H0 Models from Russia
Russia has the largest railway network in Eurasia — 9,288 kilometres of Trans-Siberian Railway from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Characteristic of H0 RZD models are the ChS family (Czechoslovak ČKD locos), the domestic TEP70 diesels, the Sapsan high-speed train (Siemens Velaro RUS) and the modern red EP electric locomotives.
The Russian railway (RZD — Российские железные дороги) operates the world's longest continuous rail network — over 87,000 route kilometres and the most extensive electrification system on Earth (3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz). Characteristic is the Russian broad gauge of 1520 mm (Stephenson gauge 1435 mm is only used at a few border crossings). In H0 model railroading, RZD locomotives are mostly modelled on standard 1435 mm gauge — technically European, visually Russian.
Russian railway operators
- RZD – RŽD (Russian Railways) — state railway corporation since 2003 (previously Russian Ministry of Transport / MPS).
- Aeroexpress — the Moscow airport express to and from the three major airports.
- CPPK / ZPPK — commuter operators for the Moscow region and other large cities.
Model manufacturers with RZD range
- Piko — extensive RZD range including ChS2, ChS4, EP1, TEP70, Sapsan and modern double-deck coaches.
- Roco — RZD locomotives with focus on the ChS family and passenger coaches.
- Lemke — distributes MTH RZD models and own RZD locomotives.
- Modimio — Russian collector's magazine publisher with small RZD locomotive models, scale varies (1:120 / 1:87 depending on series).
Famous Russian locomotives
- ChS2 / ČS2 (Škoda) — the iconic Czechoslovak ČKD-Škoda universal electric from 1958, defining locomotive of the Soviet Union and Russia.
- ChS4 / ČS4 — fast passenger locomotive for 25 kV 50 Hz lines, from 1965.
- ChS7 / ČS7 — heavy passenger double locomotive for long passenger trains.
- ChS200 / ČS200 — high-speed passenger locomotive for 200 km/h, used before Sapsan.
- EP1 / EP2K — modern Russian universal electrics, NEVZ in-house design.
- EP10 / EP20 — modern multi-system electrics (Siemens licence, "Olimp" for the Sochi Olympics).
- TEP70 / TEP70BS — RZD's standard passenger diesel, from 1973.
- TEP80 — high-speed record diesel, 1993 with 271 km/h.
- 2TE10 / 2TE116 — heavy two-section freight diesels for Siberia and the Far East.
- Sapsan – Siemens Velaro RUS — the high-speed train Moscow–St. Petersburg from 2009.
- Lastochka – Siemens Desiro Rus — medium-distance EMU, originally for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
- L ("Lebedyanka") and P36 — iconic Soviet steam locomotives, P36 as the "Trans-Siberian loco".
Famous routes
- Trans-Siberian Railway — Moscow–Vladivostok, 9,288 km, the world's longest continuous railway.
- BAM (Baikal-Amur Mainline) — the second trans-Siberian axis through northern Siberia.
- Moscow–St. Petersburg — the historic October Railway, today the Sapsan corridor.
Eras
Russian H0 models primarily cover Eras IV to VI — from the classic ChS2 and Soviet-era TEP70 through the late-1980s ChS200 to today's Sapsan/Lastochka generation of RZD.