Thawing Shlina

L-2180, a post-war Russian 2-10-0, crossing the thawing river Shlina with regular service local passenger train #6697 bound for Ostashkov.

Thi... (more)

Sunrise Switching

There are few things that are more impressive to a railfan than seeing steam working in non-tourist revenue service. Due to the borders still being c... (more)

A Soviet Classic

In December 2020 Russian Railways began service of a new type of tourist train - the classic Soviet 'elektrichka' (EMU) restored to operation as a ski ... (more)

Christmas Night

Soviet-built 4-8-4 P36-0147 is met by festive crowds as it arrives in the small town of Shuya with a 3-car holiday special on January 7, the night of Ru... (more)

P36-0120, the primary workhorse of Moscow's sizeable fleet of restored steam locomotives, arrives at Kievsky terminal after a 400-kilometer round trip excursion to the town of Kaluga with a holida... (more)

Retropoezd Seliger
2-10-0 L-2180 with local passenger train #6697, affectionately called 'Retropoezd Seliger', after the lake in its destination town, passing through the provinc... (more)

This isn't a staged reenactment. On many of the former USSR's less modernized lines, rail traffic is still governed by flags at stations and yard limits. In this scene, a switchman raises a yellow... (more)

L-3958, a Soviet 2-10-0 built in 1955, makes a brief stop at Bologoye-Polotskoye station.

To stimulate tourism in this economically depressed part of the country, in fall of 2018 Russi... (more)

This is Russia
So much of this enormous country can be rolled into this one photo - snow, grey skies, endless forests, a rolling count... (more)

The Ruskeala Express

Er796-46, an 0-10-0 built in 1952 by MAVAG in Budapest for the Soviet Union, brings a 3-car Ruskeala Express across the Khelyulyanyoki river on its... (more)

Often times the best opportunities for photos come before the main event. I caught this beautiful Soviet-built 4-8-4 switching in preparation for EXPO 1520.

L-3858 prepares to depart from Bologoye station with regular service local train #6697 on a dark and foggy January morning.

To stimulate tourism in this economically depressed... (more)

L-3858 brings regular service local train #6697 into the outskirts of the small town of Ostashkov on a rare, sunny, January afternoon. To stimulate tourism in this economically depressed par... (more)

L-3858 departs the small town of Ostashkov with #6698, crossing the inlet to the bay on Lake Seliger. To stimulate tourism in this economically depressed part of the country, in fall of 2018 Ru... (more)

P36-0120 outside of Moscow with a 13-car holiday special bound for Veliky Ustyug, nearly a thousand kilometers away, to see Father Frost.