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E a s t e r n E u r o p e
Soviet troops had early headquarters at Legnica, formerly German Liegnitz in Schlesien, now Polish. And they laid a broad gauge track from Lvov, Ukraina, westward to the outskirts of Breslau, now Wroclav Brochow. On this line the German war-type locomotive series 52, built in Poland as Ty42 or Soviet TE was in use for SMA (according to historian Sliwa). There is no exact information about the first Soviet military expresses connecting Legnica. The East European sleeping-car timetable (styled like the CIWL guide, but red instead of blue!) from 1950 mentioned a train 6136 (Legnica) - Wroclav - Poznan - Warsaw - Brest with connection to Moscow. The (secret) W.M.P.S. from 1953 mentioned only Polish coaches Legnica - Brest, but a 1968 edition showed Soviet "soft" and "hard" sleepers Legnica - Brest and "hard" ones, also from Szczecin (the former Stettin) and Swinoujcie. It showed that Legnica headquarters were served by the way of Brest, not Ukraina. And in 1977 by chance a hard compartment sleeper "Moskva - Legnica" was seen. Very early, on June 2, 1945, a Soviet military express D227/526 from Vienna to Sighetul Marmatiei on the way to Ukraina was introduced on standard gauge, hauled by the war-type locomotive series 52. Its successor Bad Voeslau - Mukachevo ended in 1955 with the Soviets' retreat from Austria. At Prague the Soviets got power in 1948 and from 1952 a Russian 01-T sleeper did connect Prague with Moscow via Kiev, with change of bogies at Chop. In Czechoslovakia the 476 class Mountains hauled the express, the same type as the "Drug", a gift to Stalin. On the electrified section, sometimes two steam locomotives and one electric engine were necessary. This train with the Soviet number 18/17 then became the Praga-Express 8/7, also with sleepers Karlsbad - Moscow. This spa, now Karlovy Vary, later saw regular special trains from Russia. The Czechoslovak Railways CSD and the Polish PKP possessed own 01-T, then RIC sleepers for through traffic with bogie exchange and later also Romania got those cars. In 1968 the Soviets knocked down the Prague upheaval and new military trains Milosevice - Moscow and the "Vltava" Prague - Moscow started. The civil "Dukla" Prague - Moscow from 1969 became so heavy, that often two electrics were necessary. Even heavier was the "Slovakia" with a Soviet military section, attaining 1000 tons, as the Czech official Radko Friml reported. In Ukraina during steam age the ex-Polish Pt-31 and the huge "Josef Stalin" 2-8-4 had taken over. Yugoslavia's dictator Tito had his clash with Stalin in 1948. Only in 1956 started a Soviet sleeper Belgrade - Budapest - Kiev - Moscow, conveyed by the Balt-Orient-Express and in Ukraina by train 18/17. In the same year the Soviets bloodily knocked down the Hungarian upheaval. Later Soviet military specials from Hungary were reported, not running on fixed timetables. From 1962 the Belgrade - and Budapest - Moscow cars in Ukraina formed a separate express 10/9. In 1968 a RIC sleeper Rome - Moscow from the Simplon-Express via Zagreb was added. And in 1969 another one was running from Torino to Togliatti on the Volga, where Fiat built a factory. East of Moscow it was conveyed by the "Uzbekistan" Moscow - Tashkent! From 1975 the Belgrade- and Athens - Moscow train became the "Puskin" and from 1980 the connection Italy - Moscow was the "Tisza". From 1991 the Rome sleeper took the way via Vienna in order to avoid troubled Croatia and from the end of the century only a sleeper Zagreb - Budapest - Moscow existed. When a 01-T sleeper Vienna - Moscow had been introduced in 1956, it took the line via Warsaw with the Balt-Orient-Express. In 1961 it became the “Chopin”, temporarily with a RIC sleeper Rome - Vienna - Moscow. From 1975 also the “Praga” was re-routed via Poland, the shorter way. “Chopin” had been the train which 1961 brought Molotov “home” to Moscow, secretly from a Vienna suburban station. And by the “Chopin” Russian Jews legally emigrated to the West and Palestinian terrorists attacked the Chopin. After the end of communism traffic declined and trains became combined. At the turn of the century the sleeping-cars of the Chopin arrived at Moscow together with the sleepers from Budapest and from Cologne. Later the Vltava Prague - Moscow was combined with the Chopin. In 2006 it conveyed the sleepers Prague - Moscow, Cheb (the former Eger) - Prague - Moscow, Prague - Kiev and a Russian sleeping-car from Prague to Saratov on the Volga. Bulgaria had been conquered by the Soviets already in 1944. Rail connection was by the way of Romania and the Danube train-ferry Giurgu - Ruse. In 1952 or 53 started a Soviet sleeper Bucharest - Ungheny - Kiev - Moscow, when the Danube bridge had been completed. This was the way for Eastern Europe to circumvent Tito's Yugoslavia and in 1960 a Carpati-Express Warsaw - Bucharest via Soviet broad gauge started, with a sleeper to Sofia. Together with the many Soviet 0-T sleepers Moscow-Sofia it formed the Dunai-Express. In 1968 a RIC sleeper Moscow - Sofia - Istanbul (until 1971 via Greek territory at Pithyon) and in 1990 a short-term Moscow - Sofia - Athens sleeper were added, whilst the Moscow - Istanbul car changed to the Sofia-Express via Czernowitz. During the '40s the Soviet broad gauge to Wroclaw Brochov was reduced to Kattowice, then Przemysl. Until 1993, when the Soviets left Poland, there was a train Legnica - Kiev, which changed bogies at Przemysl, during those days a dealers' center. There had been even the keen idea to run a Talgo train on this way to Kiev! Only in 1976 started a Kiev-Express from Berlin via Brest. Temporarily it had cars to Sochi on the Black Sea. In 1980 came a RIC sleeper from Paris by the Ost-West-Express and in 1981 a short-lived one Munich-Kiev. After the end of communism in the 90's most connections from the West to Ukraina disappeared. The D345/344 Berlin - Kiev - Odessa, then also to Kharkov, with a northern branch to Vilnius and Kaliningrad, was a surprise. The train of prestige always had been no. 1/2 "Ukraina" from Moscow to Kiev. In 1986 it left Moscow with 19 blue cars, four Mest 18 with 2-berth compartments in front of the Mest 36s, hauled by a green ChS7 twin-eclectic d.c., from Sukhinichi a red ChS4 a.c. engine. Dreams of even more prestigious high-speed trains from Ukraina to the West remained unfulfilled. Slovakia Bratislava - Kiev - Moscow Kievskaya, SZD cars from Milovice and Zvolen for Soviet army, other ones civil. Arrival Chop, summer 1989:
Tisza Arrival Chop, May 12, 1986:
Traction:
D344 Kiev - Warsaw - Berlin, arrival Berlin Lichtenberg, August 8, 2004 (according to Rico Bogula):
From 2005 also cars Berlin - Krakov 
Soviet RIC type sleeper Rome - Moscow for the Simplon-Express, Venice, April 1971 (WS)
 Vitava, 2006/7, (original document, thanks to Radko Friml)
© 2007, Germany |
