Passenger Steam Locomotive P36 0251

By the mid-1940s, the S^U steam locomotives were no longer able to cope with the increased passenger traffic. The weight of trains had increased, and on many sections of the railway served by the class S^U, double traction was employed. In areas with steep gradients, freight locomotives like the classes SO and L, which were poorly suited for passenger transport, were sometimes used to haul passenger trains. This created a need for a more powerful and advanced passenger locomotive with an axial load not exceeding 18 t.

The experimental steam locomotive was completed by December 1949, and its official commissioning was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Joseph Stalin, celebrated on 21st December 1949. Large signs placed on the smoke deflectors indicated that the locomotive was dedicated to the leader’s anniversary.

The first 2-4-2 steam locomotive was equipped with a fan-driven exhaust system, which was replaced after a short time with a conventional blast pipe exhaust system. The P36 0001 steam locomotive, unlike all subsequent machines in this class, is equipped with a six-axle tender manufactured by the Bryansk Locomotive Works. The tender had a semi-cylindrical water tank. Similar tenders were also used on experimental freight locomotives of classes P34 and UU23. The locomotive is equipped with a mechanical stoker S-3.

The test driver from the Oktyabrskaya Railway’s Moscow Depot, Hero of Socialist Labour N.A. Oshats, played a major role in the long-term testing of the new locomotive, its refinement to operational standards, and the improvement of its design. The test results were deemed positive, and a decision was made to build an experimental batch.

The new locomotives were distinguished by their exceptional design, featuring numerous innovations. The locomotive was equipped with an all-welded boiler and an extended smokebox (which, as noted in popular science publications of the time, could accommodate a Pobeda automobile), along with steam pipes that were maximally straightened and had enlarged gas passages. The firebox utilised cross circulation pipes.

The firebox doors and the doors leading from the cab to the tender vestibule, as well as the firebox grate’s air bleed mechanism, were all pneumatically operated. The locomotives also featured a mixing feedwater heater designed by the Bryansk Locomotive Works, which allowed for significant fuel savings. For the first time in the history of domestic steam locomotive production, all axle boxes, both on the locomotive and the tender, were equipped with roller bearings.

In terms of comfort and ease of operation for locomotive crews, these machines were unparalleled. Veterans from the Leningrad-Passazhirsky-Moskovsky Depot, who worked on the P36, half-jokingly remarked, “We could relax on these locomotives”. The drivers also praised the P36’s outstanding performance — its inexhaustible boiler, ease of starting from a standstill, incredibly smooth ride even at maximum speed, and excellent cornering ability.

The mass transition to modern traction types in the USSR during the 1950s and 1960s led to the rapid displacement of P36 steam locomotives from mainlines in the European part of the country, relegating them to less busy and remote sections of the network. P36 locomotives began operating on the East Siberian, Transbaikal, Northern, Far Eastern, and Lviv Railways.

However, their service on these routes was relatively short-lived. The P36s operated the longest on the Transbaikal Railway, where they ran express trains, including No. 1 “Russia”, until 1973–1974. The P36 steam locomotives did not even reach half of their intended service life.

Today, 24 P36 locomotives remain in the post-Soviet space. Two more are preserved in Mongolia and Germany. Several class P36 locomotives are still in working order and are used for pulling retro trains, participating in events organised by Russian Railways, and performing economic tasks.

Passenger steam locomotive P36 0251 was built by the Kolomna Locomotive Works in 1956 under serial number 10420. P36 0251 is the last steam locomotive built by the Kolomna Locomotive Works and the last passenger steam locomotive built in the USSR.

The fate of this last passenger steam locomotive has long intrigued domestic railway history enthusiasts. Its location was well-known, correspondence was maintained with its owner, and enthusiasts occasionally “visited” the locomotive, documenting it through photographs. However, meaningful efforts to preserve it began only in the autumn of 1991, when the locomotive was purchased from its owner at scrap metal value by the Central Museum of the Oktyabrskaya Railway.

To remove the locomotive from the plant’s premises, it was required to detach it from technological steam pipes and metal structures, clear ten years’ worth of accumulated slag, prepare the running gear for movement to the nearest depot, and, most importantly, repair the 2.5 km-long access track, which had been unused for years. A major obstacle emerged about a kilometre from the locomotive, where pipeline support had been installed directly across the track, making dismantling impossible. A detour had to be constructed for this section of the route.

Despite these challenges, V.N. Voronin successfully overcame the difficulties, and the locomotive was delivered to the depot, where it was prepared for a journey of over 9,000 km.

In addition to technical issues, other hurdles also arose. Having received information that the locomotive was delivered from the plant to the depot, a Moscow-based commercial organisation under the Railway Research Institute of JSC Russian Railways of the Ministry of Railways attempted to claim it, using an administrative resource, and redirect P36 0251 to the test loop of the institute in Moscow. This effort was thwarted thanks to the intervention of  the Oktyabrskaya Railway’s management and the Deputy Minister of Railways.

The museum train was escorted to its destination by V.N. Voronin and the locomotive crew from the St.  Petersburg-Sortirovochny-Moskovsky Depot, led by the experienced driver V.A. Sergeev. During the journey, the train made a stop at the Magdagachi Depot of the Transbaikal Railway to dismantle spare parts from the P36 steam locomotives. These parts had to be removed in temperatures as low as −40°C.

In December, just before the New Year, the six-month expedition to save the unique steam locomotive concluded at the track of the museum site in Shushary.