About This Accessory

A metal gate crossing of stamped-steel construction was included in every Stalin-era and Khrushchev-era train set produced by the Soviet Union in the 1950's and 1960's. The design of this piece was pilfered from Märklin and it represents yet another example of stealing shamelessly. The accessory has two 4-inch gates with supports, a 12-inch section of straight track and four sections of decorative fencing with fence posts on both ends of each 3-inch section.

The gates are lowered mechanically when the train passes over an activator rail (lever mechanism) built into the track that is in the center of the base. (The gate crossing is part of the track sequence and either has the number "3" stamped on the underside of the base or has a metal tag stamped with the number "3" on it and attached to the underside of the base.) If properly connected via the wiring harness furnished with each set, this electro-mechanical accessory will perform another function -- sounding the horn inside the passenger station!

The gate arms are red and white striped and the counterweights are painted black. However the bases, gate supports, fencing and fence posts were painted in many different colors. The stand-alone fence boards resemble a picket fence and the posts have rectangular caps.

An examination of the 1951 instruction manual has revealed an illustration of an older-style gate crossing that is much fancier than the one described above. It is unknown as to when manufacturing of the old-style gate crossing ceased and when the newer one was introduced. However, it is believed that very few of the older style were made and therefore the newer one was available in 1951 or very close to that year. While various other Khrushchev-era items were made as late as 1969, it is likely that production of the gate crossing stopped much earlier. Further adding to the mystery is the fact that the operating instruction manuals contained illustrations of the early-style gate crossing through at least March 1957 -- long after it was out of production! The newer-style gate crossing appears in the March 1958 manual and in all subsequent manuals.

Photos of five different Soviet Gate Crossings (newer style)
ABOVE: Version with metallic green base and red fencing.
ABOVE: Version with copper-brown base and green fencing.
ABOVE: Version with olive-green base and green fencing.
ABOVE: Version with tan base and green fencing.
ABOVE: Version with gray base and pink fencing.

Variations

There are apparently no differences in the newer-style gate crossing that was included with the Stalin-era sets versus the Khrushchev-era sets. However many variations have surfaced resulting from the many colors used to paint the bases, gate supports, fencing and fence posts. This accessory is not easy to find in collector-quality condition.

This page is an information document only; nothing on this web page is being offered for sale. This page and all of the other pages from Our Soviet Archives were developed to assist you in understanding the components of the train sets produced in the Soviet Union during the 1950's and 1960's. These sets are known today as "Stalin-era" sets and "Khrushchev-era" sets. We have used pictures from our old files and personal collection to construct this area of our website. If you are interested in buying something, please view our inventory listings to see what we currently have for sale.

This web page was last updated on September 11, 2005. If you have suggestions for improving this page or if you see any errors, please contact us.