Walk along the old Moscow tram

• Walk along the old Moscow tram

For a long time we did not walk with you along the old Moscow, and just then the weather has. Fast forward about 100 years ago and imagine a typical situation: Arrive at the Yaroslavl station, we have a few hours of the city to see, be seen, and then to another station, Brest, who is also Belarusian-Baltic, who is also Belarusian, go further.

The question is not, than to move around the city a hundred years ago, almost no alternative to our services old Moscow tram. So, we put on the front three-piece suit, straw hat, do not forget about the elegant cane and forth to Moscow to see, to show themselves.

We leave the square in front of the Yaroslavl station. In general, nothing has changed: the same crowd, mess cabs in three rows, and seasonal workers in anticipation of earnings:

jump on a tram and with the ringing and clanging touch.

Even before the Revolution Square in Kalanchevskaya constantly congestion occurred, which led eventually to the construction of the subway, the first branch of which in 1935 joined the three station to the city center. However, even during the construction of the subway in 1930 the tram in the square did not stop:

Our guide today is Paustovsky, who worked at one time on the tram:

I was assigned to the line # 8 - damn the station's line, which was considered worse than "B". This line connects the station with Kalanchevskaia Brest area, with its three stations - Nikolaev, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky. Held the eighth line through Sukharev area and on both Bozhedomka.

It often happened that the Yaroslavl station wagon as conductors said, "fell under the train" of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The streetcar jammed pilgrim-salopnitsy. They made their way to various Moscow churches, the city did not know were clueless, like chickens, and most feared. And day by day, there is one and the same rigmarole: salopnitse one had to "Nicolet on chicken legs", the other - to the Trinity-droplets, the third - to the Martyr St. George on. We had to patiently explain to them how to get to these churches, and then the old woman pulled out of the pockets in the lower skirts scarves blindfolded on the corners of money. In one corner were penny, in another - semishniki in the third - nickels coin.

Salopnitsy unleashed long teeth tight knots sparingly and counted the money. Hurry salopnitsy often erred and did not untie the knot. Then they were again tightened his teeth and began to untie the other.

For us, the conductors, it was misfortune. Prior to Red Gate we had to distribute all the tickets. Old woman have been detained, issuing tickets, we did not have time, and at the gate we watched for barrator-controller and fined for slow work.

Tram passes slowly through the Red Gate (demolished in 1927) in the eponymous square.

cross the Garden Ring, with the line "B"

"Copper line" is a line "B", which took place along the Garden Ring. Conductors did not like this line, although the Muscovites called it affectionately "bug". We prefer to work on a "silver" line "A" - on the Boulevard Ring. This line of Muscovites also called affectionately "Annushka". Against this, nothing could be argued, but the name "bug" line "B" was simply ridiculous.

It was held near the crowded station square, the dusty roadsides Moscow. The cars on the line "B" were with trailers. The trailers were allowed to sit down with heavy things. A passenger on the line was larger from the suburbs - artisans, gardeners, thrush. Paying the passenger coppers, silver hoard is not very willingly pulled him out of his purse and pockets. Therefore this line and was called "copper". The line is "A" was a well-dressed, theater and shops. On it went only railcars, and the passenger was different from that on the line "B" - intelligent and bureaucratic. Paying such passengers are usually silver, and pieces of paper.

During the open windows of the car line "A" noisy leaves boulevards. The car slowly circled around Moscow - past tired of Gogol, Pushkin quiet, past the pipe market, which never fall silent bird whistling past the Kremlin towers, the golden-domed bulk of the temple of Christ the Savior and humpback bridges over the Moscow river became shallower.

Near noisy Sukharevskaya Square with the homonymous tower and the market takes up the entire roadway, so much so that transport could barely manage to scrape:

Tram barely scraped through the noisy crowd of buyers, sellers and resellers. In the most ominous hissing wheels gramophones and Vyaltseva zazyvno he sang: "Gajda, three, fluffy snow, frosty night all round!" Her voice was muffled stoves. They eagerly exploded in the sky blue hissing flame. Winning them all roar overlapped sounds.

Damp ringing mandolin. Rubber imps with crimson cheeks aniline dying to scream: "Go away, go away!" Grumbled at huge pancake pans. The air smelled of dung, lamb, hay, schepnoy commodity. Hoarse people with mock fury beat each other's hands.

Hearse rattled. Horse sweaty muzzle climbed on the train platform, breathing the thick steam.

