Soviet ghosts and survivors in Estonia's Oil shale region

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Hello again everyone,
One day I will get around to finishing my India posts but for now its onto a much more recent trip (two weeks ago) to entirely new territory for me, the former USSR. I spent a week photographing trains in Estonia and Latvia. Unexpectedly my favorite shots are from the relatively unknown oil shale lines in Estonia's far east which operate entirely with Soviet built TEM2 locomotives. Perhaps its because the area's history can be linked to the broader history of the region and the interest extends beyond just trains. The entire report can be read here with a preview below.
http://railscapestravel.com/2018/07/02/3151/

The main hub of the Oil Shale lines is Ahtme yard where the mainline to the powerstation meets the branch to the massive Estonia mine. The mainline once extended further but has since been idled after the mines played out. A few scenes below near Ahtme.
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Returning form the Estonia mine with loads
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The other main point of access to the lines is Viivikonna, a ghost town which was once home to 2000 people who worked in the mines there. Today most of the town lays in ruins and only about 90 people live there today. Since this is a rail site I will leave out the urban exploration shots but be sure to check out the blog if you are interested.
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Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed the photos!
 
Thanks for the report, and great photos! Never seen any Estonian railroading. Certainly not the first name that comes to mind when thinking of Europe.
 
Hi,

Lovely, thanks for the report! :)

Sadly freight traffic is way down in Estonia, since the relations with Russia went south in 2014...

@ USSHelm:
Estonia is known for running the only proper US 2nd hand export locos in Europe. 58 C36-7i, formerly operating for Missouri Pacific and later Union Pacific, were imported in 2003, as well as 19 C30-7Ai, previously in Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern service.

Here are some reports from 2010:
A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 2: Tallinn, August 18 (50 p.)

A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 3: Lugansk and GE diesel I, August 17 (50 p.)

A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 4: Lugansk and GE diesel II, August 17 (50 p.)

and 2011:
Diesel - Steam - Electric: DE FR UK EE LV (12 p.)
 
Hi,

Lovely, thanks for the report! :)

Sadly freight traffic is way down in Estonia, since the relations with Russia went south in 2014...

@ USSHelm:
Estonia is known for running the only proper US 2nd hand export locos in Europe. 58 C36-7i, formerly operating for Missouri Pacific and later Union Pacific, were imported in 2003, as well as 19 C30-7Ai, previously in Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern service.

Here are some reports from 2010:
A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 2: Tallinn, August 18 (50 p.)

A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 3: Lugansk and GE diesel I, August 17 (50 p.)

A Brief Baltic Visit 2010 - 4: Lugansk and GE diesel II, August 17 (50 p.)

and 2011:
Diesel - Steam - Electric: DE FR UK EE LV (12 p.)

Roni, its not the constant stream of oil trains as you saw when there (btw: I poured through your reports many times before going :) ) but freight traffic is not that bad. Actually today the Narva line has about dried up while traffic to the Latvian border has increased. The railways exclusively uses the C36-7i's now, all the Soviet built power you shot has either been retired or sent to a different country (the blue 2TE116's are working in Latvia now). I think I averaged about 5 trains a day on the Tapa-Tartu line. Of course this means one must rent a car nowdays versus just being able to ride trains and wait as you did, a much cheaper option!
Thank to both of you for the compliments, Estonia is indeed underrated.
 




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