Tramwaje i trolejbusy w ZSRR w 1978 roku
In the late 1970s, it was extremely difficult to organise tourist trips behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ to the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, and it seemed almost unthinkable to organise a trip to the Soviet Union – whether for professional reasons or as a hobby – with a focus on the specific features of the transport systems.
The British Light Rail Transport League (LRTL) finally succeeded in organising the first such trip in 1978. The participants visited five cities: Kyiv, Moscow, Lviv, Odessa and Vinnitsya. Numerous photographs of trams and trolleybuses from that era were taken during the trip. Peter Haseldine – who took the majority of the photos – and the other photographers captured many images that, in addition to the vehicles themselves, also included the surroundings, thereby providing a good sense of the atmosphere of that time.
As an introduction to the subject, a lengthy article published in four parts in different issues of the magazine ‘Modern Tramway’ in 1979 is reproduced; it not only describes the key highlights of the trip but also outlines the origins and subsequent development of the various local transport systems in the Soviet Union within their historical context, thereby providing an excellent framework for understanding the subject.
This is followed by individual chapters on the five cities visited, and subsequently a description of the various types of trams, trolleybuses and motor buses in use since the 1940s.
The reproduction quality of the photographs is generally quite good, although the quality of the images themselves – due to their age and, in some cases, adverse lighting conditions – naturally cannot always meet current standards. The selection of images is certainly impressive and makes the book a worthwhile purchase for anyone wishing to take a ‘peek over the fence’ at a rarely covered subject area within local transport and urban development.
Text is bilingual throughout, in Polish and English
Authors: Peter Haseldine, Jacek Pudło
Publisher: Księży Młyn Dom Wydawniczy – https://www.km.com.pl/
198 pages, format 21 x 30 cm, hardback, with approx. 280 photos, mostly in colour
Price: 89.93 PLN (approx. 21 EUR)
ISBN: 978-83-7729-489-5
