My journey on the Imperial train "Tyumen-Tobolsk" to Tobolsk. The history of the imperial trains of Russia

Car No 1 of the Russian Empire was the name of the train on which Tsar Nicholas II, together with the headquarters and retinue, moved around the country, making inspection trips, official visits, or simply traveling with his family. This echelon was a real palace on railway wheels, and Nikolai Alexandrovich had the opportunity to live and work in the usual royal conditions. When did the first World War, the imperial cortege became the permanent residence of Nicholas II. Here, on March 2, 1917, he signed his abdication.

Characteristics of the royal train

Photos of the imperial train

The walls and furniture were upholstered in English style with floral ornaments.

Dining room view

Women's coupe.

Women's coupe.

Interior view of one of the wagons.

Women's coupe, perhaps for princesses.

Walls, ceilings and furniture made of polished oak, walnut, white and gray beech, maple and Karelian birch were covered with linoleum and carpets.

The interior of one of the carriages.

The salon had upholstered mahogany furniture. The walls, sofas, armchairs and chairs were lined with striped pistachio curtains; the plush carpet on the floor had a proven design.

Lunch car.

The interior of one of the carriages.

Compartment for the maid of honor (junior courtier).

Bathroom.

Dining room.

Wagon for receiving guests.

Coupe of Nicholas II.

The interior of one of the carriages.

Toilet.

The interior of one of the carriages.

The walls, painted blue and gilded, looked beautiful.

The interior of one of the carriages.

Dining room in the restaurant.

Dining room in the restaurant.

Grand Duchess Anastasia on the Imperial train in 1916.

Empress Alexandra, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei.

Tsar Nicholas II in the train window.

The king with the generals during dinner.

The train was built between 1894-96 by the Nikolaev Railway Company.

One of the wagons.

The calculation is made in rubles at the rate of Euro of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation +2% on the date of payment.

Prepayment amount:

• for one seat in a VIP compartment - 1500 €, including VAT;
• for one seat in a business class compartment - 1500 €, including VAT;
• for one seat in a first class compartment plus - 900 €, including VAT;
• for one seat in a first class compartment - 900 €, including VAT.

Terms of payment and cancellation:

• Advance payments made upon tour confirmation are non-refundable.
• Full payment for the tour is made 60 days before the start of the tour.
• If a confirmed booking is canceled 60 days before the start of the tour, 50% of the tour cost will be charged.
• If a confirmed booking is canceled 30 days before the start of the tour, 100% of the tour cost will be charged.

Included in cost:

• transfer airport - hotel - airport;
• porter services at the hotel and porters at the railway station;
• accommodation in hotels in Moscow and Beijing, overnight in a Mongolian yurt;
• accommodation on board the Imperial Russia train (towels, bathrobes and slippers are provided; water, tea, coffee);
• excursions in Russian, English, German, Spanish and French accompanied by local guides in accordance with the tour program (in other languages ​​- on request);
• train escort by a qualified doctor, as well as English-speaking tour managers and a tour leader;
• full board according to the tour program (except the first and last day);
• cultural and entertainment program on board the train ( Board games, live music, travel information).

Additionally paid:

• flights (international and domestic);
• the cost of an entry visa*;
• drinks ordered in the bar car;
• additional excursions (in each city along the route of the trip and other cities of Russia);
• meals on the day of arrival and departure;
• personal expenses and tips;
• insurance policy**;
• vaccination***.

* The company is not responsible for passengers whose visas are incorrectly issued or expired.
** Each passenger is obliged to purchase a policy health insurance for the duration of the tour.
*** We recommend that you consult your doctor or health center about the need for vaccination.

Description of wagons

VIP car (1–2 passengers in a compartment)

The carriage consists of five compartments with two berths one above the other. Each compartment is equipped with an armchair, a table, an LCD TV, a built-in wardrobe for clothes and luggage, individual air conditioning, a washbasin, a shower and a toilet. bottom place transforms into a sofa, and the top reclines.

Business class car (1–2 passengers in a compartment)

The carriage consists of six compartments with two berths one above the other. Each compartment is equipped with an armchair, a table, an LCD TV, a built-in wardrobe for clothes and luggage, individual air conditioning, a washbasin, a shower and a toilet. The lower seat transforms into a sofa, while the upper one reclines.

First Class Car Plus (1–2 passengers per compartment)

The carriage consists of eight compartments with two berths one above the other. Each compartment has a table, an armchair, an LCD TV and a built-in wardrobe. A shower and a washbasin are located between every two compartments, and in the ninth there is a luggage room. The car is equipped with a common air conditioning system with the ability to control the temperature in each compartment (±3 degrees). Toilets are located at the beginning and end of the car.

