Hayrenik Pioneer Station of the Children's Railway

Why is it significant?

You stand before Hayrenik Station, the delightful terminus of the Yerevan Children's Railway. Officially opened on June 9, 1937, this charming narrow-gauge line was only the second pioneer railway constructed in the Soviet Union after Tbilisi.

Key Facts

Open the walk

You stand before Hayrenik Station, the delightful terminus of the Yerevan Children's Railway. Officially opened on June 9, 1937, this charming narrow-gauge line was only the second pioneer railway constructed in the Soviet Union after Tbilisi. Designed by celebrated avant-garde Armenian architect Mikael Mazmanyan, the two-story station resembles a storybook alpine chalet, featuring carved wooden balconies, steeply pitched gabled roofs, and decorative stone piers crafted from local river basalt.

The railway operates along a two-point-one-kilometer narrow-gauge track (750 millimeters) winding gracefully through the river parklands to its northern terminal at Pionerakan station. In Soviet times, the entire railway was operated by school-age children under professional adult supervision: young boys and girls took pride in serving as conductors, ticket controllers, switch operators, stationmasters, and even assistant locomotive drivers, fostering technical skills and civic responsibility.

On the siding beside the platform rests an authentic treasure of industrial heritage: Soviet steam locomotive Gr-332, built in Germany in the 1940s and transported to Armenia to haul the railway's vintage wooden carriages. Although modern diesel engines now handle regular weekend passenger runs during summer months, the historic steam engine is preserved in operable condition, its polished brass bell and black iron boiler gleaming in the sun.

The nostalgic, storybook atmosphere of Hayrenik Station captures the innocent optimism of mid-twentieth-century urban recreation. Families with young children still line up for weekend train rides beneath the canopy of walnut and willow trees, continuing a beloved Yerevan tradition. The charming wooden gingerbread trim, pointed dormer windows, and vintage train tracks transport visitors back to an era of unhurried innocence. Children's laughter and the distant whistle of the locomotive still echo across the shaded valley every summer weekend. The historic chalet station remains a delightful monument to childhood wonder, engineering education, and mid-century family leisure in Soviet Armenia.

Follow the narrow-gauge railway tracks south toward the graceful stone arches of the railway viaduct.