Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Ocheretyne. A Junction Station and Its Settlement

The Ocheretyne junction freight-and-passenger station lies at the intersection of the Pokrovsk-Yasynuvata and Ocheretyne-Horlivka lines, in the settlement of the same name in the Yasynuvata district of the Donetsk region.

Ocheretyne railway station. Donetsk Railway

The station belongs to the Krasnyi Lyman division of the Donetsk Railway.

Ocheretyne. The junction station of the Donetsk Railway

The distance to Zhelanna is 16 kilometres, and to Avdiivka 14 kilometres.

Ocheretyne. Looking south-east towards Avdiivka station

The station was opened in 1880 during the building of the Synelnykove-Yasynuvata section of the Katerynynska Railway. The place name comes from the nearby Ocheretiana gully, since at that time there was as yet no settlement in this spot.

Ocheretyne. Looking north-west towards Zhelanna

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the station was a two-storey building of natural stone with stove heating. Two projecting bays, the vaulted windows and the entrance were finished with brick decor. Attic windows adorned the gabled roof, covered with sheet metal, and the façades.

Photo from the book «Along the Katerynynska Railway. Issue 2», 1912

Alas, hard times and wars have disfigured the handsome building; only the ground floor has survived to our day, faced with grey slabs.

Ocheretyne. The surviving ground floor of the station building

The station house holds the technical services and the waiting hall. The passenger hall is heated in the cold season, and it is clean inside.

Ocheretyne. The station's passenger waiting hall

The ticket office has not been working since January 2021. Passengers are advised to buy tickets on the UZ website or at the nearest stations, Hrodivka and Avdiivka.

Ocheretyne. The station's closed ticket office

The station has 4 railway tracks and 2 stopping platforms.

Ocheretyne. The station tracks and stopping platforms

The suburban trains running Chaplyne-Avdiivka and Pokrovsk-Avdiivka stop at the station. Towards Avdiivka the electric trains run on the second track, and from Avdiivka – on the first.

The Avdiivka-Chaplyne suburban electric train

Since December 2020 the route of the «Maiak» passenger train No. 135/136 Kyiv-Pokrovsk has been extended to Avdiivka station with a stop at Ocheretyne. About 10 passengers get off the train at Ocheretyne.

Ocheretyne. The «Maiak» passenger train No. 135/136 Kyiv-Avdiivka

One of the access tracks served the «Altkom» brick works, mothballed because of problems with the gas supply.

Ocheretyne. The closed «Altkom» works

One more track leads to the yard for bulk materials.

Ocheretyne. The railway station. The yard for bulk materials

The station grounds are kept in order, with shrubs and flowers planted, and there are benches and a lavatory.

Ocheretyne. The station grounds with shrubs and flowers

Part of the old railway building, put up in the Norman style, has been converted into a shop-café, but half of the building is neglected and stands empty.

Ocheretyne. The old railway building, part of it now a shop-café

With the opening of the station a settlement grew up on the northern side, with single-storey houses of red brick. The street on which the 5 houses for railway workers stand is now called MPS, and the numbering begins at the station building.

Ocheretyne. Railway workers' houses on MPS Street

These barrack-type buildings, with the conveniences out in the yard, have served the workers of UZ for almost a century and a half. A resident of one of the houses recalled that there was once a plaque on the wall naming the Katerynynska Railway.

Ocheretyne. Barrack-type railway workers' houses on MPS Street

Ocheretyne. The railway workers' dwelling houses on MPS Street. The 1890s

Nearby, two five-storey blocks of red brick made at the now-closed works in Ocheretyne will remain eternal unfinished buildings.

Ocheretyne. The unfinished five-storey blocks of red brick

Ocheretyne. The long-unfinished building on Pershotravneva Street

It often happens that war memorials stand on the grounds of railway stations that were fought over during the Second World War. Soldiers who died of their wounds and were taken off the military hospital trains were buried here as well. Monuments to Soviet soldiers have been set up beside the platform and in the Victory garden square adjoining MPS Street.