The steam locomotive was installed in 1985 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The steam locomotive is designated Su 213-89. SU is the series, meaning Sormovsky reinforced. The previous series S was produced by the Sormovo plant (Nizhny Novgorod). The SU series, with various modifications, was produced from 1924 to 1951. It is considered the most mass-produced Soviet passenger steam locomotive. A total of 2,683 locomotives of this series were manufactured. 213-89 is the inventory number of the NKPS (People's Commissariat of Railways).
Su 213-89 was built by the Kolomna plant in 1938. During the Great Patriotic War, the Penza locomotive carried sanitary trains.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Kuibyshev Railway played an important role in supplying the front. In a short time, equipment from 1,360 large industrial enterprises was transported via the Kuibyshev Railway to the Urals, Western Siberia, the Volga region, and other parts of the country, and over 10 million people were evacuated. During the war years, 19 million freight cars were transported, including about one million tank cars. More than 141 million rubles were collected by the railway workers for the Defense Fund. With these funds, ten armored trains and 80 sanitary trains were built. Over 14,000 Kuibyshev railway workers went to fight at the front. Thirty of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
In this difficult time, new work methods were mastered on the railway: high-speed train formation, non-detachable car repairs, driving heavy trains, and dispatching double trains. To increase the capacity of certain sections, starting October 13, 1941, the V.V. Kuibyshev Railway introduced the world’s first "live blocking" system — signalmen with lanterns and flags stood every 800–900 meters along the tracks on the sections. They signaled to the engineers whether the adjacent section was occupied or free. It was a great risk, but the times demanded it, as trains to the front ran in a continuous stream.
The monument was created by Igor Zeynalov. Temporary rails were laid from the depot across Ukhtomsky Street to install the locomotive on the pedestal. After installation, they were dismantled.
