Su-211-85 "Leninets" steam locomotive monument (Samara)

The Su-211-85 "Leninets" steam locomotive monument stands in the Zheleznodorozhny district of Samara, on the grounds of the Samara locomotive depot of the Kuibyshev Railway. This Su-class passenger engine was put on a plinth in July 1986 as a tribute to the older generation of railway workers, and it is one of the best-known technology monuments in the Samara region.

History

The locomotive was built at the Kolomna Works in 1937. It belongs to the third production batch of the Su class (works type 162) and carries works number 7469.

Labour veterans of the Krzhizhanovsky locomotive depot helped restore the engine and set it up as a monument. It was unveiled in July 1986 in recognition of the railway workers who ran the trains in the steam era.

The Samara depot itself was founded in 1875 and is one of the oldest on the Kuibyshev Railway. It is named after Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, and the house he lived in also stands on the depot grounds.

The Su class

Su stands for "Sormovo, strengthened". It is a Soviet passenger locomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement, built from the mid-1920s until 1951 at the Sormovo, Kolomna and Kharkiv works; more than two thousand were made. Su engines ran on most Soviet railways and replaced the older A, G, N, B, K, Ku and S classes.

Main data of the class:

• service weight about 85 t, adhesive weight 54–58.7 t;
• driving wheel diameter 1850 mm;
• power 1380–1565 hp;
• design speed 115 km/h, with some engines reaching 130 km/h;
• boiler pressure 13 kgf/cm²;
• locomotive length 13,550 mm, tender 9,050 mm.

From 1938, Su engines were fitted with fan draught instead of the blast pipe cone so that the coal burned better. They hauled trains on main lines until the late 1960s and survived on secondary lines until the late 1970s.

Getting there

The monument is in the Zheleznodorozhny district of Samara, next to Samara station, on the depot grounds. Komsomolskaya Square, with the railway administration building and the railway college, is nearby.

Good to know

The locomotive stands on the grounds of a working depot, so access may be restricted: it is best to check in advance whether you can walk up to the monument.