Veteran ships
Navigation has begun on the rivers of Russia. Hundreds of cargo and passenger ships have begun their service. However, the picture is far from rosy. The age of most river ships exceeds 50 years, and some of them were put into service back in the 50s of the last century. Hence the corresponding technical condition and economic efficiency.
Among the long-lived ships, one cannot fail to mention the two-deck paddle steamer N.V. Gogol, the oldest river passenger ship in Russia, which began its service history in 1911 and is still in regular service.
"N.V. Gogol" - a modern look
The vessel was built in Nizhny Novgorod at the Sormovsky plant by order of the Northern Shipping Company "Kotlas-Arkhangelsk-Murmansk". The cost of the vessel was 140 thousand rubles. The steamer was transported to the North along the Volga, Sheksna and the Northern Dvina waterway system. The small dimensions of the locks on the Northern Dvina system forced the vessel to be divided into three parts. The steamer was reassembled in Veliky Ustyug.
"N.V. Gogol" in the first years after construction
Wheelhouse (modern view)
The two fire-tube steam boilers and the inclined triple-expansion steam engine with a capacity of 380 hp (although it could develop up to 500 hp), which have survived to this day, working on two side paddle wheels, provided a speed of up to 18 km/h.
Steam engine "N.V. Gogol"
Steam boilers (modern type)
Initially, the passenger capacity was 695 (including deck passengers). The steamship operated on the Vologda-Ustyug-Kotlas-Arkhangelsk route and was popular with passengers, which was greatly facilitated by a good buffet with a large selection of food and drinks. The journey from Vologda to Arkhangelsk took three days and nine hours, the return journey lasted four days and nineteen hours.
Birch firewood was used as fuel for the boilers, and up to 40 cubic meters of it were required per day. Therefore, along the steamship route, approximately 200 km away, there were piers with so-called firewood storages, where it was possible to replenish firewood supplies.
Passengers were accommodated in cabins of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, with only 1st and 2nd class passengers allowed on the upper deck. The most numerous contingent, the deck passengers, whiled away the time sitting on birch firewood stored on the lower deck. Their "amenities" were mainly limited to two copper cubes (tanks) with boiled water heated by steam. At the stern, under a canopy, were located the cows, horses and piglets transported by the peasants.
In 1918, the steamship was nationalized by the Soviet authorities and used as a military transport and hospital ship. In 1921, the N.V. Gogol returned to the Arkhangelsk-Vologda line, where it operated until 1936, and then, due to a drop in the water level in the river, on the Arkhangelsk-Veliky Ustyug route.
From autumn 1939 to August 1941, the N.V. Gogol underwent major repairs, during which its hull was replaced and slightly lengthened, and the old one was used as a hotel in Kotlas for two years.
In the early 50s, the boiler heating was switched to liquid fuel (fuel oil), which significantly eased the stokers' work, and in 1958-1959 the ship underwent another major overhaul.
The ship would have undoubtedly been scrapped later, but it was saved by a decision by the management of the Zvezdochka ship repair plant (Severodvinsk). In 1972, the N.V. Gogol was purchased by the plant with the aim of using it for recreation for the plant's employees, as well as preserving it as a historical monument of domestic technology that simply cannot be lost. By the decree of the head of the Arkhangelsk Region administration dated July 14, 1998, the steamship was declared a historical monument of regional significance.
Thanks to the broad technical capabilities of Zvezdochka (after all, the main purpose of the plant is the repair and modernization of nuclear submarines) and the professionalism of its workers, the veteran steamship, including its unique power plant, is still in good technical condition.
In 1972-1973 and 1994-1996 the ship was reconstructed. The living and public spaces were updated. 30 comfortable cabins can accommodate 140 passengers, there are two salons (bow 35 sq. m and stern 30 sq. m), a bar-restaurant on the main deck.
