Krasnoyarsk children's railway solemnly opened its 90th anniversary season / Society news of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Newslab.Ru

The Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway (CHR) has opened its 90th anniversary season; this year 208 schoolchildren from Krasnoyarsk will undergo training at the CHR.

The opening ceremony took place at the Palace of Culture of Railway Workers. The leaders of the Krasnoyarsk Railway and graduates of past years congratulated the children's railway students, teachers and mentors on the historical date and the beginning of the new season.

At the ceremony, more than 60 children received Young Railwayman certificates for the first time. Presenting them, Oleg Zlotnikov, Deputy Head of KrasRussian Railways for Personnel and Social Affairs, noted that the Children's Railway is a unique institution for career guidance and additional education, where schoolchildren learn the basics of basic railway professions. Along with this, the Children's Railway occupies a special place in the history of Krasnoyarsk.

“The Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway is a real legend. It appeared in 1936 and became the first children's highway in Russia. Today ChRW – an integral part of the history of the city on the Yenisei and one of the favorite vacation spots of young residents. I am pleased to note that our small highway is becoming more modern and technologically advanced from year to year. In the year of its 90th anniversary, the Yubileinaya station is being updated and a new educational building is being built, where children can study in modern, comfortable conditions,” said Oleg Zlotnikov.

Let us remind you that this season the Children's Railway will continue to operate in a special format. Due to the reconstruction of the Central Park of Krasnoyarsk, where it is located, trains controlled by Yuzhiks will not run. The training of Russian Railways cadets will take place at the sites of the Krasnoyarsk Training Center for Professional Qualifications of JSC Russian Railways and KrIZhT.

The new building of the Children's Railways is being built in the northwestern part of the Central Park, adjacent to the Historical Quarter of Krasnoyarsk. The building will be a full-scale copy of the city’s very first railway station, which appeared during the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the 19th century. It will house 6 classrooms equipped with virtual simulators and computers.

In just 90 years of the Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway's existence, more than 11 thousand children have studied here. A significant part of them chose the profession of railway workers.

The Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway owes its birth to the students of the factory school of the Krasnoyarsk Locomotive Repair Plant. With their own hands, in their free time from work and study, they assembled a model of the SU steam locomotive operating at that time, reduced by 25 times. In 1936, during the May Day demonstration, the locomotive made its first voyage – it rode children along Sennaya Square (now Surikov Square). At the same time, it was decided to build a permanent track in the city's Central Park, and a new division appeared in the structure of the Krasnoyarsk Railway – the Children's Railway.

Today it is the only narrow-gauge small railway in the country (gauge is 508 mm).