June 2013 Main Line vol5 No4 - Seashore Trolley Museum

and yet again the 1949-design LP-49 and LM-49
with motor car and trailer of a 1933 MS-class
design in the rear. There were 865 powered
motor cars and 900 trailers of the 1933 model and
they were in service until 1968.
The arch, the Narva Triumphal Arch,
was erected as a memorial to the war
of 1812. A wooden triumphal arch
designed according to the plan of
famous Italian classical architect
Dzhakomo Quarenghi. Quarenghi also built the Concert Hall pavilion (1782-88), Alexander
Palace in Pushkin (1792-1800) and the Smolny Institute (1806-08) in St. Petersburg. The
Narva Triumphal Arch was specially constructed on the Narva highway to greet the soldiers
who were returning from abroad after their victory over Napoleon. The arch was located
approximately halfway between Ploshchad Stachek and Obvodny Canal. In the 1820's famous
Russian architect Vasily Stasov took Quarenghi's dilapidated wooden arch construction and
redeveloped it while at the same time preserving the essence of Quarenghi's original
composition. A place was selected for Stasov's arch on the Peterhof road close to the bridge
across the Tarakanovka River. The river has since been filled in. On August 26, 1827
celebrating the 15th year anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, ground was broken at the site
of the new arch in the presence of officers, soldiers and veterans of the war of 1812.
However, construction on the new arch essentially began in the 1830's after a long debate
about what material to use for the facade of the new arch. Stasov suggested building the arch
from brick and using sheets of copper for the facade. His idea was innovative in Russian and
Western European construction circles at the time. The copper facade sheets, ornament and
sculpture details from copper and arch decorations were produced at a local factory.
Construction was completed on the arch in the fall of 1833, but it was officially opened one year
later on August 17, 1834.
A fascinating model GM motor service tram and two
model GP trailers - probably carrying cable. There
were 40 of the powered units (numbered 11-50 should
you wonder) and 100 of these trailers built in two
batches during the years 1925 and 1926.