Children's railway
A children's railway or pioneer railway is an extracurricular educational institution, where children interested in rail transport can learn railway professions. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was greatly developed in Soviet times. The world's first children's railway was opened in Gorky Park, Moscow, in 1932. At the breakup of the USSR, 52 children's railways existed in the country.
Many children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries. Many feature railway technology not seen anymore on the main lines and can be considered heritage railways. Though few exceptions exist, most children's railways built in the Eastern Bloc have a track gauge of at least and can carry full size narrow gauge rolling stock.
List of children's railways
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bulgaria
- Plovdiv
- Kardzhali
China
Cuba
- Camagüey, Parque Camilo Cienfuegos
- Havana, Parque Lenin
- Havana, Havana Zoo
Georgia
Germany
- , Berlin, Wuhlheide
- , Bernburg, Krumbholzallee
- Parkeisenbahn Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Küchwald - Park
- , Cottbus, Eliaspark - Spreeauenpark
- , Crispendorf, Ferienland
- Dresdner Parkeisenbahn, Dresden, Großer Garten
- , Gera, Tierpark
- , Görlitz, An der Landskronbrauerei
- , Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Peißnitzinsel
- Leipziger Parkeisenbahn, Leipzig-Wahren, Auensee
- Magdeburg, Rotehornpark, until 1967
- , Plauen, Syratal
- , Vatterode, Vatteröder Teich
Hungary
Kazakhstan
- Alma-Ata Children's Railway, Almaty
- Karaganda Children's Railway, Karaganda
- Shymkent Children's Railway, Shymkent
- Aktobe
- Arkalyk
- Atbasar
- Ekibastuz
- Kokshetau Children's Railway
- Kostanay
- Astana
- Pavlodar
- Semey
- Schuchinsk
- Zhezkazgan
Poland
Russia
- Chelyabinsk
- Chita
- Ekaterinburg
- Irkutsk
- Kazan
- Kemerovo
- Far East Children's Railway, Khabarovsk
- Krasnoyarsk
- Kratovo
- Kurgan
- Liski
- Nizhny Novgorod
- Novomoskovsk
- Small West Siberian Railway, Novosibirsk
- Orenburg
- Penza
- Rostov-Na-Donu
- Sankt-Petersburg, Malaya Oktyabrskaya railway
- Svobodny
- Tyumen
- Ufa
- Vladikavkaz
- Volgograd
- Children's Railway Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
- Yaroslavl