Trains of their Imperial Majesty. imperial train

Story imperial trains Russia

On the opening day of Tsarskoye Selo railway in October 1837, Nicholas I personally traveled in the first train, which consisted of a steam locomotive with a tender and 8 wagons. There are different opinions about how the sovereign with the empress and heir passed through it. Some write that in their own carriage, installed on an open platform, but this is unlikely; others are in a separate eight-seater compartment of the 1st class carriage. In later periodicals, there are statements that Nicholas I always traveled in such compartments and in ordinary trains that followed the schedule. Perhaps this was the case in the first period after the opening of the road, but it is documented that later the emperor with his family and retinue traveled only in “emergency trains” (there were no imperial wagons and trains then). The Grand Dukes and their children traveled in "ordinary trains", but with special precautions.

At the end of the reign of Nicholas I, in 1851, the construction of the railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow was completed.

Since the tsar paid much attention to the railway under construction, he became its first passenger, having traveled from Moscow to Bologoye. For this journey, a special train was prepared. The train was led by an ordinary passenger steam locomotive of type 2-2-0 series B, built at the Alexander Plant in St. Petersburg.

The train consisted of a steam locomotive, a saloon car, a kitchen car, a bedchamber car, a dining car, a service car and suite cars (which gave the prestigious abbreviation SV). The carriages were connected by covered walkways. Some of these cars were built in 1850-1851 at the St. Petersburg Alexandrovsky Plant. The length of the train, including the locomotive with the tender, was about 80 m.

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 length of the “Own” imperial car was 25.25 m, it was installed on two four-axle bogies, which was new and unusual even for the beginning of the 20th century (because then twenty-meter-long passenger cars had just begun to enter the railway practice). At the ends of the car there were capacious entrance platforms with a fence.

The car was painted blue on the outside. Above ten windows with large piers, located along the length of the body on each side, there were 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 covering 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 Sevres 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 camouflaged with bronze gratings, which also successfully served as spectacular decor details.

The Imperial train included the carriage of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, which consisted of "three elegantly decorated rooms, with a fireplace, a kitchen, a cellar and a glacier."

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. The first tsarist train was used to travel around Russia until 1888.

During the reign of Alexander II railway transport more and more actively enters the life of the country, new lines are opened Petersburg - Warsaw (1862), Moscow - Ryazan (1864), Riga-Orlovskaya (1866-1868), Moscow - Kursk (1868) and a number of others . The royal journeys by railroads also began to expand, their duration increased, which required an increase in comfort. In addition, the imitation of Western monarchs, who had their own trains, also played a role.

On April 4, 1866, the first assassination attempt was made on Alexander II, and this may have served as an impetus for tightening the regime of imperial travel. At the same time, the Aleksandrovsky Plant built a fifteen-car imperial train to travel on Russian railways with a gauge of 1524 mm. It included a baggage car-power station, a workshop, cars of the Minister of Railways, Grand Duke, Their Imperial Majesty, the heir to the Tsarevich, a car for servants, a kitchen, a buffet and a dining room, in addition, 5 cars for retinue were attached to the tail of the train.

Since Empress Maria Alexandrovna was diagnosed with a serious pulmonary disease in the 1870s, in 1872 an order was placed in France for the construction of a new train for the Empress's trips abroad. France was chosen because the construction of the train there was cheaper than in other countries. Supervised the execution of the order by the Inspectorate of Imperial Trains.

The railway composition of the Empress was formed gradually. In 1872, the first seven wagons were purchased in France, they cost the treasury 121,788 rubles. The possibility of their adaptation to the Russian gauge by the Main Society of Russian Railways cost another 17,787 rubles. A freight car purchased separately from this batch was equipped with a glacier and adapted for the carriage of provisions (1,839 rubles). A little later, four more new cars were purchased at the Milton Pay and Co. plant (51,620 rubles). As a result, the royal train was equipped with 10 wagons. This train became intended only for foreign travel, as it was built for a narrower European standard railway gauge.

