Plastic model kit for a railway track (Russian gauge)

• Scale 1:35
• Assembled length 480 mm
• 3 wooden masts included
• Track can also be curved
• Unassembled, unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

During World War II, the railways of the Soviet Union utilized the so-called Russian broad gauge of 1,524 mm (5 feet). The subsequent standardization to 1,520 mm did not take place until decades after the war ended. Consequently, the Soviet gauge was 89 mm wider than the Central European standard gauge.

This difference in track gauge played a significant role in the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Initially, the Wehrmacht could not directly utilize the captured Soviet railway lines because German locomotives and rolling stock were unable to operate on the wider tracks. Specialized railway engineering units therefore had to regauge the lines to the German standard. This laborious conversion process significantly slowed the flow of supplies and constituted a crucial logistical factor in the Eastern Campaign.

Soviet tracks often featured wider sleeper spacing and appeared somewhat more massive due to the broader gauge. Accurate track gauge is therefore particularly important for dioramas depicting the Eastern Campaign. In 1:35 scale, the Soviet broad gauge of 1,524 mm corresponds to approximately 43.5 mm.