First class carriage (1–2 passengers per compartment)

The car consists of eight compartments with two lower seats opposite each other. Each compartment has an LCD TV. The ninth compartment has a shower and a washbasin. Toilets are located at the beginning and end of the car. The car is equipped with a common air conditioning system with the ability to control the temperature in each compartment (±3 degrees).

As you know, the first railway in Russia was called Tsarskoye Selo. It opened on October 30 (old style) 1837 and connected St. Petersburg with Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsky. Then the train, which consisted of eight carriages, in which were Emperor Nicholas I, government ministers, members of the State Council and foreign diplomats, spent 35 minutes on the road from the capital to Tsarskoye Selo. At the same time, the king sat in his carriage, placed on an open cargo platform. Judging by the postcard with the image of the festive composition, the royal carriage on the platform was immediately behind the first carriage after the locomotive.

Of course, it was not yet an imperial train in the full sense of the word, but the composition turned out to be the forerunner of a real imperial train, built specifically for official opening movement on the St. Petersburg-Moscow (Nikolaev) railway, held on November 1 (according to the old style), 1851

It should be noted that the rolling luxury train began a little earlier - in the early morning of August 18, 1851, Nicholas I went on it from St. Petersburg to Moscow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his coronation.

The train consisted of the actual imperial car (two identical cars were built, but the spare one remained in St. Petersburg), retinue and service cars, as well as two kitchen cars. All of them were built in 1850-51. at the capital Aleksandrovsky plant.

Naturally, the imperial carriage differed from the rest not only in size, but also in its special interior decoration, exquisite comfort for those times. The length of the car was 25.247 m, and it rested on two four-axle bogies, which was new and unusual even for the beginning of the 20th century. (after all, at that time, railway practice had just begun to enter passenger cars twenty meters long). The car was painted blue on the outside, and the windows located on both sides of it were crowned with gilded double-headed eagles.

The ceiling of the royal carriage was covered with white satin, the walls were upholstered with crimson quilted damask. The same material was used for upholstering furniture, for which French decorators from Lyon were invited. There were bronze clocks on the tables, and the interior was also decorated with vases of Sèvres porcelain and bronze candelabra. The doors of mosaic work opened and closed completely silently, and Fresh air was delivered through bronze ventilation pipes, decorated at the top with weathervanes in the form of eagles. The heating pipes were disguised with bronze gratings, which also successfully served as spectacular decor details.

Subsequently, several more cars of various functional purposes were added to this train. During operation, some cars were modernized and rebuilt in order to improve their interior decoration and technical arrangement.

Until October 17 (according to the old style), 1888, when the tsar's staff collapsed at the Borki station of the Kursk-Kharkov-Azov railway. not only Nicholas I, but also Alexander II and Alexander III managed to travel on this train, which consisted of 10 cars (if there were three spare ones).

Since railroad tracks were shown in the 19th century. an absolute advantage over other roads of that time both in terms of speed and comfort, Russian autocrats and members of their families naturally preferred rail travel.

Most of the imperial residences were located around St. Petersburg - in Gatchina, Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk, Strelna, Oranienbaum, etc. Therefore, each railway direction (respectively, a joint stock company) gradually acquired its own imperial train for the most august persons.

For travel on foreign European railways with a narrow gauge, a train was made up of three-axle wagons purchased in the early 70s. in France.

By 1917 railways Russia had the world's largest fleet of imperial trains, both obsolete by that time and the latest designs. Their wagons were, in fact, palaces on wheels. In this regard, the train of the latest construction (1905) was especially distinguished, in which latest achievements technical and design ideas of that time.

The above-mentioned collapse of the imperial train in 1888 forced specialists to subject all the existing cars of the imperial park to a special revision, as a result of which it was decided to build two new trains - one for traveling only in Russia, and the other for traveling abroad.

The new domestic train consisted of 10 four-axle cars and was completed by 1897, and the foreign one - from 11 four-axle cars - by 1894. It is characteristic that the most spectacular in terms of interior and exterior decoration, as well as technical parameters was the first of these trains.

His carriages were dark blue with a thin gold lining on the staves covering the seams of the panel iron of the skin. The roof was painted light grey. The carts were painted black with gold lining along the contour lines. The outer side of the window frames, regardless of the type of wood interior decoration, has been crafted from teak wood, known for its extreme durability. The walls between the windows were decorated with gilded double-headed eagles. The ends of the polished teak exit rails were adorned with ornamented gilded bronze heads.

