Saturday 22 August 2009

Rizhskaya Railway Museum

I don't know the first thing about steam trains - so I purchased the excellent English-language guide book to identify the exhibits....

This is the 1891-designed, 1903-built 0v-841 - apparently over 8,000 were built.

P36-001, manufactured in 1954 with a total of 251 being built.

FD21-3125 - designed in 1931. This example was built in May 1939.

The massive P-0001 freight hauler - produced in 1954.

TE7-080 operated in 1957 on the non-electrified Moscow-Leningrad & Moscow-Kiev-Zhmerinka lines.

Diesel train D1-538 manufactured in 1973.

One of three ER200 high-speed test trains oiriginally built in Latvia.

Electro-Loco ChS4-025 - a total of 231 units was produced between 1965 and 1972.

This cute little exhibit is a TsUMZ snow-clearing machine from the 1930's.

Strange-looking BMS Ballast Cleaning Machine built in 1987.

Central Armed Forces Museum

Main entrance hall to the museum.

Some of the exhibits in the outside park have had a new coat of paint.

P-500 'Bazalt' (SS-N-12 Sandbox) missile.

Memorial to those who perished in the Kursk disaster.

Vadim Zadorozhny Technical Museum

The Bf-109G-6 has been moved and looks like it has sustained a little damage.

Brand new exhibit is this WWII Hawker Hurricane. My thanks to Guennadi Sloutski for the following translation of the placard...

This particular aircraft was found in the area of so-called 'Neva Patch' in 2008. The fighter was piloted by Aleksandr Fedorovich Myasnikov (born on 09.09.1909), who fought at the Leningrad Front and was killed in the air combat on 11 September 1942. A.F. Myasnikov was born in Mashinsky area of Novgorod region, during his Air Force service had 315 combat missions and shot down 18 enemy planes. He was awarded with the Order of Lenin and two Orders of Red Banner.

Scale model of the Yakovlev Yak-44E shipborne AWACS project.

Fokker Triplane suspended from the ceiling.

Yakovlev Yak-20/UT-2 basic trainer.

BTR-40 armoured car giving rides to visitors.

French AF Mystere being worked on ........

...... as was this MiG-17.

US M3 Half Track.

M4 Sherman Tank.

Another airframe being prepared for display - Republic F-84F Thunderstreak.

A new exhibit for the Yakovlev museum - the Yak-141 supersonic VTOL fighter.

Not sure what this is - but it is beautiful.

Same with this one upstairs.

On the Moskva river..

The A-90 'Orlyonok' ekranoplan is not yet open to the public.

'Skat' hovercraft.

A better view of the A-90 can be had from the opposite bank....

... and the Skat hovercraft.

Red Square

St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square.

The square was fenced off - in preparation for some event.

Note that the Red Stars on top of the towers have been replaced with the Russian Imperial Double-Headed Eagle.

All Photos Copyright Ken Duffey