When developing the train project, much attention was paid to the degree of comfort of the train and its decoration. Given the illness of the Empress, one of the main requirements was to ensure comfortable temperature and ventilation composition. The quality of these works was controlled by the life physician of the Empress Professor S.P. Botkin. So, at a temperature of +8° to -20° degrees, the composition must maintain a constant temperature of 13 to 15°C, both "at the floor and at the ceiling." It also provided for the possibility of changing the temperature in the compartment, regardless of the temperature in the corridor. For this, a signal button was installed in the compartment. In the carriage of the Empress and in grand saloon installed "humidifiers" to maintain a certain level of humidity (48-58% in winter). Fan-conditioners were installed in four carriages of the train to cool the air entering the carriages in summer. At closed doors and windows, the temperature in the carriages had to be 5°C lower than the outside air.

Decorations for these wagons were also ordered from France. The contract with the French factories "Milton Pay and K 0" stipulated that "these cars must be equipped with all the necessary furniture and other accessories ... except for linen and washing appliances, table candlesticks and candelabra, ashtrays and matchboxes."

The interior was truly royal: for example, a washstand made of silver was installed in the empress's carriage. Despite the fact that at that time water closets (toilets) were already provided for in the carriages, according to tradition, the list of ordered items also mentions “white and gilded night porcelain vessels”.

For the first time, the Empress traveled abroad in a new composition in December 1873. During this trip, some shortcomings in the equipment of several cars were revealed. After all the alterations and improvements, the cost of the royal train for traveling abroad amounted to 320,905 rubles.

By the 1880s, the Russian railway network had expanded significantly. By this time, the imperial family had a wagon fleet, which began to form under Nicholas I.

In one of the trains, which consisted of 10 cars, on October 18, 1888, the royal family almost died as a result of a railway accident that occurred near the town of Borki near Kharkov.

After the collapse of the royal train in Borki, the expert commission revealed serious technical flaws in the design of the train and significant violations of the basic rules for its operation. Based on the conclusions of this commission, a decision was made to build a new train for royal family.

Already on October 28, 1888, a commission was established by the highest decision to resolve issues related to the formation of the concept of the future royal train. The main thing for the commission was to determine the type of new imperial cars, their comparative analysis with existing analogues operated by the heads of European states.

Thus, in October 1888, initially it was about the construction of two trains: for domestic and foreign trips of the royal family.

The trains were conceived as palaces on wheels. They, along with luxury and convenience for travelers, must provide a smooth ride and an adequate level of safety. To determine the number of people accompanying the emperor on his foreign trips, the guards compiled a list of passengers who usually accompany the king on his travels. As a result, it was decided that the royal train would include 11-12 wagons, with a total weight of about 400 tons.

For the construction of Imperial trains, a special Highest-established Construction Committee was formed, with direct supervision of the work of the Inspectorate of Imperial Trains.

In November 1889, a fundamental decision was made to place a prestigious order at the Alexander Mechanical Plant of the Nikolaev Railway. At the Alexander Plant, the construction of a seven-car train was completed by February 1896. However, during the first trips, it turned out that seven cars were not enough. As a result, two carriages were already built in the workshops of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway, and the third was restored after the aforementioned crash.

Already during the construction of the train for the emperor's foreign trips, a decision was made to use it for domestic trips of the royal family. For this, a procedure was developed for changing the slopes of the foreign gauge of 1435 mm to the Russian gauge of 1524 mm.

Initially, the change of ramps took up to 3 hours on each car. That is, it took up to three days to “change shoes” for the entire composition. In extreme cases, railway workers packed up at 18:00. To speed up the process, a special wagon lift was installed at the Verzhbolovo border station in 1903. It cost the treasury 206 thousand rubles.

The wagons in the composition were supposed to be distributed as follows:

In the first carriage- a power plant with its staff.

Second car- baggage.

Third car with a compartment of the first and second class was intended for servants.

