Background
Until my trip to Mongolia in 2012, I'm afraid I was completely ignorant about both the country and its railways. My posts on the trip to Mongolia and subsequent railway journey on part of the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow can be found here.
Other than some limited, industrial lines, railway development in Mongolia did not commence until 1947. The Russians constructed a single-line branch (to the Russian 5 foot gauge) from Ulan Ude on the Trans-Siberian Railway south to the border with Mongolia, continuing so as to reach Ulaan Baatar in 1950. Construction was continued south reaching the border with China in 1955.
Erenhot in China then became an interchange point because Chinese Railways are Standard Gauge. Passenger and freight trains are worked right through once the bogies are exchanged between the gauges.
Click here for a railway map of Mongolia.
This route has become an important direct freight route between Russia and China, although capacity is limited since it is single line and not electrified.
Mongolia was never part of the Soviet Union but, until Mongolia's Democratic Revolution in 1990, it was a Communist State and heavily under the influence of the Soviet Union who provided all the rolling stock and locomotives. Mongolian Railways are now completely independent but still operate mainly Russian equipment.
Ulaan Baatar
On my initial visit to Ulaan Baatar station, I saw the eastbound 'Trans-Mongolian Express' arrive behind a 2-section '2ZAGAL' class diesel electric. The 'M62' Co-Co diesel-electric was first built in 1964 and chosen as a suitable export design. In 1976, a 2-section version followed, the '2M62' class. The Mongolian '2M62' have now been rebuilt as the '2ZAGAL', but there's an unrebuilt unit in Ulaan Baatar Train Museum (see below). I also watched freight shunting around the station in the hands of TEM2 variants.
The locomotive works is to the east of Ulaan Baatar station, just before the Ulaan Baatar Railway Museum. With a line of apparently abandoned diesel-electric wrecks outside the building, I initially mistook it for the museum!
Railway Museums
Ulaan Baatar has two railway museums. The 'Museum of Railway History' was closed for the Naadam Holiday during my visit, so I can't say what's there. The open-air 'Ulaan Baatar Train Museum' is rather abandoned but I was able to photograph the exhibits.
There are Russian-built steam locomotives:-
'P36' class 4-8-4, built 1965, marked 'P-36A'.
'Su' class 2-6-2, built 1935, marked '116'.
'YeA' class 2-10-0, marked '256'.
Narrow gauge 0-8-0, marked 159-469, built 1937.
There are also Russian-built diesel-electric locomotives:-
'TE2' class 2-section Bo-Bo, marked 'TE-2-522', introduced 1948, exhibit believed 1959 build.
'TEM1' class Co-Co, marked TEM-1-168.
'2M62' class Co-Co, marked 2M62M-043 (1 unit only).
Finally, there's a preserved Water Column and a 2-aspect plus 2-aspect colour light signal.
Wikipedia Links
Trans-Mongolian Railway
Rail Transport in Mongolia
Photographs:
Railways around Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
Sukhe Baatar Station, Mongolia
Ulaan Baatar Train Museum
References:
'Soviet Locomotive Types - The Union Legacy' by A J Heywood & I D C Button (Frank Stenvalls Forlag) ISBN 0-9525202-0-6.
