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    The first year-round railroad was constructed in St. Petersburg, going from the city out to Tsarskoe Selo. The government sponsored it, but this caused a lot of controversy in the beginning because the Russian government was hesitant to take on the financial responsibility for building the lines. They were unsure if it would be profitable or of how important the railways would be in the future. It all started with a proposal by Franz Anton von Gerstner, an Austrian engineer. On January 6, 1835 he sent a letter to Nicholas I suggesting an extensive railway system for Russia. This letter "'was the first concrete proposal ever made to Russia with such a system'."*(see Works Cited) Von Gerstner had perfect qualifications for the project since he had been the engineer of the first public railway on the European continent (the Danube-Moldavia line). He talked of the advantages, which included the easier transportation and facilitation of troop and artillery movements. He explained how it had improved the British trade and economy because it provided fast and inexpensive transport for travelers. Von Gerstner used America as an example to show them that the railroad would be able to operate year-round and under severe weather conditions. He also emphasized how important and useful a railroad system would be in utilizing and controlling a large country, such as Russia.

This is a model of Von Gerster.

    Von Gerster wasn't doing this for Russia, but mostly for his own benefit. When he proposed this plan, he asked for a large amount of investment, responsibilities and monetary compensation. He asked for a "twenty-year monopoly on railway-building in Russia, the creation of a stock company which would be ceded land for inns on a strip a mile wide bordering the lines, and land for factories four miles wide. These lands, along with everything built on them, would be exempt from taxation for fifty years."**(See Works Cited) If they gave him all this, then the deal was that "he would guarantee that his railways would always be ready at twenty-four hour notice to transport 5,000 infantrymen and 500 cavalrymen, together with artillery and horses, between provincial capitals at a speed of two hundred versts (212km.) per day."***(See Works Cited) Even with this deal, Nicholas I was being cautious, because with one wrong decision the economy could fall under financial collapse. He had to watch out not only for the current status of the country but the future status of the country. "'Therefore the state should not allow any railways venture without being assured in advance that it would be profitable.'"+(See Works Cited) The construction of this government railroad from St. Petersburg to Tsarkoe Selo was an issue that went through many discussions and endless scrutiny. Finally, on March 21, 1836 they decided to build the railroad from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo, and von Gerstner began construction immediately, even without the working bonuses that he had wanted.

Construction Began in 1836...

    Construction began with the ordering of locomotives, cars, rails and other miscellaneous equipment. Von Gerstner cheated here a little and ordered more locomotives and rolling stock than he needed, so that they would have to hire him to build another train. As much as the Russians could have used the insider business, von Gerstner had to buy the majority of his parts, like the rails and undercarriages, from European dealers. This was because Russia's factories weren't equipped or technologically advanced to be able to build the amount of parts that he needed by the deadline for railroad completion.

    While the parts were being ordered, made, and shipped, the groundbreaking work in the field was underway. Earth was cleared or leveled, buildings had to be moved. New buildings had to be constructed to serve as temporary offices and living quarters for supervisory personnel, sheds, repair houses, and the stations. In addition to this, St. Petersburg is built on a river delta and is made up of many canals, which needed to be crossed. This required the building of thirty-five bridges. All but one of them went up quickly with very little trouble or hassle. The Obvodnyi Bridge was harder and tended to go up slowly due the size and situation of the bridge. Along the railway tracks, the forest had to be cleared 420 ft. away from the tracks in-order to accommodate the construction of the railway and not to interfere with the functioning of the railway. If there were swampy areas then they had to be drained and then filled to make stable ground. To accommodate the annual service of the railway, embankments were built to make for easy snow removal. These banks averaged a height of nine to ten feet, but sometimes reached as tall as twenty feet. Overall the construction of the railroad was difficult, time-consuming, but groundbreaking.

Opening of the Railroad...

   It formally opened on October 30, 1837, over a year after it was scheduled to be completed. Operation of the St. Petersburg-Tsarskoe Selo Railway first began on April 4, 1838. This train in St. Petersburg was the birth of the Russian Railways System.