In the fourth car seven compartments housed the first persons of the royal retinue. Fifth car 6 compartments were occupied by the minister of the Imperial Court, the commander of the main imperial apartment, the head of security, the marshal, the life medic, one spare compartment.

Sixth car, also for 6 compartments, - ladies'. Two grand ducal compartments. Two single compartments were intended for ladies-in-waiting. The maids of the Empress rode in a double compartment. The sixth compartment was intended for the servants of the ladies-in-waiting. The level of comfort in this car provided for a special toilet room in each of the grand ducal compartments and another common toilet for ladies-in-waiting and their maids.

Seventh car was called grand. It was designed for 5 compartments. The first of them was intended for the heir-Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Nicholas II. The second double compartment was intended for the young Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and his tutor. In the third compartment was the second son of the king - Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich. The car had two toilets.

The next two cars were called imperial.

Eighth car- sleeping. The emperor's bedchamber was upholstered with morocco. Each bedroom had three windows. The emperor's bedroom had a table, a sofa, a small dressing table, double lamps on the walls, and a washbasin. Each bedroom has a separate toilet room. The interiors of the rooms of the emperor and empress differed in style. A dressing room was arranged in the same carriage, and there were two compartments for the emperor's valet and for the empress's chamber frau. A steam boiler was placed in the wagon to heat it.

In the ninth carriage housed the imperial salon and the king's office.

In the tenth car there was an imperial dining room, it was divided into three sections: a dining room, a snack bar and a buffet. These four of the 10 carriages of the train (bedroom, dining room, children's and grand duke's), distinguished by a special luxury of decoration, were used only by members of the royal family.

The two trailing train cars are utility cars.

In the eleventh carriage there was a kitchen, which also consisted of three sections: a kitchen, a buffet and a section for provisions. In the twelfth car the second class had a compartment for 4 cooks and 4 waiters, as well as 14 beds for servants and 6 places for Cossack guards. In total, the car was designed for 32 beds with one common toilet.

Later another wagon was added and used as a church.

The average wagon weight was about 40 tons, that is, with a bogie pressure on the rails of 20 tons, but there were wagons, for example, the Bedchamber, in which the bogie pressure reached 23.3 tons.

The length of the cars between the outer edges of the buffer bars is 18 m, the Bedchamber and Children's cars are 19.6 m, the height of the car inside is 2.9 m, the width is 2.94 m. The bodies are wooden: both the crate and the frame with channels.

Carts were used with a metal frame; biaxial, equipped with a triple system of springs: elliptical carriage type, axle box leaf and axle box special. The slopes are reinforced.

The cars were interconnected with Ulengut ties, and for the convenience of passage from one car to another, there were inter-car transitions with leather bellows - harmonicas.

Initially, in order to save space, it was supposed to illuminate the composition only with candles and dispense with electric lighting. Then the option of gas lighting was considered, but after some hesitation, electric lighting was arranged in the train. Each of the compartments was equipped with 1-2 Art Nouveau lamps.

Installed incandescent lamps for 8, 16 and 25 candles each at a voltage of 50 volts worked from a dynamo and batteries; in case of damage to the car in the kitchen car there was a battery that provided lighting for the entire train for 3 hours. In total, there were 200 pieces of electric lamps in the train. In the daytime, in addition to windows, light entered the cars through skylight windows.

A telephone network was installed for communication between all the cars. All the carriages were equipped with Siemens and Halske telephones of their own system with a receiver shell on a common telephone box screwed to the wall. They were later replaced by Erickson telephones with speaking and auditory shells on the same portable tripod.

The power station car was put at the head of the train, this made it possible to take water for the boiler of the power station directly from the tender of the rear locomotive.

Train heating - steam, local, small boilers installed in 7 cars; a wagon without its own boiler was heated by the boiler of a neighboring wagon.

Brakes - Westinghouse, Hardy and manual; the pressing of the pads is double-sided, and each axle is braked.

