Dobri dyehn Dmitriy,
There are a couple of versions about the Russian Railway gauge.
I don't believe the one whereby when the Tsar said that he wanted a railway, his engineers went to Germany and measured the gauge.
From the outside edge of the rails and not the inside edge.
I find that difficult to believe.
But, regardless, the difference in gauge did save Russia from easy rail borne invasion.
It is also interesting that the French were chosen to advise and initiate construction of the Moscow Metro.
Steve.

Hello, Steve!
Thank you for your a greeting on Russian :) !
As far as I know, first a railroad of Russia was build to 6 foot gauge. Later, was build to 5 foot (1524 mm). It was chose by the technical and economic assessment. In 1970 it was confirm on 1520 mm.

The VL80 (ru: ВЛ80) is prominent a AC electric dual-section locomotive for cargo trains.
These enjoys the accolade of having the longest production span of any Soviet electric locomotive. All variants of the series were built at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant (NEVZ).
The first VL80-s were characterizing by their mercury arc rectifiers. Later, they were replaced with silicon ones, thus giving birth to the VL80k (ru: ВЛ80к) series. The "к" stands for "кремний", the Russian word for silicon. It been produced in 1963 - 1971. The first VL80k-s were headlight round of a buffer-beam, they is still do working on the Ukrainian Railways.

G'day Dmitriy,
Cyrillic characters are awkward, as are any character accents, for my humble computer.
I hate to think how complex digital communication would be in Chinese and Japanese.
The Russian signal system intrigues me.
As does any railway signal system.
I am also curious to know how long ago, that the Russian railway removed the "brake van" (caboose) from the rear of freight trains.
Here in NSW, the guard's van was gradually removed from freight trains from 1986.
Steve.

Good day Steve,
Latinic characters is available into all the computers, luckily.
Last the "brake van"on the USSR Railway was used 1950 - 1960. The
compressed-air brake be use after 1960.
The Russian signal system is big a topic, named "SCB" (ru: СЦБ). It
use the bug torch, be controlled from the automatic controls on the
relay and electronics unit. The bug torch is shown on photo (the
real and my a miniature :) .

G'day Dmitriy,
The last Russian brake van was back in the 1960s.
Crikey, so two man crewing on Russian freight trains began in the 1960s.
I do have some information about the Russian signal system.
But, it is very different to the system that I am used to here in NSW.
The East German DDR signal system was apparently adapted from the Russian System.
It is likewise confusing to me.
Though, I do constumble (understand) the basics.
Steve.

Good day Steve,
I am do not working on the railway (in a industry, the engineer of electronics and embedded systems).
There is some information about the Russian signal system is here (English) :
http://scbist.com/railway-automation-abroad/

Also, come my a site (in Russian) : http://poezdnik.at.ua/

Spahseebah Dmitriy,
I will check the www links out when I am next at the local library.
Steve.

Hello!
M62 (2M62) - most popular and reliable in past, a diesel-electric locomotive. They was of the production of the Voroshilovsky Slag-Building Plant (VZOR), in 1965 - 1988. Also, was exported to many Eastern Bloc countries as well as to Mongolia, North Korea and Cuba (on the photos 3 and 4, the 2M62 locomotives do transport to Mongolia Railway).

Hello!
D1 - popular in past, diesel-multiple unit train. They was of the production of the Ganz - Mavag Plant, Hungary, in 1964 - 1988.
DR1a - most popular, diesel-multiple unit train. They was of the production of the Riga Carriage-Building Plant, in 1976 - 1998.
ER2r - most popular, DC electric-multiple unit train. They was of the production of the Riga Carriage-Building Plant, in 1979 - 1984.
ER9m - most popular, AC electric-multiple unit train. They was of the production of the Riga Carriage-Building Plant, in 1976 - 1983.

Preevyet Dmitriy,
I have been scrounging around in the web links that you gave.
Google has translated the basic web pages, but the downloads remain in Russian.
I will check these sites out each time that I am here at the local library.
FREE WWW at the library.
I have also squizzed a you tube video clip featuring the D1 dmu.
Interesting.
Steve.