Deck
Corridor
Cabins on the N.V. Gogol
Bar-restaurant
Salons
Now "N.V. Gogol" is a tourist and excursion vessel and a floating recreation center of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Zvezdochka" Ship Repair Center and makes short cruises along the Northern Dvina. Over the long years of its service, the steamship has traveled about 1 km, transporting over 852 million passengers.
Another Russian rarity also deserves undoubted attention. fleet — the Baikal icebreaker Angara, which has become a museum. This summer it will celebrate its 125th anniversary.
In 1891, construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began in Russia. It was a technical undertaking that had never been seen before in the world, and even now it would hardly have been possible to carry it out in such a short time. The length of the railway from Chelyabinsk to Vladivostok was 7416 km. This is not quite the railway we see today: a significant part of it ran through the territory of Chinese Manchuria with a branch line to Port Arthur, the then base of the Russian fleet.
Construction was carried out simultaneously from the east and west, and the connection was planned to be made in the area of Lake Baikal using the Circum-Baikal railway line bypassing the lake from the south. This was the most difficult and most expensive section of the highway - it passed through mountainous areas with many rivers, which required the construction of numerous tunnels, bridges, viaducts and other structures. This section called into question the introduction of direct rail service in due time.
In order to speed up the commissioning of the highway, which was so necessary for the country, in 1893 a decision was made to create a ferry railway crossing across Lake Baikal. Since the lake was covered with ice for a significant part of the year, the ferries had to have icebreaker capabilities.
In December 1895, the Committee of the Siberian Railway ordered the English firm Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd to build an icebreaker ferry with a capacity of about 4 thousand horsepower.
The village of Listvennichnoye, located on the western shore of Lake Baikal not far from the mouth of the Angara, was chosen as the site for assembling the icebreaker and building the floating dock. An improvised shipyard was built there with slipways, workshops, utility and residential buildings for skilled workers from St. Petersburg factories sent to the shipyard, and employees who came from all over Russia.
In June 1896, the construction of the ferry in England was completed. The ship was dismantled into 6900 parts, which were sent to St. Petersburg, and from there, by various means of transport, they were delivered to the assembly site.
In mid-January 1898, assembly of the ferry began in Listvenichny, and on June 17, 1899, its ceremonial launching took place. By order of Emperor Nicholas II, the new vessel was named "Baikal".
Back in 1897, the Minister of Railways M.I. Khilkov proposed building an auxiliary cargo-passenger icebreaker steamship to increase the carrying capacity of the crossing and improve the reliability of its operation. This vessel was also ordered from Armstrong's firm and after construction at the Newcastle shipyard and testing, it was dismantled and delivered to Listvenichnoye. The day after the launch of the ferry "Baikal", its assembly began on the vacated slipway.
Assembly of the Angara, 1900.
The work proceeded at an accelerated pace, the average daily number of workers at the assembly was 290 people. The cost of building the icebreaker reached 770 rubles. On July 704, 27, the vessel, named "Angara", was launched, and a week later it was put into operation on the ferry between the stations of Baikal and Mysovaya. The distance between them on the lake was 1900 km. In 72,5, the icebreaker pier was moved to Tankhoy. The distance between the piers was reduced to 1903 km, and the crossing time to 42,5 hours.
"Angara" in the ice
Drawings of the icebreaker "Angara"
The hull of the Angara was divided by 5 watertight bulkheads, the icebreaker shape of the stem and the ice belt 25 mm thick allowed the vessel to confidently move in ice up to 0,7 m thick. The bow and stern parts housed 2 holds with a total capacity of 653 m³ and a cargo capacity of 250 tons, and the main deck housed passenger quarters. Cabins for 1 people were equipped for 2st and 60nd class passengers. The 3rd class quarters for 100 people were located in the stern of the icebreaker. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Angara took on board up to 1000 people. The regular crew number was 50 people.