To give a signal on the locomotive, there was an electrical alarm, which, when the train was following on automatic brakes, was used to regulate the speed of the train, and when using hand brakes, its purpose was the same as the signal rope - to immediately stop the train.

All train cars had the same appearance. The color of the cars is dark blue with a thin gold layer on the glazing beads covering the seams of the panel iron. The last layer of varnish was lightly sanded to soften the too strong gloss.

The roof was painted light gray to protect against heating. The trolleys are black with gold lining along the contour lines. The wheels were painted according to the rules of the General Agreement.

There were no inscriptions on the wagons, however, each wagon had its own letter indicating the purpose of the wagon, for example, Sl. - Service, D. - Children's, etc.

Their Imperial Majesties occupied the carriage - the Bedchamber; it had two offices, between them a bathroom, and on the sides - compartments for His Majesty's valet and Her Majesty's chamber frau.

The decoration of the car was distinguished by simplicity and rigor of style in all details.

Emperor's Bedchamber

The walls of His Majesty's study were lined with dark olive-coloured screed leather, and the ceiling with polished mahogany planks. The floor over felt in 3 layers was covered with a plain olive-colored velvet carpet with a checkered pattern. A large sofa with a removable mattress, which serves as a bed at night, is separated from the door by a glass screen with a curtain; the furniture consisted of a desk, 3 armchairs, a wardrobe and a bookcase; the door next to the table led to the lavatory, where a washbasin was placed; dressing room - Chinese mat. Bronze - gilded.

The office was lit by 5 electric bulbs of 10 candles. Ventilation was carried out by 2 fans of the Korshunov system. To stop the train at the head of the sofa there was a handle from the stop valves of the automatic brakes. Next to the restroom is the valet's room, where the necessary things were placed.

The bathroom was finished with a water-repellent mat. The bathtub itself was made in Paris from bimetal, its outer side was made of copper sheets, and the other side facing the inside of the bathtub was made of silver. There was a shower over the bath.

Her Majesty's apartment was arranged in much the same way as His Majesty's study, with the only difference being that pale green English cretonne was used instead of leather for the walls and furniture.

Bedchamber of the Empress

Behind the Bedchamber was the salon-dining car.

On the walls are kenkets, a clock, a barometer and port-bouquets; in addition, above the mirror, between the doors to the dining room, there is a pressure gauge and a vacuum gauge from the brake cylinders of Westinghouse and Hardy.

Decor elements of the dining car

The wood used for finishing is red with American walnut inserts. Doors, tables, window cornices are inlaid.

The dining room is decorated in the style of the English Renaissance; its character is rather strict and very simple: the walls are upholstered with embossed French leather, rollers, brown, the panel - pebbled leather, rollers; the furniture is upholstered smoothly also with shagreen leather; the dining table, if desired, was disassembled into 3 separate card tables, from the salon side there was a cupboard with a folding board for serving snacks.

The saloon and dining room were illuminated - each with 16 ten-candle lamps

In front of the Bedchamber, the Children's Carriage was placed.

The main compartments of the car were the premises of Their Imperial Highnesses Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatyana Nikolaevna.

In both of these compartments, the upholstery of the walls is smooth, with English cretonne - flowers on a white field; the tree is beech.

In the same car there were 2 ladies-in-waiting; their departments were arranged according to the general type of premises of the retinue.

In Velikoknyazhesky there were 3 grand ducal departments, one valet compartment and a compartment for chamber frau.

The 1st Grand Duke's Department was decorated in the Empire style: polished mahogany furniture with bronze decorations; the walls and furniture are upholstered in dark green screed leather; the ceiling is covered with a greenish silk fabric with laurel wreaths designed in style; the same wreaths were repeated in the design of the carpet, a thick red-brown tone.

In general, the character of the decoration was very rich, but calm and strictly seasoned.

