Photo of the steamship Department of Railways "Polar"

In our day the phrase "the Ministry of Railways" is associated exclusively with the railroads, however, in the Russian Empire of the Agency since its inception, was responsible for roads and water communications. Historically, MPs has arisen in Russia on the basis existed since 1798 the Department of water communications, which survived several rebuilds. Water transport was allocated from the MPs into a separate Agency in the Soviet period, with the formation in 1931 the people's Commissariat of water transport (NCVT). By the early twentieth century, MPs served a significant number of inland waterways on the rivers and lakes, particularly in areas unattractive to private capital. In addition to coastal infrastructure (marinas, locks), the Agency had a large number of small steamers carrying on the local transportation. This photo shows exactly such a ship, bearing the name "Polar". Any data on the time of its construction and characteristics could not be found. However, judging from the appearance and main dimensions, it was built in the 1880s – 1890s and was intended for use not only on rivers but also on large lakes or in the coastal marine area. Such ships usually had a length of 22 – 28 m, width 5 – 6 m and the machine capacity of 80 – 120 HP, the Presence of characteristic arcs in the aft suggests that the ship could be used as a tug. In the bow, in addition to the name, clearly marked with a distinctive emblem of the MPs of the Russian Empire in the form of a crossed axe and anchor. Such a small workaholic, steamers seldom got in the lens of the photographer and their images preserved quite a bit. Size 242*295 mm Guarantee of authenticity.