Google tells me the object is behind a fence. It's called the Red Star Train Graveyard. But how do I get in? What can you do — a fence it is. I walked along it, counting doors with keypad and wireless locks, as well as paths to the fence, clearly trodden for a reason.
After half an hour of sneaking around, it dawned on me to check the article on that wonderful site for unconventional travel, Atlas Obscura, which I had been using as a guide. I usually read just a couple of paragraphs, because why do I need more, I'll see it anyway. (Actually, I'm just incapable of reading longer texts). This time, this principle played a cruel joke on me. It turned out that this steam locomotive depot isn't a museum at all, but an industrial zone. Aside from workshops, it holds fragments of the past in the form of Soviet steam engines, locomotives, and train cars. You can only get in there on official business, and with documents.
Or, as the site advises, climb over the fence on Saturday night. But how? It's daytime now, and my weight is unfit for acrobatics, frankly speaking. My shape is better than a year ago, but still not great.
Even so, coffee and the spirit of adventure are bubbling in my veins. Gotta find an option. I evaluated all the available approaches, and realized a few things. There's a camera hanging in one corner, so that's a no-go. In another — a workshop that looks active, also a no-go. In many places there's barbed wire, and no way through at all.
On the bright side, the fence is corrugated on the outside, so climbing it is easy. But on the inside, it's smooth. However! Unknown comrades have piled up bricks and tires on the other side to get out of the trap. That's encouraging. But not so much as to make it totally easy. One of the slippers I bought had already fallen out while I was wandering along the fence. Good thing I at least found it while I was dawdling back and forth.
Weighing the risks, pros, and cons, I realized that at this moment I couldn't handle the quest, and I had to retreat. Perhaps, if fate brings me here again, I'll be better prepared and can repeat the attempt. I settled on that. I went to the platform to wait for a train back, thankfully they're frequent. Unfortunately, I discovered that a ticket can only be bought at least an hour before the train, no later. I missed my window, and I'll have to ride without a ticket again, damn it!
It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I managed to make it back to the train station. There I had to wait for the other tzvargs, so we could go steam and soak together.