The decoration of the 2nd compartment, consisting of 2 parts separated by a folding partition, was made in lighter colors; the walls are finished with silk fabric, with a colored pattern; the wooden decoration of the walls was of red beech and Karelian birch; the furniture was dominated by maple with pear wood inlays.

At will, on some trips, this compartment from 2 sleeping halves turned into a salon.

The 3rd Grand Duke department was also trimmed to the top with a stitch for less echo; the general tone of the finish is a combination of lilac with pale yellowish; lilac silk matting was used for the panel; for walls - brocard fabric with a yellowish woven pattern on a light purple background and, finally, plush for furniture borders; the upholstery of the walls is made with the same brokart material.

Beech and maple prevailed in the wooden decoration of the walls, and maple was also taken for furniture with pear wood inlays.

The bed, just like in Her Majesty's study in the new carriage, was arranged in the form of a hammock and was separated from the door by a wooden screen.

At the head of the hammock there was a small folding table and a portable electric lamp, which could also be hung on the wall; by the window there is a dressing table with a mirror; in the piers between the windows - a desk with a descent board; an armchair, a stool and a chair completed the furnishing of this department.

The retinue car consisted of 4 men's and 2 women's compartments and a compartment for female servants.

The layout of these compartments is similar to that of the maid of honor in the Children's Carriage and differs mainly in the choice of material for upholstery of walls and furniture: in the men's compartments, the sofa, chair and wall panel are upholstered in dark green leather, and the upper part of the kotlin walls is grayish. - green color with a woven pattern of shiny silk; in the women's, the finish is in vieil or (dull gold), the skin is replaced by satin.

The service car consisted of a saloon compartment and six compartments.

The device of these compartments is made on the model of men's suites. The salon was intended to accommodate duty officers from the train administration, as well as agents of the administration of the route and officials of the gendarmes.

Control devices were placed on the wall: a train speed indicator, two pressure gauges from the main air duct and the brake cylinder of the Westinghouse brake, vacuum gauges from the same parts of the Hardy brake, a clock, a repeated call from an electrical alarm to the locomotive and a button to send a signal there; barometer and thermometers - indoor and outdoor - completed this collection.

There was a map of Russian railways on the wall. There was also a telephone for communication with the Department of the Carriage Engineer in the Workshop Car and with the Baggage Car. A small tea buffet was set up at the end of the carriage.

The Wagon-Workshop was entirely designed to accommodate the technical staff of the train and the electrical station for its lighting.

The Carriage Engineer's Department was equipped with two sofas, an extendable table, a telephone and all the control devices found in the Service Car salon with the addition of a voltmeter, as well as two cabinets and shelves for storing train magazines.

For the rest of the persons who were replaced from duty by the technical and internal crews of the train, three large compartments for six beds each and one small compartment for three people were arranged.

The benches for sleeping were arranged in three tiers: the lower and upper ones were fixedly fixed, the middle one was lowered on hinges, which made it possible to sit freely on the lower bench during the day.

The benches were made of polished teak wood and covered with removable hair mattresses covered in gray cloth. The upper dress and personal luggage of the artisans were placed in the corridor. To feed the train crew, there was a small separate kitchen with a stove, sufficient for cooking for 30-35 people of lower employees accompanying the train from the owner's road.

For the convenience of collecting water from the tender tank, the boiler of the power station was placed at the end of the car facing the steam locomotive.

The walls were painted with light oil paint after a canvas previously pasted on them; the floor near the boiler is upholstered with iron; the upper windows in the skylight for better ventilation of the room are made opening.

Coal for heating was poured into a chest on the side of the boiler; there was also a small workbench with a vise for minor repairs needed along the way.

Dynamos were installed on additional beds located across the car, and were fenced with railings.

The floor of the room is upholstered with linoleum; the walls are painted with oil paint. On the wall are two cabinets for storing spare lamps, fuses and other electrical lighting accessories.

Wagon - Kitchen.

