bleak.

Back to the Border

The main line that links Hungary near Zahonv with Romania at Cimpulung through Ukraine is dual gauge so that wagons and coaches can transit between Hungary/Slovakia and Romania without changing axles. We saw a standard gauge Ukrainian ChME3 diesel with a string of well-maintained Romanian bogie box wagons pass through Vinogradovo station on the  mixedgauge track. There were also some standard gauge Ukrainian M62 Co-Cos visible outside Chop depot when we departed the country next morning on our way home via Budapest and Wien.

Eight of us had opted to come back to the UK by train. Hungarian trains seemed small by comparison with the large sized ex-Soviet ones we had become used to, but speeds were very much higher -110 km/h at least, and the quality of restaurant car meals was as high as one comes to expect in Hungary. The overnight train from Wien to Koln was a German one carrying the English title CityNight-Line, our modern double-deck sleeping car being very quiet running but agonisingly cramped. It was then a short haul on a Thalys TGV to Brussels and on to the Eurostar that whisked us through the Channel Tunnel in just under 19 minutes portal-to-portal. Mary and I were comfortably in Derby by teatime, less than 24 hours after the earliest time we could possibly have reached home had we flown from Kyiv with the rest of the party.

The Dzherelo train can be booked for business and holiday parties through Galina Gamota, Head of Publicity Department, Dzherelo-SPK, 2 Protasov Yar Str., Kyiv, 252038, Ukraine; telephone 00380442695073, or fax 00380 44 269 5013.

Dzherelo train - a way to tour           

We featured in the June 2000 issue a rail tour that used the Dzherelo tour train, but did little justice to the features of the train itself which deserve further mention.

Established in 1992, soon after Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet regime, the company operates a luxury train that extends to at least 11 coaches including sleeping cars, a restaurant car, bar car and music car, all supported by a generator van at one end that also contains a sauna and showers for tour participants! With an all-up weight of  around 55 tonnes each car, the full train presents a 6001 load to test the might of the Russian-designed steam locomotives that can be called upon to work the train.

Each sleeping car is heated by means of a coal stove which enables warm water to be piped around the car's compartments. In addition there is a small coal stove that produces hot water for coffee and tea, a modern (?) version of the famous samovar of old times. The Dzherelo train can operate on Ukraine's 5ft gauge railway system, and also works tours into mother Russia as well. Guests are entertained by a talented on-train music group, and a doctor is on board to deal with guests' problems, such as sprained ankles from slipping down embankments during run-pasts!

The Dzherelo company also owns a number of steam locomotives, all of Russian design except for one German Kriegslok, and can call on others owned by the state railways of Ukraine and neighboring countries. Not all are 5ft gauge because the company keeps at  least one 760mm gauge 0-8-0 to brighten up trips on the narrow gauge line out of Beregovo, for example.

The Dzherelo luxury tour train can be hired by tour organizers. Contact Galina Gamota, Head of publicity department, Dzherelo-SPK, Protasoz Yar Str 2, Kiev, 252038. Ukraine;

telephone 00380 44 269 50 73 or fax 00380 44 269 50 13.

Two Class Su 2-6-2s, Nos 251.86 and 252.21, make smoke with the Dzherelo tour train between Yaremcha and Mikulichin in south-west Ukraine on 15 October last year on a tour organised by Steam Loco Safari Tours. R. L. Patrick