Four of the 10 cars of the train (bedroom, dining room, children's and "grand princely"), distinguished by a special chic finish, were used only by members royal family. To accommodate the retinue, the retinue car was intended, as well as several rooms of the service car. A separate car was occupied by the kitchen, a car for the kitchen servants clung to it, which closed the entire train. Immediately after the steam locomotive was a baggage car and a workshop car with an electrical station, spare parts and technical staff.

As already reported, by 1905 the second copy of the domestic Russian train was built. This was largely due to security considerations: for example, when the king followed one of the trains, the other - without passengers - followed or preceded the first one. The interior of the backup train was somewhat more modest, but outwardly they looked almost the same. Only in the second train, the saloon car had several wider windows. The reason for this is still not clear.

Unfortunately, time did not spare these truly marvelous trains. Not a single wagon survived, everything was destroyed.

Separately, I would like to mention the imperial chambers at the railway stations of Russia (now such premises are called V. I. P. -room). Just as not a single carriage of the imperial trains has been preserved, so these imperial chambers were also unlucky. However, in St. Petersburg at the Vitebsk (former Tsarskoye Selo) railway station, which is now 100 years old, there is still a separate outbuilding that served until 1917 as the so-called “imperial train station”. However, not a single pre-revolutionary interior has been preserved in this building, and the last details of the interior decoration disappeared during the reconstruction of the late 20th century.

Therefore, the discovery of the imperial room at the St. Petersburg Warsaw railway station, which was taken out of practical use already in the first years of the third millennium, can be considered a true sensation. It is interesting that these chambers were among the earliest in time of creation.

The Varshavsky railway station was opened for public use in April 1860, and the imperial chambers (a rest room and an office) began to function there a little earlier - on March 8, according to the old style. At that time, the Varshavsky railway station was the main railway gate Russian Empire. It was here that crowned persons from all over the world, members of their families, heads and ministers of governments, and other dignitaries arrived from abroad. Apparently, the aforementioned premises of the Varshavsky railway station were used by those traveling abroad and returning back, as well as when traveling to the country residences of Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, their children and households.

We can safely say that the aesthetics of the decoration of the imperial premises of the Warsaw Station was of great importance for national history and art. I would like to hope that with the upcoming reconstruction of the station and its transformation into a shopping and entertainment complex, the remaining elements of the decoration of the royal room will be preserved, despite all the previous misadventures.

Ride.
It turns out that tripadvisor has a series of reviews about the Trans_Siberian_Railway object. Reviews in general are fascinating, they write about unsanitary conditions on trains, jacked up prices in a restaurant, and so on.
I found only one review of the Imperial Russia train from a tourist from New Zealand. Expectations have been confirmed
You can read it in the original or on screenshots.

I'll try to translate, do not judge strictly, the main point is:
I usually travel on a budget or on my own, so I figured this would be the most luxurious trip of my life. What a disappointment and waste of my money.
It started with a hotel that was different from the one planned on the itinerary.
It was located outside the city, the hotel in which I planned to settle was in the city center.
On the first day, the two main attractions of Tiananmen Square and forbidden city we didn't see. They just said there are events (a big ceremony) and we can't visit.
This trip was organized 9 months in advance! And it is strange that no one warned until that day.
No other replacement attractions were offered.
These two excursions were paid for, but we were not provided!
Then they would have to get from Ulaanbaatar to national park Terelj camping from yurts, and have lunch there. There was no way we could get there by horseback before 6 pm.
This was explained by the fact that the guide of Imperial Russia decided to have lunch in Ulaanbaatar, 2.5 hours, a total waste of time.
A night at the yurt camp meant stargazing at night. It wasn't.

The train had no conference rooms, no TV, no place to relax during the day, as the dining room was occupied by the kitchen staff, who spent the day watching the only TV in the dining room and then sleeping on chairs (pushed together) at night.

No tea or coffee was available during the day, only when you ate in your compartment and if you asked for extra.
"A lot of entertainment" - we did not attend the ballet and opera of Novosibirsk, but only examined the paintings of the interior.
The English-speaking group leader, our guide, limited his English and did not want to communicate with the guests he was paid for, but preferred to spend time on his iPhone.

The doctor accompanying the trip did not speak English, and when he was asked for help, as two guests felt very ill, and he did not provide medical care until these guests almost reached the stage of hospitalization.
I almost doubted that he was a doctor, since he did not seem to understand how sick these guests were.

entertainment program on board the train, including lectures on the Trans-Siberian Railway, geography and history of Russia - was not, except for one 1st violinist, who once joined the train.

The local guides were like prison guards, i.e. if you deviated from the group though within the group - you were ordered to return to the group and listen to the lectures of these guides, who did not seem to understand that day that the group was wandering around to see on their own because neither were SO BORING.

Finally, at some point, the leader of the group from Imperial Russia decided to take us to an unplanned event - the university's collection of stones for 2 hours, and all this time we were ordered to stand and listen to the lecturer.