The main power plant of the Angara consisted of a triple expansion steam engine with a capacity of 1250 hp and four fire-tube boilers. It provided a speed of 22 km/h. Local coal was used as fuel, its reserve of 230 tons was enough for 115 hours of sailing.
Steam engines for "Baikal". A similar machine was installed on "Angara"
The ferry project envisaged that the Baikal would make three pairs of trips in the summer with a trip duration of 3-4 hours and one or two pairs in the winter with a duration of 8-9 hours. The Angara with cargo and train passengers would make one trip per day all year round. The work of these two vessels ensured the estimated throughput capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway of three pairs of trains per day.
Ferry routes
The ferry crossing acquired enormous strategic importance during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, transporting troops and military cargo to the east. The Baikal ferry was capable of servicing up to 10 trains per day. The Angara made one trip per day (transporting 9-10 wagons of cargo).
After the Circum-Baikal Railway line was put into operation in 1905, the ferry service operated for about 10 more years, while the Angara was kept in reserve, only occasionally making trips.
During the First World War, starting from the end of 1916, after a ten-year standstill, the icebreaker steamer resumed work. During the Civil War, in connection with the approach of the rebellious Czechoslovak Corps to Irkutsk in July 1918, according to the order of the Soviet Siberian Supreme Command No. 22 on the mobilization of water transport, the Baikal and Angara became part of the Red Baikal Flotilla.
The Angara was armed with two three-inch guns and four machine guns, and it went out to reconnoiter and shell enemy communications, receiving a number of minor combat damages. But the Baikal was unlucky - on August 17, 1918, in a battle with the White flotilla, it was completely disabled, and in the 30s the remains of its hull were cut up for scrap metal.
After the capture of the Baikal region by Kolchak's troops, the Angara was returned to the Baikal railway crossing and disarmed. In early January 1920, 31 political prisoners, including one woman, were placed on board the Angara.
On the evening of January 6, a terrible tragedy occurred. The icebreaker, breaking the ice, departed from the Baikal pier, and the prisoners, stripped to their underwear, were taken out onto the deck one by one. Here, a Cossack, an assistant of the bloody executioner Kolchak, so glorified by today's Russian media and cinema, hit the victim on the head with a wooden mallet from behind, after which the victim was thrown overboard. This mass murder lasted about an hour.
After the return of the Red Army in May 1920, the Angara joined the Baikal Detachment of Ships, which fought against Kolchak and Kappel's detachments. In October 1922, the steamship was again used as a peaceful cargo-passenger vessel. During the Great Patriotic War, it transported national economic cargo and passengers, including evacuees and mobilized personnel. It is interesting to note that in 1943-1944, the majority of the crew were women and students.
In 1931-1932 and 1949-1960, the Angara underwent major repairs, and in the mid-50s, the old fire-tube boilers were replaced with modern water-tube boilers heated by fuel oil. In 1962, the steamship was excluded from the fleet due to wear and tear.
In 1967-1975, the ship was used by the local DOSAAF branch, and then stood abandoned in one of the bays of the Irkutsk reservoir, where it sank twice (in 1987, it sank for the third time). And only in 1982, the veteran was remembered, and it was decided to turn it into a branch of the local history museum.
Half-sunken Angara, Irkutsk Reservoir, 1985
The ship was towed to the city limits of Irkutsk, but the following year, as a result of arson, it almost completely burned out and was in a semi-submerged state until 1987, when work finally began to restore the steamship and turn it into a museum.
The funds for this were collected "by the whole world". The newspapers announced a fundraiser, and a lottery was held for Irkutsk residents with valuable prizes - televisions, vacuum cleaners. All the money from the lottery went to the restoration of the icebreaker. The lottery denomination was 1 ruble - 500 thousand tickets were sold at this price. Since the population of Irkutsk was about 610 thousand people, it means that almost all the city residents took part in saving the Angara.
On November 5, 1990, the Angara was permanently moored at the Irkutsk Reservoir, and on March 30, 1991, the museum was ceremoniously opened.
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