Description of the attraction
In the summer of 2008, a museum dedicated to urban electric transport was opened in St. Petersburg. There were similar museums before, but they did not have an official status, were not independent and operated in electric transport parks thanks to the enthusiasm of individual workers.
The St. Petersburg Electric Transportation Museum can be roughly divided into three parts. Museum expositions highlighting the stages of formation and development of trolleybus and tram communication; the history of the electric transport parks and the facts of the life of the employees of the enterprises constitute the first part. The second part includes trolleybuses and trams of old models, starting from the very first ones, operating at the dawn of the use of electric transport for movement in the city. The third part of the museum is represented by the richest collection of documents and museum materials.
The main part of the museum's exposition is located on an area of about 200 square meters. meters, most of it falls on the exhibition hall (165 sq. m), the rest is reserved for storage. These areas are located on the second floor of the depot. Of great interest are the wall stands, which contain information about the periods of development of electric transport, starting from 1860. These stands can be used to trace the evolution of electric transport in the city. Photos, drawings, diagrams and graphs are all genuine historical archival documents. Showcases on the floor display: driver's uniform, conductor's bags, composters, cash desks, telephones. In other showcases one can see service certificates, travel documents, badges, symbols and books on transport topics.
In the museum you can also see real tram cars from different times. Sixteen copies of the restored rolling stock occupy an area of about 1000 sq. m (first depot). The most interesting thing is that all trams can be operated. They are used during holidays and anniversaries. In addition to these cases, carriages can be rented for sightseeing trips, and they are also rented under a contract for filming feature films. Trolleybus cars are located in the second depot. They are also refurbished and on the move.
Museum storage is represented by documents, books, photographs and brochures used in the preparation of stands or printed publications of various types. In addition, they are widely used to compile reference information. The museum keeps about a hundred folders containing materials about famous electric transport workers who made a significant contribution to the development of electric transport in St. Petersburg. Museum storage also includes literature from scientific conferences on electric transport; articles on this topic; materials on correspondence with similar museums and much more.
One of the first tram museums was a museum opened in the tram park, which bore the name of A. P. Leonov. It was opened for the anniversary (60 years) of the launch of city trams. Its creator was S. A. Kholdyakov, who was its director. Until that moment, in other tram parks, only stands were designed, which were dedicated to interesting moments and veterans. Soon, small museums opened in some tram fleets (1, 5, 3, 7). They still work.
The idea of a museum of electric transport appeared in the 90s of the twentieth century. Enthusiasts led by A. Yu. Ananyeva is a former chief engineer of the park. Volodarsky, they began to restore the old rolling stock. Retro trams, which were restored, were transferred to the depot on Vasilievsky Island. Later, this work was continued under the leadership of N. P. Kromin.
