Table of contents:
- How the Supreme Institution of the Imperial Garage was created. Classification of royal cars
- What was taught at the Imperial School of chauffeurs, and who was the personal chauffeur of the king
- How the Tsar's safety on the road was ensured, and how the issue of special numbers and special signals was resolved
- Know-how of Kegress is a "cure" for the Russian off-road
Video: Who was the Tsar's personal chauffeur, and how they solved the problem of special numbers and special signals at that time
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
56 cars of leading foreign and domestic firms - this was the size of the garage of the last Russian autocrat by 1917. The huge car fleet at that time was the pride of Nicholas II and the envy of all European monarchs. Maintenance of elite vehicles was carried out by the most experienced specialists and cost the state treasury a lot of money.
How the Supreme Institution of the Imperial Garage was created. Classification of royal cars
In 1903, Prince Vladimir Orlov arrived at the sovereign in Tsarskoe Selo on his own engine, as cars were then called. At first, Nicholas II was wary of this type of transport, but very soon the novelty fell in love and became familiar to all members of the crowned family. Already in 1905, the emperor acquired German cars Mercedes and French Delaunnay-Belleville, which laid the foundation for the fleet of the Imperial Garage. And two years later, by the Imperial order of the sovereign, a new institution officially appeared in the structure of the Ministry of the Royal Court - the Imperial Garage.
Initially, the vehicles in it were divided into three categories. The first group included cars of members of the imperial family (the so-called royal rank) - elite models of well-known manufacturers Mercedes, Delaunay-Belleville, Renault, Peugeot, Rolls-Royce. The second category consisted of the motors of the royal suite. In addition to imported Panhard-Levassor, Daimler and Serex, it included domestic Lessner and Russo-Balt. The third category served the Palace Commandant's office, which ensured the safety of Nicholas II. It was represented by Mercedes, Darracq, Ford cars. Later, a group of utility vehicles (platform trucks, a tractor, an automobile field kitchen, etc.) was added to the department of the Imperial Garage.
What was taught at the Imperial School of chauffeurs, and who was the personal chauffeur of the king
As the tsarist fleet expanded, the personnel issue became relevant. Then the idea arose of creating an educational institution for the training of drivers and technical staff. Such a structure was the Imperial School of Chauffeurs, the initiator of which was Prince Orlov. He also selected a personal driver for the sovereign - 25-year-old Frenchman Adolphe Kegress, who was also charged with the duties of the head of the Technical Department. Kegress provided impeccable recommendations and fully justified them: he drove the car at high speed, but at the same time was confident and extremely attentive. Nicholas II highly appreciated his personal driver, as evidenced by Adolf's salary - more than 4 thousand rubles a year, plus bonuses for Christmas and Easter.
From the drivers serving the royal family, it was required not only to skillfully drive a vehicle, but also to be able to eliminate any problem that arose along the way. Therefore, in addition to driving lessons, the School program devoted a lot of time to studying the material part and car maintenance. In addition, future drivers underwent a special course that guided them to take action in case of emergencies. First of all, this was due to the fact that Nicholas II drove exclusively in open cars. Thus, the graduates of the School of Chauffeurs became specialists of a wide profile - high-class drivers, excellent mechanics and reliable bodyguards.
How the Tsar's safety on the road was ensured, and how the issue of special numbers and special signals was resolved
With the advent of the tsarist road transport, it became necessary to develop new measures to ensure the safety of movement of the sovereign and his family members. Traditionally, detachments were sent out of the city to guard the road along which the imperial cortege followed. Special detachments made sure that during the movement of the royal car, the horse-drawn vehicles encountered were removed from the roadway at a certain distance in order to avoid accidents due to the fearfulness of the horses. Another precautionary measure was inspection of ditches, ravines and thickets on the route of the king, as well as checking the reliability of bridges.
In order to avoid unforeseen situations due to the breakdown of the main car, a spare car was certainly present in the royal motorcade. Within the city, it was necessary to stop the traffic in time when the government engine approached the intersection, so as not to interfere with the passage of the emperor and at the same time not to create "traffic jams". Much attention was paid to anti-terrorist measures. So, by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the purpose of conspiracy, it was prescribed for drivers to periodically change clothes and hats, submit a car at different times, and sometimes keep it at the entrance without a specific purpose or send it on a flight without passengers.
In order to keep track of the vehicles run by the Imperial Garage, license plates were kept at the end of 1911. The cars of the Romanov family members had a blue plate with a white imperial crown and the letter "A". Courier transport received standard numbers with the letter "B" in the City Council. The personal transport of the sovereign did not have license plates, but it was equipped with special signals: a siren, a howler in several tones were used along with the usual horn; a spotlight (in the center) and additional headlights on the sides were installed.
Know-how of Kegress is a "cure" for the Russian off-road
The personal chauffeur of Nicholas II was not only an ace driver. With the light hand of Kegress, the Tsarskoye Selo garage workshops became a kind of laboratory for the development of all-terrain vehicles. This idea arose from Adolf due to the difficulty of movement due to the primordial Russian off-road, especially in winter.
Kegress achieved an increase in cross-country ability by turning an ordinary car into a half-track. The inventor proposed replacing the rear drive wheels with caterpillars made initially from camel wool, and later from rubberized tape. The optimal design of the tracked all-terrain vehicle was created after extensive research and trial and error. One of the modifications included the installation of skis that could turn with the wheels. Kegress's sleighs found practical use during the First World War.
And after the revolution, all this wealth completely different people got it.
Recommended:
What is point Nemo, why they could not find it for so long, and when they found it, they were scared
The most surprising fact about this conditional point in the World Ocean is probably the very fact of its existence. It was possible to calculate the ocean pole of this inaccessibility thanks to the calculations of the engineer Hvoja Lukatele from Croatia. According to them, point Nemo is closer to people in orbit than on Earth. It is Lukatele who is considered the discoverer of point Nemo
Who became the children of the king of pop music Michael Jackson: What they do, what they have achieved and what they look like
For millions of people around the world, Michael Jackson will forever remain an idol, a vivid example of enormous artistic talent. 11 years have passed since the death of the legendary "king of pop", but his creative and personal life remains the subject of heated debate to this day. Today we will not touch upon either the topic of creativity, or the scrupulous topic of accusations, either far-fetched or real. Today we will talk about the children of a pop star. After all, after his death, not only numerous songs and clips remained, but also
Corruption in Russia: Tradition or Problem Being Solved
Every Russian ruler during his reign necessarily did two things: he began the fight against corruption, and then admitted that it was impossible to cope with it. Today, corruption, along with the problems of democracy, tolerance and the protection of gay rights, is one of the traditional points of Western pressure on Russia. “A country in which corruption is embedded in the business culture,” foreigners say about Russia. Additional weight is given to this problem by PR politicians, who take “struggles
They are not ugly, they are special. Mutato Fruit and Vegetable Project by Uli Westphal
Nature sometimes plays cruel jokes with us, and then inferior children are born, gnarled trees grow, and ugly vegetables and fruits ripen. Someone will say - radiation, others will write off everything on genetic modifications, and still others … Still others will see this as a sign of God, and will begin to collect photographs of these strange fruits, making up a collection called Mutato. Of course, we are talking about a young German artist named Uli Westphal and his original photo project
Where they dug clay, where they baked the royal bread, and where they planted gardens: What the center of Moscow looked like in the Middle Ages
Walking around the center of Moscow, it is interesting to think about what was in this or that place in the Middle Ages. And if you know the true history of a particular area or street and imagine who and how lived here several centuries ago, the names of the areas and the whole view are perceived in a completely different way. And you already look at the Moscow center with completely different eyes