Miller's line was a passenger railway line in Russia from 1873 to 1886, run by the Finnish State Railways. The line ran from Beloostrov to Sestroretsk, and was the site of the world's first functional electric railway.

Miller's railway
The railway and station on the sea coast at Miller's pier
Overview
Native nameЖелезная дорога Миллера
StatusDefunct
OwnerMoritz von-Dezen and Michael Ivanovich Miller
LocaleSaint Petersburg
Termini
Stations3
Service
TypeRegional rail
Operator(s)Societies of the Sestroretsk railway
Rolling stockLeased from Finnish State Railways
History
Opened1873
Succeed byZavodskaya Line
Closed1886
Technical
Line length9.5 km (5.9 mi)
Track gauge1,524 mm (5 ft)
Route map

0,0
Vyborg line
Up arrow
Up arrow
Up arrow
Solnechnoye
5.8
5.9
Sestra crossover
6.3
6.6
Beloostrov
0,0
Vyborg line
Down arrow
Down arrow
Down arrow
Pesochny
2.3
1.8
Trackside 1871-1886
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SPb-Sestr.-Beloostrov
Down arrow
Planned ferry line
2.9
Miller's pier
0,0
Trackside
(1875-1886)
0,0
Up arrow
2.2
Sestroretsky kurort
1.7
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.5
Factory bridge
0.2
0.0
Sestroretsk
(1871-1924)
Sestroretsk armory
lake
Rasliw
0,0
planned trackside
Vodoslivnoy channel
1.7
1.7
Dubki horse-iron road
Right arrow
Left arrow
Dubkovsky pier
2.1
Liteyny bridge
3.5
3.6
SPb-Sestr.-Beloostrov
Down arrow
Finlyandsky Rail Term.
Down arrow
Novaya derevnya
Down arrow
Tarkhovka
5.7
Tarkhovka pier |
Ships to
Saint Petersburg
Distances in kilometers
Miller's line railroad line includes Sestroretsk spur line
Societies of the Sestroretsk railway
Russian: частное "Общество Сестрорецкой железной дороги"
Miller's pier railway station
Overview
HeadquartersSestroretsk
LocaleSaint Petersburg
Dates of operation1873–1886
PredecessorFinnish State Railways
SuccessorPrimorskaya Railway
Technical
Track gauge1,524 mm (5 ft)
Length9.5 km (5.9 mi)

Organisation

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The private organisation Societies of the Sestroretsk Railway was established to control the railway, headed by Collegiate Assessor Moritz von-Dezen and Titular counsellor Michael Ivanovich Miller. It had been built for the military as the Sestroretsk spur line.

There were plans to build a station 3 versts (approximately 3 kilometres) from Sestroretsk, on the bank of Sestroretsk Bay, and also an additional branch line to the Tarhovsky pier, where an operational station already existed.[1]

Experiments with electrification

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In 1875, on an area between Miller's pier and Sestroretsk rail station, the engineer Fyodor Pirotsky experimented on the adaptation of rail transport to be driven by an electrogalvanic cell. These experiments later led to a patent "For an electric way of transfer of forces on rail and other conductors", that is, for the creation of the first electric tram.

The experimental area consisted of a site with an extent of 3½ versts (3.73 km), which passed along the sand of beach for a large part of its length,[1] with rail cars travelling distances of over one kilometre.

The system used the rails as conductors for electricity transmission; one rail carried the direct current, and the second rail functioned as a return wire. After establishing the necessary connections on the joints between the rails, the transmission of electricity was successfully carried out.

Pirotsky stated that current leakage to the earth was not appreciable, and the transfer efficiency was calculated to be acceptable. Expenses for the adaptation of existing railways to electricity transmission were determined to be insignificant – from 50 to 100 roubles per verst.[1]

Closure

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In 1877, the line operated four pairs of trains. They primarily served residents during the summer period, while in the winter they were only used by officials.

The recorded volume of patronage was very insignificant because of a disputed tariff policy of Finnish railways, and ultimately the Miller's pier station was left idle.[1] As a result, the operators appeared to be in a disastrous financial position, and the majority of the proposed plans were left incomplete.

By the mid-1880s, the Society of the Sestroretsk railway was definitively ruined, and on January 1, 1886, the railway was closed.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Chepurin, Sergey; Arkady Nikolayenko (May 2007). "Sestroretsk and Primorskaya railways(Сестрорецкая и Приморская железные дороги)". terijoki.spb.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-02-21.