The Museum of Electric Transport is located in St. Petersburg. It is this city that is associated with the old trams that ran around the city. Retrotransport takes part in various festive events and parades. Vintage trams in the city run every weekend. Local residents and guests of the Northern capital of the Russian Federation have the opportunity to ride around the city in them.
Those travelers who want to learn more about the evolution of electric transport are recommended to visit the Museum of Urban Electric Transport in St. Petersburg.
A little help
Not all travelers include a subdivision of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise "Gorelectrotrans" in their itinerary and do it absolutely in vain. The Museum of Electric Transport of St. Petersburg is located on the territory of the Vasileostrovsky tram park. Its exposition is located in two of the three buildings of the depot. The Museum of Electric Transport is proud that it was from here in 1907 that the firstcity on the Neva tram.
The depot was built in 1906-1908. designed by engineers F. Teichman, A. Kogan, L. Gorenberg. The depot building was created in 1906-1907. in Art Nouveau style, and later changed according to the project of engineer A. A. Lamagin.
History Pages
The Museum of Electric Transport was opened in 1967 in Leningrad for the 60th anniversary of the launch of the first city tram. At first, it had no official status, and photographs were used as exhibits.
Much later, the restoration of equipment began, which honestly "worked out its service." At the end of the 20th century, the idea of locating real equipment in the depot was promoted. After the victory in the All-Russian competition of professional skills by tram driver Andrei Ananyev and a team of like-minded people, the collection of the Museum of Electric Transport began to be assembled.
By 1982, the depot had not only Soviet, but also foreign trams. Of course, these were analogues of foreign cars that were produced in Russia.
Important Facts
The history of the creation of the electric transport museum is presented in modern expositions. Among the exhibits that arouse genuine interest among tourists, we highlight the old Brush type tram. It was put on routes in 1907, that is, more than a hundred years ago. The model repeatedly took part in the filming of Soviet films.
In the fall of 2014, Sredny Prospekt of Vasilyevsky Island acquired a new cultural heritage site. The collection presented in the Museum includes trolleybuses and trams fromvintage exhibits to contemporary designs.
What to see?
There is a horse car in the Museum, which was the progenitor of the usual tram.
Among the exhibits there is also a “festival bus” that once carried Soviet pop stars: Edita Piekha, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Leonid Kostritsa.
Many exhibits of the museum are preserved in only one copy. What modes of transport does the Museum of Electric Transport offer visitors to see?
Excursions involve familiarity with 22 tram cars, 7 trolleybuses, one bus. An interesting fact is that all the vehicles presented in the museum's expositions are in good condition.
It is systematically cared for, so the museum exhibits are involved in the shooting of historical films, participation in retro exhibitions. A parade of trams is held periodically, in which many exhibits take an active part.
Curious facts
Sredny Prospekt of Vasilyevsky Island, where the unique depot is located, has repeatedly participated in the filming of feature films and documentaries. Film directors did not disregard this beautiful avenue. Car 1028, which is currently on display in the museum, appears in the film Heart of a Dog. The exhibits of the museum were the heroes of the following films: "Lenin in October", "Brother", "The Master and Margarita".
In addition to historical transport, there are variousphotographs, illustrations, brochures, blueprints, tickets of various years, route maps, posters, cash registers, conductors' clothing, composters, service IDs.
Small models, paintings, excerpts from films featuring museum exhibits are displayed in separate rooms.
Furniture from 1907 used by the museum's first director is also on display.
Work Schedule
When can I get to the Electric Vehicle Museum? Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. The entrance to the museum closes at 17:00, until the same time the ticket office is open. Excursion service is offered to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays 4 times a day: 10:00, 11:30, 14:00, 16:00.
The cost of the entrance ticket is 300 rubles. (You can buy a discounted one for 100 rubles.) A guide is provided free of charge. During the tour, for an additional fee (160 rubles), you can ride a retro tram.
Location and Service
The Museum of City Electric Transport is located at the address: Sredny Prospekt, V. O., 77 (15 minutes from the metro station "Vasileostrovskaya"). The duration of the tour is 1.5-2 hours. With a group of 8-10 people, you can additionally order a trip around the park by trolleybus or tram. Visitors note the originality and effectiveness of the tour. The group gets into a tram or trolleybus, where they listen to a fascinating story of a professional guide.
Then visitors move on to the next exhibit, the tour continues. From the guide's story, you can learnamazing facts about transport in the city on the Neva. For example, at first trams were launched in the city on the ice of the Neva, and only then they began to run on rails.
What visitors are allowed?
Free of charge in the museum you can take photos and shoot videos, visit the besieged tram, sit in the seats for passengers. If the cabin is open during the tour, visitors are allowed to feel like a tram driver. You can press any buttons, ring the bell.
