# BAM!! Trans-Siberia Branch Route



## WhoozOn1st (Aug 13, 2012)

This is an extensive NY Times travel piece about a journey aboard the Baikal-Amur Mainline railroad. The author's companion opines at one point, "Amtrak should only be this smooth." In contrast to travel pieces that use train riding as a cheap subterfuge for prattling about everything but, this one devotes much of its attention to the train as an end in itself, much the way many AU members regard Amtrak long distance trains.

The Other Siberian Railroad

"Begun under Joseph Stalin as a northern alternative to the Trans-Siberian, the BAM was finished only in 1991 though it's still being tinkered with to meet growing Asian demand for Siberian lumber, gas and oil. 'Stalin built BAM because he thought the Chinese might zip across their border and seize the Trans-Siberian, and that didn't happen,' Mila [fellow passenger] said. 'Brezhnev built more of BAM to make a pioneer utopia, and that never happened. Now,' she said, shrugging in her bulky homemade sweater, 'who knows what will happen other than a beautiful trip?'"

"The BAM doesn't offer all the plush comforts of the Trans-Siberian. After all, there's hardly any tourism in the BAM region. This line was built for freight and people who have business in the wilderness. The dozen cars on the first leg of our trip were half-filled with workers and managers destined for Siberia's lumber camps and oil and gas fields, as well as people working on the train line itself. As such, it is more of a utilitarian train, with a nothing-fancy dining car that served essentially as a round-the-clock bar, a couple of packed third-class wagons with clothes draped across bunk beds crowding dormitory-like spaces, and a few second-class cars with four comfortable berths in separate minivan-size cabins."







Soviet-era (1976) postcard from blogspot.com: "BAM -- the track of courage and heroism." How commie can you get!?

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## jis (Aug 13, 2012)

Here it is from RZD the owner and operator of BAM.

And here is some more on the BAM.


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## the_traveler (Aug 13, 2012)

I'm ready to go!


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## The Davy Crockett (Aug 13, 2012)

the_traveler said:


> I'm ready to go!


You'll need different guage trucks for the PHS. :giggle:


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## jis (Aug 13, 2012)

The Davy Crockett said:


> the_traveler said:
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> > I'm ready to go!
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And a three page Russian Visa


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## WhoozOn1st (Aug 13, 2012)

jis said:


> Here it is from RZD the owner and operator of BAM.
> And here is some more on the BAM.


Thanks for the informative additions! I note, though, that RZD's timeline conflicts with a Times piece assertion that the line was begun under Stalin, which would make it pre-1953. RZD says late 1970s, which would be Brezhnev. A typically Russian attempt at rewriting history?


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## the_traveler (Aug 13, 2012)

jis said:


> 1344887128[/url]' post='387004']
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> The Davy Crockett said:
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The PHS has a retractable roof and raiseable pool, already has every gauge trucks available and I need no Visa.(I know many people!



)
The problem is getting it there!


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 13, 2012)

WhoozOn1st said:


> Soviet-era (1976) postcard from blogspot.com: "BAM -- the track of courage and heroism." How commie can you get!?
> 
> ​


I find a special affection for that locomotive. What type is it? I don't know much about RZD. Maybe I should visit Russia sometime.


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## jis (Aug 13, 2012)

WhoozOn1st said:


> jis said:
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> > Here it is from RZD the owner and operator of BAM.
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Actually both are sort of right. Stalin started building it just before and during the War, and then at the end of the war upon Stalin's passing away the project was abandoned and most of the infrastructure decayed in place until the 1970s, when the then Soviet Railways, now RZhD (Rossiyskie Zheleznye Dorogi), picked it up under Brezhnev's directive, and started restoring and building it out. Because of the sordid involvement of Gulag Labor under Stalin, that phase is usually not mentioned with great pride by the Russians.

See the relatively well written Wikipedia article on BAM


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## Anderson (Aug 14, 2012)

You know, if I had the time to do so and a group to join me (including at least one person fluent in Russian), I think that in some ways I might well prefer this to the "traditional" Trans-Siberian Railroad. Then again, if I had a month to kill, I'd be tempted to do one each way and compare.

Still, while I like good food and whatnot...as long as the meals are decent and the ride is good, I'm happy. Not that I don't like something nicer on occasion, but I've probably spent a good 30 or more nights on a fold-down bed in a roomette. Other than a desire to know the people in my room (on principle more than anything), I'm happy with that.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 14, 2012)

Anderson said:


> You know, if I had the time to do so and a group to join me (including at least one person fluent in Russian), I think that in some ways I might well prefer this to the "traditional" Trans-Siberian Railroad. Then again, if I had a month to kill, I'd be tempted to do one each way and compare.
> 
> Still, while I like good food and whatnot...as long as the meals are decent and the ride is good, I'm happy. Not that I don't like something nicer on occasion, but I've probably spent a good 30 or more nights on a fold-down bed in a roomette. Other than a desire to know the people in my room (on principle more than anything), I'm happy with that.


If you're ever going to ride the BAM, you might find me on the same train. I've gotten a strong urge to go, just not enough time, money, and no visa! The actual train should not be too expensive, just getting to Russia in the first place plus accomodation.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 14, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
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> > Soviet-era (1976) postcard from blogspot.com: "BAM -- the track of courage and heroism." How commie can you get!?
> ...


Due to heavy interest in Soviet locomtovies, I just foiund out that this is a ТЭ3. Found this picture of the cad, it looks like it has better visibility than a P42DC with the big windows: http://ivan1950.tripod.com/szd/te3_croom.jpg

And a diagram too! http://ukrtrains.narod.ru/teh/ris/te3_10b.jpg

I guess this is the Soviet version of the American E-units or something like that (maybe F-units), definately a cab unit.


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## rrdude (Aug 15, 2012)

Damn it Patrick!

A while ago my "Dream Rail Trip" was on the Canadian. Then after reading about the journey into North Korea, I wanted to do that. Then it was the "normal" Trans-Sib.

NOW you have to go and post this about BAM, and you've got me changing my mind AGAIN! (I would have made a TERRIBLE attorney!)


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## Ispolkom (Aug 15, 2012)

Great article, that really does capture some of the magic of traveling on a real Russian train, the endless cups of tea (always drunk from a glass in a metal holder, the long conversations with the strangers with whom you share a compartment, the compulsory (and compulsive) sharing of food and drink.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 15, 2012)

rrdude said:


> Damn it Patrick!


Excuse me, who is Patrick?


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## jis (Aug 15, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> rrdude said:
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Whooz is Patrick


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## WhoozOn1st (Aug 15, 2012)

jis said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
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Nobody tells me ANYTHING!


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 17, 2012)

jis said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
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Well, now I know, hehe.....


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## cirdan (Oct 15, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
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> > Soviet-era (1976) postcard from blogspot.com: "BAM -- the track of courage and heroism." How commie can you get!?
> ...


It's called a TE-3. I think they were built in the 1950s in large numbers. I doubt there are many left these days.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Oct 18, 2012)

cirdan said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
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Yeah, I know, I found out through massive searching! 

The link won't work anymore, though. :angry:


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