Exhibit description

Soft-Seated Passenger Car No. 1201

Before the Revolution

Cars with a body length of 20 m, ordered in the 1910s by the Railway Administration, were the most advanced passenger cars on the state railways of Russia. They subsequently had a significant influence on the development of Soviet car building, all the way through the 1940s transition from wooden-bodied cars to all-metal ones.

Red Arrow

Initially Dark Blue

On 10th June 1931, the Red Arrow Express began operating on the Leningrad-Moscow line, initially consisting of soft-seated passenger cars with a body length of 20 m. Their colour scheme also matched that of the first class of the 1910s, rather than reflecting the name of the train.

The Red Arrow named train on the Moscow-Leningrad route began operating in 1931. It was initially made up of first- and second-class cars of pre-revolution design.

Over time, the old cars were gradually replaced by soft-seated Soviet-built wagons with a body length of 20.2 m, all painted in the same dark blue colour. In the 1950s, the express completely changed its composition: wooden-bodied cars were replaced by all-metal ones. It was not until 1961 that the Red Arrow cars were painted red.

Initially, the cars of the Red Arrow were painted in dark blue, which was the colour used before the revolution for the first class. In 1961, they became red.

Museum Exhibit

The car was built between 1913 and 1918, presumably by the Sormovo Plant, as a first-class (soft-seated) car. From 1931 to the 1950s, this type was part of the Red Arrow Express. In 1973, the car was converted into a commuter car and assigned the number 3784; it was not designated to any particular depot. Instead, it was based in Mga and Chudovo, at the disposal of the car service of the Leningrad-Moscow Branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway.