Ukrainian border town

Ukrainian border town situated at the junction of three countries - Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. This is a customs post. It is the westernmost city in Ukraine. This is the place where the cars are changing wheels. This station, where there is a waiting room, but passengers have to wait for 6 hours while the cars will change the wheel. It's 800 years of history, traces of which the city could not be found. This elegant central square and a handful of ramshackle rickety lodges. It is 7 square kilometers of "city", which can be bypassed for a half hour. This is a unique and totally incomprehensible surzhik of the three languages. It bored border guards, customs officials are rubbing their hands and excited smugglers Guides ...





The author writes: Four times I was in Chop. Two of them were at night when I was sleeping, so they do not believe. Remains twice in 6 hours. Why 6 hours? Because that's where the wagon international importance Kyiv-Vienna waits for his fellow Slovak, to which he was chained so that he could get to the Austrian capital, simultaneously across the whole Slovakia from east to west. Upon arrival at the Chop car detached from the structure, drive for special ways and change wheelsets ...



So it has historically, that our Soviet railway tracks are not so little compared to our not - they are wider. There are many theories as to why so happened. For example, Western European (in principle, we can say and the world) standard was born a few years after the introduction of the world's first intercity rail link Liverpool - Manchester in 1830 in the track width of 1435 mm is often explained by historical furrows left by another chariot of the Roman Empire . Beautiful legend is hardly credible, since common standards for wagons and chariots of any old or in relatively close times are not observed.



George Stephenson - the engineer who built the road from Liverpool to Manchester, hardly amounted to some archaeological artifacts. Working earlier in the production routes for coal mines (coal delivery from the mine to the warehouses was carried out using horses, harnessed in trolley running on rails), he held the optimal alternative gauge that provides sufficient stability of existing trolleys and at the same time allow them to pass between columns (piles) of coal mines. Also, knowing that for rail transport has a great future, engineers sought to choose the optimal width that result in minimal costs for the conversion of existing roads and bridges in the w / d means of communication.

The success of the first long-distance railway Stevenson brought fame and new orders. And after some 15 years, the Royal Commission chose Stevenson track as a national standard by requiring all transport companies not build wider and longer.



The success of the first long-distance railway Stevenson brought fame and new orders. And after some 15 years, the Royal Commission chose Stevenson track as a national standard by requiring all transport companies not build wider and longer. & Quot; / & gt;

As for Mother Russia, at the same time here as building roads with a width of Stevenson and broadband. The first railway public - Tsarskoye Selo - gauge had almost two meters (1829 mm). Wider track - wider than cars. Shire cars - more people and cargo. But already during the construction of roads Nikolaev 15 years later it was decided to reduce the distance between the rails to 1524 mm, which was still wider British track. It is this breadth and became a national standard *. * Vickie tells: From May 1970 to the beginning of the 1990s, railroads were transferred to the USSR track of 1520 mm. This was done to increase the stability of the operation path of freight trains to increase their speed without upgrading of the rolling stock. The difference of 4 mm did not require retrofitting of rolling stock, but the transition has caused serious problems to dramatically increase the wear of wheel sets of rolling stock.



Why is our standard does not coincide with their standard? Perhaps one of the reasons was the military prudence of Nicholas I, created difficulties for preventive potential enemy to redeploy equipment across borders, with the possible invasion. It seems more likely version on the impact of the authoritative American engineer who participated in the construction of roads Nikolaev, as well as Russian engineers who visited America, where the track had a width of 5 feet (flat number), that is these same 1524mm. Or maybe it's just a mysterious Russian soul and the desire to make his own way ... However, ever since all rail links of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, Finland and Mongolia were built according to Russian standards.



Returning to Chop realities, it is worth noting that the procedure for replacement wheelsets from our on not ours, takes on the force for 30 minutes. And these 30 minutes - perhaps the most interesting of all the time that you have to spend waiting for the continuation of the journey. Funny dirty-faced men, talking to each other in rapid-gibberish that combines the familiar Ukrainian words (with not very Ukrainian accent), Polish sizzling pace and inhuman Hungarian sounds surround the car from all sides. And it starts ... Guys something disconnected, spun, spit through his teeth, mother, laugh, suggest something to each other.



Soon they were coming to the aid of a crane rail. Crane friendly waving through "not fresh" glass cockpit controls. Carelessly playing with levers, pedals, knobs or buttons, it has all possible assistance to land locksmith technicians. Frankly, I'm partial to the tower childhood (and indeed any) Cranes - I'm still with bated breath like to watch them work. And by the way, the crane operator - quite popular profession in Canada, part of the list of 29 occupations for which open independent immigration program. Alas, Chop crane about it, probably do not know ...



Meanwhile, ground truzhenniki already disconnected everything had to disconnect, and set a special jacks put in place under the car. 4 specially trained massive jack to lift the cars slowly raise the car, disconnect it from wheeled carts. Passengers can thus quietly situated inside the car, although I prefer to watch the process from the outside ...



Forgot to mention that "pereobuvochnom" section laid two pairs of rails - wide and narrow Russian English. This allows the wheel and drove off unnecessary could be pushed until the desired car hanging two meters above the ground. "Use" wheeled trolley crane Valiant then drag along separate paths, where the wheels will have a rest and wait for my car ... In the meantime, the car is lowered on the right truck. All you need is connected, the brakes checked. All of them! The car is ready to travel to Western Europe.



Like any train station, Chop has its own school to train beggars. The proximity of the border, the presence of representatives of the customs and border agencies, as well as the wealthy passengers imply high competition and, as it seemed to me, cruel selection. Anyway, for 12 total hours in Chop I had seen only one person who is engaged in begging for something. This person acted quite professionally, not leaving long, trying to apply different local dialects, appealing to all sorts of gods ...



But we stood ...



I have stayed in passing some of the features of the car international car Kiev-Vienna in the story of Rotterdam. I can not describe it in detail. Let me remind you that the car should be on the route Kiev-Chop-Bratislava-Vienna, and thus serves as a sufficient number of our fellow citizens and foreign visitors. That's why this car is very different from our usual standard passenger compartment cars and fast trains. Sleeping car produced at GDRovskom wagon factory in the near Gorlitz in 1976 (only 3 years before I was born) constantly runs on the already mentioned my route. Each compartment three shelves one above the other, and the average can be folded so that there are only two berths. On the contrary - a small niche with a curtain - a la wardrobe. Also in the coupe has a table, under a cover which hides washbasin (two photos below © vary.ru)





Wagons, in principle, good, quality, and I can even say almost fashionable. Each compartment floor is covered with soft carpet. To entertain passengers in the aisles and in themselves coupe slowly walking not so overseas and not so exotic animals ... When asked about the origin of animals and unwillingness to go with them in the same compartment of the car wires down international good-naturedly laughed. Turns out last night in Kiev train was scheduled disinfection, that animals and povylazili of the holds. But the worry for them is not necessary, since the action of insecticides has already passed, and animals with a hangover still a little slow and drunk ...



For completeness, I will add that during the 6-hour parking the car is de-energized, room ventilation occurs naturally through open windows. I do not know whether the winter heating of the car, they say it's not. Toilets are closed due to the design of the discharge device. The nearest public toilets - at the station, which is 15 minutes walk from the car idle zone ...



In general, the conductors of the car - earrings and Dmitry - for many years of work in this area were able to establish a sufficiently powerful mail-transport line, working with the most modern, and I can assure you, international rates. Delivered in a big way transmission system, according to them, does not crash more than a dozen years. At the same guys with friendly faces for an hour before the customs post politely asked us to shelter themselves in a certain compartment duffel bag, they say, they have no place (despite the fact that the car was half empty). With no less than polite and kind smile, we were forced to abandon. Perhaps in vain, because the ensuing interesting events - analysis coupe to screws, with the opening of the walls, floor and ceiling - there were, alas, no longer with us ...

In fact, Chop - a lovely and pretty town, if you do not go beyond the forecourt.



In fact, Chop - a lovely and pretty town, if you do not go beyond the forecourt. & Quot; / & gt;

















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