All in all local guides were boring and seemed deliberately taking time to keep us away from the train. So that the kitchen staff could sit in the dining room, watch TV or sleep - where I have no idea, because there was only one compartment with 2 staff beds, but there were 8 people on board.

The train staff on the last day said they could provide laundry service for us, but this was not talked about until the last day.
There was no free time to visit the markets. We were either in our compartments or on buses where we listened to lectures, or in museums where we again listened to lectures.
Then, over and over, I agreed to spend a week in Xi'an and a week in Saint Petersburg, with his own personal guide, who was very professional and had nothing to do with Imperial Russia.

As I understand it, the tourist went to Imperial Russia along the route

The train was built in 1894-96. The composition of the wagons changed several times, the old wagons were replaced with new ones, the interior also underwent changes.

The length of the imperial carriage was 25.247 m, and it rested on two four-axle bogies. It was painted blue on the outside, and the windows located on both sides were crowned with gilded double-headed eagles. The ceiling was covered with white satin, the walls with crimson quilted damask. There were bronze clocks on the tables, and the interior was decorated with vases of Sèvres porcelain and bronze candelabra. Mosaic doors opened and closed completely silently, and fresh air was delivered through bronze ventilation pipes.
For the first time, these cars were used in 1851 in preparation for the anniversary - the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Nicholas I. Then the court departments used the maximum capacity new road for the transfer to Moscow of various cargoes.

In 1902, the train consisted of ten cars. Some of them were intended for the imperial family and the emperor's retinue.
In the Imperial carriage. Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsarevich Alexei (spring 1916).


Other carriages were occupied by luggage, servants and the kitchen. Later, an eleventh car was added, used as a church.
Tsesarevich Alexei at the imperial train, photo 1916


The train cars were painted blue, the seams were decorated with gilding. All wooden parts were made from Indian teak.

Panels, ceilings, and furniture were made of polished oak, walnut, white and gray beech, maple and Karelian birch.


The floors were covered with linoleum and carpets. The most comfortable were, of course, the carriages of the emperor's family.


There was everything for a pleasant pastime and fruitful work.


Between the compartments of the emperor and the empress there was a bimetallic bath (copper outside, silver inside).

The furniture in the compartment of Nicholas II, made of Karelian birch and beech, was upholstered in brown leather.


On the table stood a gilded bronze set of writing instruments, consisting of 12 items.


The compartment was lit by gilded sconces, and a soft cherry-colored carpet lay on the floor.
Nicholas II


Excerpts from "Itinerary to Follow Him" Imperial Majesty THE STATE EMPEROR for the cities of middle and southern Russia, to the Caucasus and to the active army (November-December 1914)

August 23, 1915. The Emperor arrived with his retinue. Imperial trains were located in the forest north of the station. An order was signed for the army on the assumption by the Tsar of the Supreme Command from August 23. When the tsar moved to Headquarters, he occupied the mansion of the former governor.
The king's office at headquarters


reception hall


Dining room


Nikolay's bedroom

Beds of Nicholas and Alexei

Headquarters in Mogilev. Small snack room.


Interior view of the cathedral in Mogilev


Emperor Nicholas II with General Alekseev in August 1915


Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, in a group of staff officers, pass through the territory of Headquarters. Baranovichi, 1915


August 25. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich left Mogilev with his retinue.
At Stavka. Mogilev. August 1915

On the left is Major General Pustovoitenko, Quartermaster General of the Staff. On the right is the chief of staff, infantry general Alekseev. Royal Headquarters. 1915


September 22nd. The tsar departed for Tsarskoye Selo. October 3. The Tsar arrived from Tsarskoye Selo with his son Alexei.

Especially actively used royal composition after Nicholas II in August 1915 assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander of the Russian army. On the same train, in the saloon car, he signed his resignation on March 2, 1917.
After the abdication of Nicholas, his trains were used by the ministers of the Provisional
government. Shortly after the Bolsheviks came to power, the famous train of the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, L. D. Trotsky, was formed from the imperial wagons, which took full advantage of the royal amenities.
Tsarevich Alexei near the imperial train

Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei with a group of officers at Headquarters


October 11. The Tsar departed for the Southwestern Front. October 15. The Tsar returned from a trip to the front. The Empress arrived with her daughters.
The Imperial Family at Headquarters, October 1915


Empress Alexandra with her daughters at Headquarters


February 1, 1916. The Tsar returned from Tsarskoye Selo
At Stavka. 1916


May 5. The Empress arrived with her children.
Emperor Nicholas II with his family on the station platform during their arrival at Headquarters. Mogilev. May, 1916.