On August 4th, for the 44th time in Russia they celebrate Railway Workers' Day. In Soviet times, every family in our town inevitably had a representative of this profession. Even now many Alexandrov residents work for RZD. We too cannot ignore the holiday and will make a short excursion into the history of the main attribute that confirms the importance of the railway hub — the old station building.
From the book by P.P. Kanchalovsky 'From Moscow to Arkhangelsk along the Moscow–Yaroslavl–Arkhangelsk Railway', published in 1897, we learn:
“Station Alexandrov. A 2nd-class station, a beautiful wooden building. Halls for 1st and 2nd class passengers, and a separate one for 3rd class. A buffet with hot meals. At the station there is a reception room under the supervision of the railway doctor; under him serve a feldsher and a midwife. At the times of train arrivals and departures there are always cabmen available (to the town 15–20 kopeks, to the monastery 30 kopeks). Station Alexandrov is located near the uyezd town of Alexandrov in Vladimir Governorate. Right from the station, on the right side of the track, begins a wide and long street (Moscow Street), which crosses the whole town for one and a half versts...”.
As we can see, the original station building was wooden. In 1903 a new one made of stone appeared. Today our station is one of the oldest on the Moscow–Yaroslavl Railway. Over 101 years it has witnessed various events. In 1913 Emperor Nicholas II traveled with his family to visit memorable sites. Passing through Alexandrov, he ordered all the windows and doors of the carriage to be closed. Do you know why? The memory of the Alexandrov Republic was still fresh; the emperor did not want to see a “rebellious city.”
In the collection of the museum-reserve 'Alexandrovskaya Sloboda' there are postcards with photographs of the station. A postcard reading “Alexandrov, Vladimir Governorate. Station Alexandrov of the Northern Railway” is dated 1914, and another, earlier one, was produced at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. On the reverse of both there are, as usual, printer’s inscriptions, a form for a letter and a green address panel.
“The museum’s collections include several photographs that captured a landmark and memorable event. In June 1934 Alexandrov residents met participants of the Chelyuskin epic at the station. For the brave polar explorers special gifts were prepared — the first greenhouse harvest of cucumbers and radishes and a small barrel of honey. Our photographs present the chronicle of that meeting. Here a crowd gathers on the platform in anticipation. Here men with flowers stand on the rostrum; the fourth from the right, with a beard and black hair combed back, is the leader of the legendary expedition, Otto Yulyevich Schmidt. And here the workers of the knitwear factory present him with an artistically made carpet depicting the ice camp of the heroes. That moment was also captured in a photo, and the carpet can be easily seen.”
— says Elena Zhestkova, keeper of collections at the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve.
In 1938 the townspeople here greeted the female pilots who made the non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East: Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova. A rally was held on the station square, a brass band played, and there were many flowers.
During the war the station received echelons carrying Leningraders who had survived the blockade, saw off local soldiers to the front, and also dispatched strategically important cargoes. (In the autumn of 1941, of the ten branches of the Moscow junction, only the Yaroslavl and Gorky directions were operating; other lines had been cut off by the enemy).
And just a year ago our centenarian became a film star. Many remember that a New Year–themed commercial for a well-known fast-food chain was shot here. We hope that our landmark, which greets everyone arriving in town by rail, will remain an active participant in “station stories” for many years to come.
