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ALMA ATA CHILDREN'S RAILWAY

The Alma Ata Children's Railway is located in the eastern part of the city of Alma Ata (since the 1990s, the official name within Kazakhstan is Almaty). The main station is Zhastar station (formerly Komsomolskaya).
The Children's Railway in Alma Ata, at that time the capital of the Kazakh SSR, was opened in September 1952. Initially, the road was called Malaya Turksib (Malaya Turkestan-Sibirskaya). A curious fact: the Semipalatinsk Children's Railway, which was opened in 1979, had the same official name.
The narrow-gauge railway line is a ring with a length of about 1240 meters. From 1952 to the present (2009), the route of the narrow-gauge railway has not changed.
In the early years, a steam locomotive operated on the narrow-gauge railway. In 1958, the TU2 diesel locomotive (possibly TU2-112) arrived. In 1980, the TU2-112 diesel locomotive was transferred to the Shymkent (Shymkent) Children's Railway. Since that time, the TU2-124 diesel locomotive, which arrived a few years earlier, has been operating on the Almaty Children's Railway.
In 1986, the TU7A-2921 diesel locomotive entered the narrow-gauge railway. The TU2-124 diesel locomotive was erected as a monument near the building of the children's railway administration. In 1991, it was cut up and exported as scrap metal.
By that time, there was only one station on the narrow—gauge railway with track development - Komsomolskaya (since 1993 it has been called Zhastar, which can be translated into Russian as "Molodezhnaya").
1996 (according to other sources, 1994) was the last year of operation of the narrow—gauge railway as an educational institution. In 1997, the issue of dismantling the narrow-gauge railway was raised. However, it was saved.
The TU7A-2921 diesel locomotive was looted, but remained on the territory of the children's railway. There was no traffic on the narrow-gauge railway in 1997 and 1998.
In 1999, the narrow-gauge railway underwent some reconstruction: the platform at the Dostyk stop was repaired, and its dimensions proved to be unsuitable for the use of standard rolling stock. A motor locomotive manufactured in Italy and three open passenger cars built there were purchased.
As of 2006, the narrow-gauge railway is in operation. "Recreational" passenger transportation brings income to its owners, so the probability of liquidation of the narrow-gauge railway seems minimal.


On July 26, 2009, the author visited the Alma Ata Children's Railway for the first time. I managed to make a trip along it. In addition, the line was photographed throughout during the walk-through.
The Alma Ata Children's Railway (now formally no longer a children's railway, but a narrow-gauge pleasure railway) is the only one in Kazakhstan whose fate you don't have to worry about. The road is short and is located inside an urban park in one of the richest cities in the country. Therefore, it has a significant and stable passenger traffic. Therefore, the road brings profit to its owners.
The Alma Ata children's railway, unfortunately, is much less similar to the railways than the children's railways in Karaganda and Shymkent. They are also "entertaining", but they have retained the traditional rolling stock.
In Alma Ata, the "normal" rolling stock was replaced by an ugly Italian-made motor locomotive, and the PV40 wagons were replaced by equally primitive open wagons. A "pseudo tunnel" has been built above the line, the dimensions of which will not allow any TU series diesel locomotive and PV40 wagons to pass through. This further complicates the revival of the road as a full-fledged railway in the future. However, the "pseudo tunnel" is easily bypassed by a workaround.
After riding on the train, I was very surprised to find out the purpose of the tunnel construction. It turned out that it is a specific attraction, a kind of "miniature puppet theater." After entering the tunnel, the train stops for a few minutes, and a small performance takes place. Before entering the tunnel, the train is attacked by "Indians".
A hopelessly looted TU7A-2921 diesel locomotive has been standing at the former Zhastar station for about 10 years. The traffic lights have been preserved. The track development is represented by two unused arrows. The departure of the pleasure train is performed upon completion (quite often). The fare is 300 tenge (60 rubles).
The building of the academic building has been preserved and is used as a cafe. I managed to find an old plaque.: "office of the diesel locomotive industry." At least one PV40 carriage, used as a utility room, has been preserved.

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