Trans-Siberian Railway / Transmongolian Railway
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Church of the Savior of the Hand-to-Hand www.culture.ru/objects/1410/khram-spasa-nerukotvornogo-ob...
After 24 hours on the Trans-Mongolian Express, our rain rolled into Irkutsk railway station, I was in Russia. Time no longer mattered because I had no idea what time it really was. Our train was operating on Moscow time which was meaningless to me, while the time on the street was the same as in Beijing, but by now we had crossed several time zones and I had not the faintest idea what time it really was.
According to train time we were 5 hours ahead of Moscow time. All I knew was the sun was rising around 4:30 in the morning Beijing time, and setting well past 9:30 in the evening. The only clock I trusted was my body clock, if I was hungry, it was meal time, and if I was tired, it was bedtime.
Trolley cars are one of the most popular and easily recognizable forms of public transportation. Though they come in many different shapes and sizes, they all share one common characteristic: they are all electrical. I saw this one in Irkutsk, the capital city of Siberia, Russia.
Irkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia, it is the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and has a population in excess of half a million people. The city proper lies on the Angara River, the only river to flow out of Lake Baikal.
Irkutsk was founded as a wooden fort in 1661 on the right bank of the Angara River. It was declared a city in 1686 and nominated the center of Irkutsk province in 1764.
Irkutsk is famous for its wooden architecture. It has preserved many monuments including ancient log structures. Some of the log structures have been restored, others are in a poor state of repair. Almost all of the wooden houses are privately owned.
In Siberia, wooden houses are built in pine and cedar. Sometimes the foundation is of larch because it is firm and when put under water becomes strong as iron. The upper part is built of pine, because it helps to retain heat inside the house. Until the end of the last century, the interior of wooden houses was made out of clean logs.
Saw this tram coming towards me outside the train station and had to have a shot. Lovely old trams running on some scarily unstable tracks, but it all seems to work.
Irkutsk is a city with a fleet of aging and modern trams, which for a railfan such as I, were a joy to observe and photograph. It's all very well to take me on a walking tour of churches, the war memorial, civic buildings, markets, museums and the cemetery, all I wanted to see were the trams, trolley buses and hang out at the train station. I found a great vantage point when I was supposed to be exploring the markets, and took more than 100 photos in no time. I'll not bore you with dozens of Irkutsk tram shots today, but be warned, they're waiting in the wings.
Bogoyavlensky Cathedral of the Epiphany, Irkutsk, Russia was built between 1718 and 1729 after the original building was burned down. Standing beside the Angara River, it is the primary cathedral of Irkutsk.
Join the Lake Baikal 2017 photo tour at www.discoverthetopfloor.com - this photo was taken in Irkutsk on the 2016 Lake Baikal Photo Tour