Last updated on March 28th, 2024 at 11:17 pm
At first glance, the title ‘Churches in Trains’ may seem a little incongruous. After all, aside from the main, engine and passenger carriages the only other one we are used to is the buffet carriage. Nevertheless, if you were to rewind to the 1800s in Russia you would have found that their trans-Siberian trains regularly incorporated a church carriage to help spread the Word to the thinly populated masses of the country. Not only did you get to your destination but your train tickets gave you a spiritual connection as well as the railway variety.
Today, thanks to the fall of Communism and the renewed freedom of Orthodox Catholic worship the church cars are on the move once more. Well, perhaps some of them are. Quite a few of the old carriages have been incorporated into streets’ architecture and act as the local church, often with the addition of a few extra outbuildings to serve other needs; dining halls and so on. I would just hope that a drunken tourist wouldn’t wander in with his train timetable and end up joining in Mass instead of joining fellow travellers to the airport.
Here is my pick of some of the most fascinating examples of stationary churches in trains.
In this first one I particularly like the typical Russian architectural influence of the bulbous domed steeple.
And that same church again from a different aspect.
The interior of the carriages is larger than you may expect.
The carriages are often found in prominent positions, a reminder of how much religion plays a part in the residents’ lives. This image of this church serves two purposes; one is to illustrate they can be part of a new housing development and secondly, that Russia is not the cold, inhospitable place that we, in the West, typically assume. It has air conditioning.
Just because they are train carriages adrift from the engine it doesn’t mean they are without power. This one has a simple cable connection to the mains.
The self-same church surrounded by its parishioners.
This location has benefited from having the site enclosed by a solid timber wall created in the same style as the church.
And finally…
This is a redevelopment area where a church train has been installed on a brick plinth. The ground around is being levelled prior to resurfacing and, in the background, new homes are being constructed with only a few needing their roofs installed.
Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, has done a bit of travelling in his time but is the first to admit he would prefer spending time in the buffet car. Now are there any of those on plinths around here?
