The Pereslavl Railroad Museum

Since the mid-1980s enthusiasts who are not indifferent to railway transport history began to study narrow-gauge railways. A group of like-minded people gradually formed and the idea arose to preserve the local railway legacy of the disappearing era. For a long time, it was not possible to find a place to store the collection for a number of organizational and technical reasons. In 1989, an agreement was reached with the owners of the Talitsy Depot and the 750 mm gauge railway line of the former Talitsy-Pleshcheevsky peat enterprise in the Pereslavl region of the Yaroslavl region. In 1990, the collection of exhibits and the first restoration work began.

The museum is engaged in the study, preservation, and popularization of the Russian narrow gauge railway history and local and industrial rail transport. The history of the construction and operation of narrow gauge railways is inextricably linked with the development of industry, the development of sparsely populated and remote regions, and many economic and social events.

Today this type of transport has practically disappeared. The mission of our team is not only to preserve the material heritage of technology, but also to talk about the role of local railways in the history and economy of Russia.

In a number of areas (rolling stock history, the history of individual transport objects) research is underway, the materials of which are published in books, periodicals, and on the Internet. Expeditions are systematically organized to study the history of regional objects and replenish the collection. The museum works in collaboration with RZhD OJSC, the Polytechnic Museum, the Russian Geographical Society, and other state, public, and private organizations.

The target audience is individual visitors as well as families with school-aged children. Upon prior request, it is possible to conduct excursions for groups of up to 50 people.

The museum’s collection is housed in the building of a train depot and carriage workshops built in the middle of the 20th century as well as at the site of Talitsy Station. The collection contains more than 100 units of locomotives, rolling stock, track and signaling elements, and various equipment and related items in varying degrees of preservation, dating from the late 19th century to the 1960s. The museum funds include an extensive library of specialized literature and design documentation.