Almost the entire car was devoted to the culinary part, but two compartments were arranged: one was double, the other was in one sofa, to accommodate the gof-furrier, waiters and cooks on small suburban trips, when the train was running in a reduced train without a 2nd car. class for the Palace servants.

In the center of the car there is a compartment with a plate, which is located at one of the longitudinal walls. Against the other wall was a cupboard. Opposite the stove was a long beech table for cooking, under it lay a supply of firewood. Water was stored in a tank made of tinned copper, doused with zinc, and installed in a wooden container. In the corner of the kitchen there is a sink with water running to it.

The walls are lined with cabinets, shelves and hooks for placing dishes. For ventilation, in addition to ceiling fans, skylight windows are hinged, on springs. The walls are painted in light oak with oil paint; the floor is upholstered with linoleum, and near the hearths also with iron.

The stove and cake cabinet are all made of iron and cast iron, with gaps at the outer cladding filled with sand.

At the end of the car from the side of the dining room there is a pantry for preparing snacks and a supply of regular dishes.

On the other side of the kitchen was the so-called cold section; it is lined with glaciers in the form of boxes with lids along all free walls; all the reserves of the palace kitchen were preserved here. The door to the stove compartment is equipped with an automatic lock.

In the absence of another on the train more suitable place I had to place a battery of batteries for electric lighting in this compartment.

Carriages Luggage and 2nd class for the palace servants are finished in the same way as the living quarters in the car Kitchen - by type passenger cars Class 2: the top of the walls is covered with oilcloth, and the bottom and seats are upholstered in gray cloth.

In the baggage car there was a Graftio apparatus for recording the progress and idle time of the train.

A hydraulic control panel, stretchers and torches are installed along the walls of the corridor in case of any incidents along the way.

In the class II carriage, in addition to the departments for the Palace servants, there was a service room for the paramedic and the foreman of the train, who directly supervised the railway servants of the train. One wall of this compartment is occupied by a large closet, which stores a supply of bed linen for the entire train; under the sofa - a box with a full supply of the most common and necessary medicines on the way.

Nicholas II, until 1905, used trains built on the orders of his father, Alexander III. But since Nicholas II traveled around the country quite often, gradually his own royal train began to form on each railway. By 1903, the fleet of imperial trains already consisted of five trains. The first is the Imperial train of the Nikolaev railway for the travels of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with carriages on four-axle bogies. The composition included 10 wagons. The second is His Imperial Majesty's Own for long-distance travel across Russia, put into operation in 1897, on four-axle bogies. The third - the Imperial train "for foreign gauge", which went into operation in 1894, consisted of 11 cars on four-axle bogies. The fourth is the "suburban Imperial train" with three-axle wagons for traveling around St. Petersburg, which included 13 wagons. The fifth is the Imperial train of the Kursk railway "for the travel of foreign and local nobility" of 16 three-axle cars.

Internal political events had a significant impact on the expansion of the fleet of imperial trains. It was necessary to strengthen measures to ensure the security of the emperor in the conditions of the imminent revolutionary explosion. Therefore, in the early 1900s, the construction of the second "copy" of the Russian Imperial train began. The construction of this train was completed by 1905.

It was the twin trains that provided the “cover” for the king, constantly changing places on the route. A similar practice in the protection of the king developed in the late 1870s under Alexander II. Special personnel from among the room servants were assigned to the backup train with the task of constantly flickering in the windows of the cars, giving them a residential look. The interior of the backup train was somewhat more modest, but outwardly they looked almost the same.

They tried to keep the carriages of the imperial trains on each of railway routes king. Therefore, the Imperial train could be quickly completed with the required number of wagons.

Especially often the Imperial composition was used by the tsar during the First World War. For maneuverability and secrecy of movement, the royal train was completed with an incomplete composition. The imperial train was small. It consisted in the center of the carriage of His Majesty, where the bedroom and study of the Sovereign were located; nearby, on the one hand - suite, and on the other - dining car. Next came the kitchen with a buffet, a car with a military field office and the last car, where the railway engineers and the head of the road along which the train was traveling were placed. Arriving at the front in Headquarters, the Sovereign remained to live in his train. When in the summer of 1915 Nicholas II assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander and most began to spend time in Mogilev, where his Headquarters was located, then the empress and her daughters often came there.

