The railway station in the city of Gaivoron: narrow-gauge, long live!
It would seem like an ordinary train station of a small town, but it is actually very nice. But not everything is so simple. Railway fans from different countries of the world come here to Gaivoron. Their goal is to see a real relic, once the longest narrow-gauge route in Europe, the total length of which was more than 500 km!
And with our landing, this station was recreated for Miniland.UA in the smallest details. Windows, doors, roof, decoration, interior details: we did all this by hand, based on real photos. The frame of the buildings is made of cardboard, the facade is made of acrylic engraved under the brick. In the entire station, everything is real: furniture, lighting, visitors. Looking through the window, you can see how they are waiting for their train.
Would you like to know why the narrow-gauge railway in Gaivoron attracts tourists so much and how it differs from a regular railway? Keep scrolling!
The standard railway track in Ukraine has a width of 1520, and in Europe – 1435 millimeters. But there are also so-called narrow-gauge railways, the distance between the rails of which is much smaller. The two most common standards are 1000 mm and 750 mm. Why are they built? Everything is simple. First, they are cheaper. It is easier for them to build bridges, tunnels, crossings. And secondly, they can be laid in hard-to-reach places, for example in the mountains.
The Gaivoronsk narrow-gauge railway (rail width – 750 mm) appeared as early as 1897. The total length of all its branches, as we wrote above, was more than 500 kilometers. But there is information that this figure was much larger and reached 700 kilometers.
The history of the Gaivron narrow-gauge railway is quite dramatic. In recent decades, it has been constantly reduced, preserved and even stolen for scrap metal. Forty years ago, there was a project to completely transform the narrow-gauge railway into a standard broad gauge, but fortunately it was not destined to be fully realized.
Only thanks to enthusiasts and public publicity, it was possible to prevent the closure of this unique object. And now the Gaivron narrow-gauge is alive again. However, as of 2023, only the Hayvoron-Rudnytsia section with a length of 78 kilometers is operational. Interestingly, the train covers this distance in about 4 hours, so passengers have plenty of time to enjoy the local color and nature. She is breathtaking in those places with her beauty!
And there is a lot to see at the Gaivoron station itself, because a real living museum is developing around it. There is a working steam locomotive brought from Germany after the Second World War, a train converted from an old Soviet car and many other curiosities. We highly recommend visiting. In the meantime, admire our layout and pay special attention to the place where the broad and narrow tracks of the Gaivoron railway station meet.
By the way, drivers of Miniland.UA trains like to stop here, in Gaivoron, for coffee. They say it is the tastiest here, because the grains for it are roasted in the furnace of a small steam locomotive. Such miracles happen here when there are no visitors. Fair!
