International Railroad Discussion > International Railway Station where is it No. 13

This station is located at the beginning of a branch line that was once part of the Trans Siberian route.

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andersonb109 Wrote:
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> This station is located at the beginning of a
> branch line that was once part of the Trans
> Siberian route.

Slyudyanka, Russia. Claims to be the only railway station in the world made primarily out of marble.

Waited here on my Frankfurt - Tokyo journey in 2016 for the five-times-weekly train to Port Baikal on the old Circumbaikal route, which, as you correctly state, was part of the original Trans-Siberian Route (at least, the first one that did not involve laying tracks across the frozen lake in wintertime). Passed the time by enjoying some smoked Omul, a whitefish found only in Lake Baikal.

My train, the Matanya, is actually used by locals to access some of the villages along the line, which have no other land access (only boat or ice-top vehicle in winter). It turned out to be a one-car train and one of the best parts of my trip. Normally, tourists take either the steam-powered sightseeing trains or they travel in summer on the Matanya and transfer in Port Baikal (at the end of the line) to a ferry to cross the inlet over to the town of Listvyanka, where most hotels are located and which has road access back to Irkutsk.

However, I happened to be travelling off-season, and found out from a local (seen below pouring tea) that by the time we would reach Port Baikal (some five hours for the 90 km to cover the line), the last ferry would already be long gone. So I hitched a ride on a hovercraft chartered by a Chinese travel group, who also invited me to dinner the next evening back in Irkutsk. Quite an adventure!

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Thanks for adding to the story. Your adventure was way cooler than mine.  See today's post on my Trans Siberian Trip for a few photos. 

LOL omul makes an appearance.

GettingShort Wrote:
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> LOL omul makes an appearance.

Not a fan? I tried it as a warm dish when I stayed overnight in Listvyanka and enjoyed it in both forms, although I later learned that it's been overfished and may even be less available now (not sure).

Nice stories and photos, Bruce and Penn!  

I just discovered this page today - 
https://www.openrailwaymap.org

It seems to be an actual, up-to-date map of all the railways in the world...  

A cursory glance shows that it is pretty current on recent changes in Eastern Europe/Central Asia: 
* breaks in rail lines at Crimean Peninsula/Ukraine border (data is at least current to 2014) 
* Kerch Strait bridge not open yet between Russia and Crimea (current) 
* Kars - Tbilisi line is open (data current to 2 years)
* Shows a branch line along the north shore of Lake Baikal, from the west end, which is, I presume, the route you folks are posting photos of.  
* Shows the tram system in Irkustk

Also shows abandoned rail lines here in Utah with accuracy, like UP's Park City Branch, the Rio Grande's Tintic Branch, and the Rio Grande's Marysville line.   

I think the "Pocket Earth" app I use in my iPhone also uses Open Street data.  Maybe I can toggle something there to get the rail lines exclusively.  

Best to all, 
Ted in UT
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/20 13:35 by gobbl3gook.

Tourism in Crimea must really be down with no rail connection. Most Ukrainians and Russians went there by train as flying was too expensive for many. We were there in 2014 just before the invasion. Many nice restaurants and hotels. Yana said when she was young, they went there in Summer much like we might go to Florida. And always by train. The beaches were always packed with often no place OR sit. Now all western businesses are closed and tourism has dried up. All thanks to Mr. Putin.