In fact, in 1915–1917, the imperial train became one of the permanent residences of the last Russian emperor. This train also included a saloon car, in which on March 2, 1917, Nicholas II signed his abdication.

After the abdication of Nicholas II in March 1917, his trains were used by the ministers of the Provisional Government for six months. After the Bolsheviks came to power, the famous train of the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, L.D. Trotsky, was formed from imperial wagons. He used the amenities of the Imperial train, including a garage car built in 1915 for the train of Nicholas II.

The fate of all the luxurious royal carriages turned out to be sad. Most of them were lost in the fire of the Civil War. The surviving carriages died in 1941, and today not a single of the original imperial trains has been preserved in Russia.

Based on publications: Zimin I. The adult world of imperial residences. The second quarter of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century; Zh.-d. transp. - 2000. - No. 8. - S. 68-73: ill. Imperial Trains. B.V. YANUSH, employee of the Central Moscow Railway Department of the Ministry of Railways; Tsarskoye Selo Newspaper , November 9, 2002 No. 87 (9409) Y. Novoselsky; Transport Information Bulletin. - 2009. - No. 1. - P.27-29. K. I. Pluzhnikov Imperial train; Imperial broad-gauge train for traveling around Russia built in 1896-1897. : [album] / MPS; comp. P. Malevinsky. - St. Petersburg. ; M. : Tipo-lit. Kushnereva, 1900. - 220, 19 p. : ill., photo, plans, l. crap.

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.
Train review Imperial Russia I only found one from a New Zealand tourist. 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.

In general, the local guides were boring and seemed to take their time on purpose 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 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 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).

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 the "Route of His Imperial Majesty the SONG EMPEROR through 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.

In 1915-1917, the imperial train became one of the permanent residences of the last Russian emperor. This train also included a saloon car, in which on March 2, 1917, Nicholas II signed his abdication.

The rulers have always loved and appreciated trains, and considerable funds were allocated for their arrangement. See what the imperial train looked like.

The interior of one of the carriages of the imperial train.

The walls of the wagon and the furniture were upholstered in fabric, mostly English cretonne with floral patterns.

This is what part of the interior of the train dining room looked like.

Coupe in ladies car number six. There were six compartments here: two grand-ducal compartments, two single-seat compartments for ladies-in-waiting, the Empress's chambermaids rode in a double compartment, and the sixth was for the servants of the ladies-in-waiting.

The compartment of the ladies' carriage, in which one of the Grand Duchesses probably lived.

Panels, ceilings and furniture were made of polished oak, walnut wood and Karelian birch. The floors were covered with linoleum and carpets.

The Imperial Salon, the very one in which Nicholas II signed his abdication.

Dining room.

The office of one of the ladies-in-waiting.

Bathroom room. It was finished with a water-repellent mat. The bathtub is made in Paris from bimetal: the outer side is made of copper sheets, and the inner side is made of silver. There was a shower over the bath.

Imperial Dining Room. The car she was in was divided into three compartments: a dining room, a snack bar, and a buffet.

Living room.

The king's study: its walls were finished with dark olive-colored leather in a screed, and the ceiling - with polished mahogany boards.

Toilet in the ladies' carriage. The level of comfort there included a separate toilet room in each of the grand ducal compartments and another common toilet for ladies-in-waiting and their maids.

Grand Duchess Anastasia on the imperial train, 1916.

Empress Alexandra, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei.

The construction of the imperial train took place from 1894 to 1896 in the Main Automobile Workshops of the Nikolaev Railway.

Most of the carriages of the royal train were lost in the fire. civil war. The surviving carriages died in 1941, and today not a single of the original imperial trains has been preserved in Russia.