The Small Southern Railway is one of the most favorite places of young citizens of Kharkov. Usually it starts its work on the 1 May and works till the end of October.

Children Small Southern Railway is not only entertaining children and their parents but also serves as a center of education, where future railway workers are brought up. Here school boys and girls have a possibility to learn main railway professions such as conductor, engine-driver's mate, assistant station-master, yard-master and machinist.

This one of the best children railways was opened in 1940 and till now makes its visitors rejoice. The general length of the rails is 3.6 km, there are two stops “Park” and “Lesopark”. The territory of Children Small Southern Railway is well-equipped, full of flowers and greenery. Thousands of Kharkov citizens and guests of the city visit this fairy-tale place every year.

The Small Southern is 3.6 kilometers long and connects the Gorky Park with the Forest Park. There were about 40 children's railroads in the former USSR. Few of them are still operational. Carriages of the children's railroad are relatively spacious and there is enough space inside both for children and adults.

The Small Southern is one of the oldest; it celebrated it's 60th anniversary in November 2000. The railroad was built on initiative of Komsomol (Young Communist League) members of the Southern Railroad and the Institute of Railroad Engineers in the years before the Second World War.

From May through November, young railroad enthusiasts and students of Kharkiv schools come here to acquire knowledge and practical skills in this industry. They drive locomotives, work as train attendants, switchmen, and yard masters.

The Small Southern rolling stock consists of Diesel locomotives, about fifteen passenger carriages, and two steam locomotives in honorary "retirement". However, with the trend for retro-style vehicles, they might return one day to entertain the public who have only seen steam engines in old picture books. The children's railroad is very popular with the Kharkivites and guests and has about 20,000 to 30,000 visitors annually.

In its northern section the Gorky Park borders on the Forest Park, which is a large natural forest tract covering an area of over 2,000 hectares. This is the largest wooded area within the city limits, spread picturesquely on the terrain cut with ravines, which renders it special beauty and makes an excellent location for picnicking and recreation. An absolutely genuine railroad bridge connecting the Gorky Park with the Forest Park gives special charm to the children's railroad.

The opening of the first children's railway in Tifilis in 1935 created a wave of designing and construction ChRW in many cities of the Soviet Union. And Kharkov was no exception. In 1936 the Laboratory of railway modelling at the Kharkov Palace of Pioneers has started development of the project of the children's railway. Some variants were suggested. Most serious of them were two. According to the first of them the road should pass through the Taras Shevchenko Garden, from the veterinary institute building to an entrance to the Zoo. Under the second project the road should pass a ring around of stadium of the Palace of Pioneers in Dinamovskaya street. In May, 1936, Pioneers from 12 cities where construction ChRW was planned were invited to a meeting which was organised by academician V.N.Obraztsov. At the meeting the questionof how to make ChRW not simply an interesting toy, but also a business useful to the whole country, was discussed.

After the meeting the Kharkov ChRW project has undergone essential redefinition. Under the new project the children's railway was planned to be located there where it now is - from the Gorky Park to the Forest Park in the city's northern surburbs. In the autumn of 1940 the building of station designed by architect E.A.Lymar' at station Park, locomotive depot, bridges and other infrastructure including approximately 1.5 kilometers of the line was constructed. The formal opening of the ChRW was held on November 8, 1940.

For transportation of passengers one train-set consisting of steam locomotive "YuP" and several carriages was used. (Unfortunately, the true type and number of the steam locomotive is not known to us.)

On June 22, 1941, fascist Germany perfidiously attacked the Soviet Union. Because of the real threat of capture of Kharkov by fascist armies, the Children's railway was closed, having worked only a few months. It was not possible to evacuate the rolling stock from children's railway. To prevent the enemy from making use of the steam locomotive, it was disassembled. As in the summer of 1941 everybody still hoped the war would soon end, all the fittings were removed from the steam locomotive, carefully protected and hidden underground close to Park station. But the occupation of Kharkov turned out to last much longer than had been expected…

After Kharkov was liberated, on August 23, 1943, the children's railway represented a rather sad sight. The station building at Park station appeared half ruined - in it there were no almost all internal partitions, a roof has almost failed. The locomotive depot and signal box had completely burned down; the white stone bridge was blown up. From the rolling stock there was only the skeleton of the unique car which had burnt out completely from within.

And Kharkov has not less suffered from hands of fascists. Naturally, first of all it was necessary to restore the city. Only in April, 1945 the authority took the decision to restore the ChRW and to extend it by two kilometers. By July, 1945, the work was completed: the station building had been completely repaired, a new passing loop had been installed at Park station, and the wooden locomotive depot had been constructed on time. To the children's railway had been transferred one four-axle carriage and a little two-axle one. Because of the severe shortage of sleepers, the new section of the line was laid on essentially increased distance between cross sleepers. It was supposed that this would not prevent trains to run on the new route, though with a severe speed restriction.

The most serious problem was the lack of a steam locomotive. As a result of long searches, it was possible to find at Kolomak station a steam locomotive that had worked on a children's railway before the war. However, this steam locomotive appeared to be severely damaged by an explosion, only the tender had remained is whole. To restore this steam locomotive was practically unrealistic; it was necessary only to search for a replacement for it.

It was not possible to find any narrow-gauge steam locomotive in the vicinity of Kharkov. Fortunately, the Kishinev line agreed to give one Yugoslavian steam locomotive Yu83 from Izmail depot. A single steam locomotive of this type (83-040, serial No. 5003, built in 1929) arrived in the USSR as a trophy during the World War-2. Incompatibility of spare parts for Yu83 with domestic narrow-gauge steam locomotives made the operation extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the Kharkov ChRW had no alternative. The steam locomotive was transported to Kharkov, extensively repaired and renamed as LK-83-01 (in favor of Lazar Kaganovich).

Regular running-in movement before opening showed that the builders' hopes were not justified - the new site of the line was scarcely suitable for the load of a train. After long discussions it was decided the day of opening of the restored line would be August 5, 1945; all the same limited to one train on the line, and on the new site it should run at a speed of no more than 5 km/h. Further trains should go only on the old site. The line worked in this way till November 8, 1945, then it was closed again for reconstruction.

During the winter water columns were mounted in the locomotive depot and between the tracks at Park station, the new section of the line was relaid using the quantity of sleepers and ballast stipulated by the standard. The rolling stock was expanded with a covered two-axle luggage van constructed in 1910, which till now can be seen in a siding at Park station. The reconstruction carried out at that time has allowed to start running on the whole line in the same way as is carried out now. Visit Kharkiv and enjoy its sights and offers. The best way to get there is by flight to Kharkiv.