Jugglers, Chinese, squatting on the pavement, shouting in falsetto: "Fu-fu, Tschudi-wonders!" Cracked ringing in the churches, and from under the black gate Sukharev sobbing female voice shouted: "Put your pale hand on my emaciated chest ".

Pickpockets with trousers thrown over the arm, handed down supposedly for sale, darted everywhere. Their eyes were quick, evasive. Nightingales were filled with police whistles. Heavily flapping wings, soaring in a cloudy sky mangy pigeons released from his bosom boys. It is impossible to talk about this gigantic market place Moscow, stretches almost from the gravity to the Red Gate. You could buy everything - from the tricycle and icons to Siamese cock and from Tambov to ham soaked cloudberry. But it was a wormhole, flawed, with rust or tainted.

It was an all-Russian assembly of beggars, vagabonds, thieves, thieves, Maklakov - poor people and dodge life. Sukharevka air seemed to be full of only one - the dream of easy money and a piece of jelly from calves' feet.

That was an incredible mix of people of all ages and conditions - from the fool with sunken eyes, thundering rusty fetters that Lovcen ride on the tram without a ticket to the poet with a goatee in a green velor hat from Tolstoyans angrily mesivshih red barefoot Suharevska dirt to corseted ladies that made their way along the same dirt, raising himself heavy skirts.

But we have no time to go on the market, we are in the center, where in front of Lubyanka Myasnitskaya is already jam

Note how many private vehicles and how much the public:

Alas, the Lubyanka, the former once one of the most beautiful squares of the city has changed completely. No longer trams instead stands cork, demolished the wall of China-town, and with it most of the chapel of St. Panteleimon. Well, at least the St. Nicholas made pedestrian.

Moving towards the Okhotny Ryad, here, as you see, is also full of life. At the site of the State Duma of the Stalinist buildings still standing temple Paraskeva, and the place of the "Moscow" hotel, you can see those shopping arcades, which gave name to the street.

Take your time, only briefly look at the Kremlin with the thick mud on the road and move up in Tver.

Tver until mid-1930 in width was just like one of the main streets such as the Arbat or Pyatnitskaya. For example, the angle with the chamberlain:

But at that time the huge square in front of the current City Hall:

At the site of Stalin's house with the bookstore "Moscow" is a small house with a pharmacy and confectionery.

Against this background, of course, Yeliseyev Grocery Store just looked huge trading house

Finally, we reach the Holy (now Pushkin) Square, where the some event and you can barely get through the crowd.

Instead of Pushkin is a huge bell tower was demolished in 1938 Passion of the monastery, and the Pushkin stands on Tverskaya Boulevard.

After the war, he decided that he would look beautiful on the opposite side and gently along the tracks transported him there.

And we, in the meantime, here again we have the opportunity to jump on a tram and continue our long journey from the station to station.

What did not had to experience the passengers before the introduction of the subway! Sometimes conductors began frankly moonlight. Again the word Paustovsky:

We, the young conductors, came up with a very good, as we temper seemed a way to take a break amid the hectic day. We conspired with a counselor and go to the final station, two minutes, three before relied on a schedule or as streetcar said, "could not withstand the interval."

Counselor gave full rein, we quickly caught up with the front car of the same line and have fun. Front car picked up all the passengers and we were empty. The car was empty and quiet, you could even read a newspaper.

This method seemed to us irreproachable. But we, of course, as is often the case, "slipped on orange peel," and began to overdo worn empty in Moscow three or four flights in a row. Revenues have become smaller than the other conductors. The authorities immediately suspected something was wrong. In the end, we have covered in this cunning and severely fined. Tver has not built up by Stalin's houses and we pass the Church of the Annunciation, also survived the Soviet era, and the lane leading from Tver to the Patriarch is still called the Annunciation

Leave on Starotriumfalnuyu area (now simply Arc), who did not know:

Separately allocated a building with turrets - Khanzhonkov cinema, which is not even taken down, and simply built into the current administrative building

Again view Tverskaya without Stalinist buildings completely unrecognizable, pass the Temple of St. Basil of Caesarea and is already looming in the distance Triumphal Arch at Belorussky Railway Station Square

Before the revolution, not for nothing that it is called by the construction of the gate, and not just an arch look as graceful been laid tram tracks:

In 1936, the gate was dismantled, the original idea of them wanted to rebuild on the same area after its capital reconstruction, but something went wrong and, as a result, have recreated the gate only in the mid-1960s on Kutuzov Avenue, traffic through them to start up did not, so now the gates, no one do not dare call it a building - now the Arc de Triomphe.

That's got to the final point of our route - the Belorussky Railway Station.