There is a ban on climbing the stairs that lead up to the electrical network, as the wires are under high voltage. There are no restrictions on self-study of the exhibits; after the tour, visitors can continue to explore the museum. For example, in the cinema you can watch the parade of trolleybuses.
Having entered this amazing museum of St. Petersburg, you can feel like a carriage driver or a conductor, realize the complexity and responsibility of these professions.
Wedding ceremonies
Some Petersburgers, after watching the parade of trams, are so imbued with the romance of this electric transport that they order a wedding photo session at the museum.
The pictures taken in the old trailers are so beautiful that it creates a complete impression of the realism of finding newlyweds in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some guests believe that the lighting in the museum is not bright enough, but looking at the photos of the newlyweds in a trolleybus or tram, it is rather difficult to agree with this point of view.
Excursions for children
BThe St. Petersburg Museum of Electric Transport offers special excursions for schoolchildren. The guide (depending on age) tells interesting facts about the history of electric transport in St. Petersburg.
Children are also offered quests, within which they can independently get acquainted with the exhibits they like, learn the features of their creation. In cold weather, the guys come here in warm clothes, as some of the exhibits are in the depot at the same temperature as outside.
The guide's stories will also be interesting for preschoolers, so groups of kids from nearby kindergartens in St. Petersburg are brought here. The guys are completely delighted when the guide, taking the place of the tram driver, invites them on a tour of the museum.
Visitor reviews
Tourists who were lucky enough to be in the Museum of Electric Transport are happy to listen to the guide, take pictures against the backdrop of historic cars.
What do visitors say? It would seem that despite the fact that the exhibits are located in the former hangars of the Vasileostrovskiy tram park built in the last century, hundreds of fans of electric transport are striving to get here.
Visitors note the interesting work of the guides, their desire to raise the intellectual and cultural level of tourists. What attracts citizens and guests of St. Petersburg here? The opportunity to touch the history of your country, ride on the transport that was once used by the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad.
What elseDo visitors of this unusual museum share their impressions? Some note that they first learned that trams ran around the city during the siege of Leningrad. Thanks to local volunteers who take an active part in the repair and restoration work, it is possible to deliver old trams and trolleybuses to the museum and bring them into a presentable appearance. What else do visitors of this unusual St. Petersburg museum note?
For example, only during the tour, many citizens learned that already at the beginning of the last century there was a relationship between the fare and the distance of the route. Such a measure significantly complicated the work of the conductor, but made it possible to prevent attempts of vandalism and hooliganism.
Some people saw self-service checkouts for the first time, learned that in order to tear off a ticket, they had to drop 3 kopecks into a special hole, then tear off the ticket.
Unfortunately, some of the dishonest people to whom passengers handed over money put fewer coins into the cashier, leaving some of the money for themselves. For this reason, self-service cash desks were removed and instead composters were installed in trams. The fare in the trolleybus was 4 kopecks.
Among the positive qualities of the museum, visitors note affordable ticket prices, free video and photography, as well as its convenient location.
A few drawbacks in their reviews of the museum of electric transport, visitors consider the need to dress warmly in cold weather, since the museum is as cold as it is outside. Some visitors complain about the badlighting, resulting in poor image quality.
Summarize
St. Petersburg is rightfully considered the cultural capital of Russia. There are many unique museums worth visiting here. One of these places, where we advise fans of electric transport to go, is the museum of trolleybuses and trams, located on Vasilevsky Island in St. Petersburg.
You can get here from Wednesday to Sunday, paying for an entrance ticket from 100 to 300 rubles. Children under the age of five can explore the expositions of the Electric Transport Museum for free. If you find yourself in the city on the Neva in the summer, be sure to include a visit to this museum in your itinerary. The content of excursions is constantly updated, so many tourists and transport lovers try to get here repeatedly.
Once here, you can learn about the unique features of technology from different periods. If you call the museum in advance, you can book a tour for a group of up to 25 people on the desired day and time. You can also agree on the form of the tour, taking into account the age of visitors. You can get to the museum by metro, having reached the station. Vasileostrovskaya. Then on foot in 15 minutes you need to go to Sredny Prospekt, 77a (line 19), you can also get here by tram (routes No. 40 or 6).
Each visitor to the museum has free access to the transport presented in the tram depot. You can not only look at retro cars from the outside, but also go inside to feel like a resident of the thirties or sixties of the last century.
Museumtakes part in the Night of Museums, so on this day you can get acquainted with the exhibits for free. The electric transport museum will not leave anyone indifferent, it will help you plunge into the unique atmosphere, learn the details of the history of the emergence and development of trolleybuses and trams.