A children's railway or pioneer railway is an extracurricular educational institution, where children interested in rail transport can learn railway professions. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was greatly developed in Soviet times. The world's first children's railway was opened in Gorky Park, Moscow, in 1932. At the breakup of the USSR, 52 children's railways existed in the country.
Many children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries. Many feature railway technology not seen anymore on the main lines and can be considered heritage railways. Though few exceptions exist, most children's railways built in the Eastern Bloc have a track gauge of at least 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) and can carry full size narrow gauge rolling stock.
List of children's railways
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bulgaria
China
Cuba
- Camagüey, Parque Camilo Cienfuegos
- Havana, Parque Lenin (not operating)
- Havana, Havana Zoo
Georgia
Germany
- Parkeisenbahn Wuhlheide [de], Berlin, Wuhlheide
- Parkeisenbahn Bernburg [de], Bernburg, Krumbholzallee
- Parkeisenbahn Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Küchwald
- Cottbuser Parkeisenbahn [de], Cottbus, Eliaspark - Spreeauenpark
- Ferienlandeisenbahn Crispendorf [de], Crispendorf, Ferienland
- Dresdner Parkeisenbahn, Dresden, Großer Garten
- Parkeisenbahn Gera [de], Gera, Tierpark
- Görlitzer Parkeisenbahn [de], Görlitz, An der Landskronbrauerei
- Parkeisenbahn Peißnitzexpress Halle [de], Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Peißnitzinsel
- Leipziger Parkeisenbahn, Leipzig-Wahren, Auensee
- Pioniereisenbahn Magdeburg [de] Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Rotehornpark, until 1967
- Parkeisenbahn Plauen [de], Plauen, Syratal
- Parkeisenbahn Vatterode [de], Vatterode, Vatteröder Teich
Hungary
Kazakhstan
- Aktobe (now defunct)
- Alma-Ata Children's Railway, Almaty
- Arkalyk (now defunct)
- Atbasar (now defunct)
- Ekibastuz (now defunct)
- Karaganda Children's Railway, Karaganda
- Kokshetau Children's Railway, Kokshetau (now defunct)
- Kostanay (now defunct)
- Astana (now defunct)
- Pavlodar (now defunct)
- Semey (now defunct)
- Schuchinsk (now defunct)
- Shymkent Children's Railway, Shymkent
- Zhezkazgan (now defunct)
Poland
- Chorzów, Silesian Culture and Recreation Park
- Poznań, Park Railway Maltanka (now run by the city)
Russia
- Chelyabinsk
- Chita
- Ekaterinburg
- Irkutsk
- Kazan
- Kemerovo
- Far East Children's Railway, Khabarovsk
- Krasnoyarsk
- Kratovo
- Kurgan
- Liski
- Nizhny Novgorod
- Novomoskovsk
- Small West Siberian Railway, Novosibirsk
- Orenburg
- Penza
- Rostov-Na-Donu
- Sankt-Petersburg, Malaya Oktyabrskaya railway
- Svobodny
- Tyumen
- Ufa
- Vladikavkaz
- Volgograd
- Children's Railway Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
- Yaroslavl
Slovakia
Slovenia
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
See also
References
- Children's railways: Gorky Park, Moscow (in Russian)
- de:Pioniereisenbahn
- "Cildren's Railroad "Zname na mira" in Plovdiv". Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- "Berliner Parkeisenbahn - Fahrplan". www.parkeisenbahn.de.
- "Parkeisenbahn". www.gera.de.
- "Görlitzer Oldtimer Parkeisenbahn - Startseite". www.goerlitzerparkeisenbahn.de.
- Wodzinski, Christian. "Startseite". www.pe-halle.de.
- "Förderverein Parkeisenbahn Syratal Plauen - Home". www.parkeisenbahn-plauen.de.
External links
- Children's railways of the USSR (in Russian)
- Children's Railways of the former USSR (in English)
- (in Hungarian)
- (in Hungarian)