History of Voronezh town transport

Сabmans in Starookonnaya square. Line of horse tramway in > Novo-Moskovskaya street (in the line of Zastava)

The first means of transportation in Voronezh was assuredly a horse-drawn tram at the end of the XIX century. It was preceded by horse-drawn special stage coaches and omnibuses, but they could hardly be called a town transport - they were too bulky, often traveling outside the town limits. and had no regular town routes. As a matter of fact, an omnibus (in Latin “for everybody”) was initially made for people incapable of using individual means of transportation and might be properly called the first public transport.

But the main passenger traffic was responsibility of cabmen, analogous to modern taxi service. They were mostly located at the cabmen exchange at Starokonnaya square (part of modern Lenin square), where any citizen in line with existed rates might make an arrangement with a cabman to be transported to any part of the town. But not all citizens could afford an individual cab, and cabmen, as a type of transportation, were no longer up to the town demands.

Horse tramway in Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya. Hotel Centralnaya (Revolution Avenue, 42)

At the second part of 1886 Voronezh entrepreneurs (councilor of State, engineer Andrey Gorchakov and candidate of law Leonid Blummer) drafted to the town Duma a project: to build in Voronezh a horse-drawn railway, or rather a horse-drawn tram system.

The idea of putting “public carriages” on rail sprang up at the beginning of the XIX century, right after invention of railways. Using horses as a moving force allowed to do away with inconveniences related to seemingly dangerous steam engines –at the same time horse-drawn trams might be used for carrying cargo by rail. In 1831 French engineer Louba proposed to lay rails along the big town streets to carry light passenger carriages by horses. He organized a horse-drawn railway campaign in New York, and after 18 months, on November 14, 1832, the first horse-drawn street car was set to travel from New York to Harlem. Soon the new type of transportation gained popularity in Europe, and in 1836 citizen Elmanov, as if protecting against intentions to introduce a steam engine in Russia, designed a first Russian horse-drawn railway.

Ist Male grammar school (the building of Technological academy) on a background of horse tramway in Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya street

By the end of the XIX century the horse-drawn trams were built in the majority of big towns and provincial centers of Russia — Saint-Petersburg, Moscow, Samara, Ekaterinburg, Rostov, Novgorod. Total length of horse-drawn rail by 1890 amounted to 600 kilometers. The construction money mostly came from foreigners.

After all-round discussion by the town Duma the horse-drawn railway proposal by the entrepreneurs was approved on October 16, 1886, and on June 16, 1887 Voronezh town council signed a concession with engineer Gorchakov, empowering him with the exceptional right of organizing network of horse-drawn rail for passenger and cargo transportation in Voronezh.

The agreement stipulated: forty years after commissioning of the horse-drawn tram system all the rails with associated buildings, maintenance shops, rolling stock (with the exception of horses and harness) were to be handed over to the town for free. The town reserved right to buy out the completed network within the first twenty five years.

Horse-drawn railway cargo transportation was taxed – annual contributions to the town treasury per each double-decked street car were to be 40 rubles during the first 30 years and 50 rubles during the last 10 years. Each one-level car was to pay 30 and 40 rubles accordingly. Cargo cars or platforms were to be paid for 10 rubles each.

Horse tramway near Zimny Theatre in Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya street

Total annual payments were to be no less than 600 rubles (after the first 5 years of operation). In winter cars were to be substituted by sleighs, if necessary, without any additional payment.

The horse-drawn railway system construction, led by the entrepreneurial engineer, went on for four years. Two tracks of steel rails (1 meter wide) were laid along the central streets of Voronezh. Rails were laid aflush and created no obstacles to free flow of street traffic. But on June 25, 1891, not long before the completion of all works, A.Gorchakov handed the agreement with all rights and liabilities to Belgian “Joint stock company of horse-drawn railways in Russia”, which by that time had built a similar system in Minsk.

On August 11, 1891 the first route traffic of the horse-drawn trams was opened to connect the railroad station through Bolshaya Dvorianskaya (Revolution prospect) with Novo-Mitrophanovsky church (currently the circus area). Passenger trams and cargo platforms, drawn by one or two horses with a coach, started their movement along the streets of Voronezh.

Horse tramway in Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya street

Trams capacities were up to 20 people. In line with the railway transport system horse-drawn trams had the first class seats with passengers sitting above the roof. Every carriage was accompanied by a ticket-selling conductor. Every tram was equipped with brakes, lights and a number. Rules for passengers were placed to advantage inside of a tram.

Travel prices in summertime (April 1 to October 1) from 7 am to 11 pm and in wintertime (October 1 to April 1) from 8 am to 10 pm were limited by the town council to be 2.5 kopecks per verst (1 verst – 1.06 km) for the first class and 1.5 kopecks for the second.

Horse tramway in Bolshaya Devicheskaya street (st. Sakko and Vancetti)

Any other time the price might be twice as high. Cargo payment was set by a carrier independently, but the town council permission was required to increase it.

The cost of a trip from the railroad station to Pervaya Ostrogozhskaya street (Pushkin street) or back was 5 kopecks. Children below three traveled free of charge, unless they occupied a separate seat. Novo-Mitrophanovskaya church route started at 7 am and ended at 10 pm. The first car left the place at 7-30, and the last one - at 10-30.

The town Duma issued a decree prohibiting movement along rails and between them for any carriages. It was also prohibited to clutter and damage tracks. Horse-drawn cars had advantage over other carriages, the latter were to move to street sides, and in case of track-crossing horse-drawn cars had preference.

Railway station. Terminus.

Speed of cars was limited to 12 versts per hour, but the minimum speed between terminal points was not to be lower than 7.5 versts per hour. Thus carriers moved pretty slowly, and agile passengers might jump in or out right on the go. In the steep slopes areas postboys on duty harnessed one or two more horses and helped a car to move up the hill, than at the flat area extra horses were un-harnessed to wait for another car.

At the beginning of the XX century Voronezh boasted three horse-drawn rail routes, mostly in the town center. The longest route started at the railroad station and went to Bolshaya Dvorianskaya (Revolution prospect) through Koltsevaya, crossed Starokonnaya square and turned to Bolshaya Devitskaya (presently Platonov street), moved along Pervaya Ostrogozhskaya (Pushkin street) and ended at Novostroyashcheesia cemetery (currently the circus area).

B. Dvorjanskaya and Novo-Moscovskaya crossroad. Starokonnaya square.

The second route crossed the first one at Starokonnaya square and went directly along Novo-Moskovskaya street (Plekhanov) from Mitrophanov monastery (currently the University main building) right to the western suburb — the Outpost. Another route – the most difficult and slow one due to particulars of the relief - connected Bolshaya Devicheskaya (Sacco and Vancetti) and Petrovsky descent (currently Razin street) with Devitchy Market and the Town Garden.

The horse-drawn trams existed for about three decades and proved to be a convenient and accessible town transport, truly a public one. By 1915 the system was used by over two million and hundred thousand passengers. In 1914 due to technical achievements electric tram system put an end to “horse” age. But the war started and made the electric tram construction impossible, therefore the horse-drawn carriages kept on. But general economic crisis, caused by the prolonged war, prevailed and was followed by the Revolution and the Civil War, as a result the horse-drawn transport fell into decay. By 1922 only one such car traveled along the town streets, and after a short while the electric tram construction completely shut down horse-drawn rail movement.