Nicholas II’s motorcars and the Imperial Garage in Mogilev, 1915-17
PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II and Major-General V. Voeikov at the General Headquarters in Mogilev. 1915-1916. Several of the motorcars from the Imperial Garage can be seen in the background.
In the early 20th century, Emperor Nicholas II took a keen interest in the latest fad which was sweeping Europe: the motorcar. By the end of his reign in March 1917, he had amassed an impressive collection of 56 automobiles. None of the European monarchs could boast of such an impressive fleet of vehicles!
His Imperial Majesty’s Own Garage was created for the Emperor’s collection. Imperial Garages were built in Moscow, the Winter Palace (St. Petersburg), Tsarskoye Selo and Livadia. During the war years, an additional garage was built at Mogilev.
On 8th August 1915, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Stavka) of the Russian Empire was transferred from Baranovichi to Mogilev. From August 1915 to March 1917, Emperor Nicholas II, served as Commander-in-Chief.
The Tsar travelled back and forth on the Imperial Train, from Tsarskoye Selo to Mogilev, where he settled in the Governor’s House, situated on Gubernatorskaya Square. He was often accompanied by his son Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
PHOTO: Nicholas II’s motorcars were transported to Mogilev by rail, a special carriage was hitched to the end of the Imperial Train, which featured a ramp to drive the cars on and off.
When Nicholas II moved to Mogilev, he brought with him some of his motorcars from the Imperial Garage in Tsarskoye Selo. According to Nicholas II’s personal security chief Major General Alexander Spiridovich, who often accompanied the Tsar on these trips, recalled:
“The last carriage of our train was the ingeniously invented by [Adolfe] Kegress. The garage car transported the imperial automobiles, and provided accommodation for the chauffeurs. The back wall of this carriage could fold up and down, the latter providing a gangway, along which the motorcars could drive on or off the carriaget. In appearance, this carriage was no different from the other carriagess of the Imperial Train.”
A special 20-meter-long Imperial Garage was installed near the Governor’s House, which could accommodate 4-5 vehicles, as well as a workshop, spare parts, gasoline and lubricants.
In addition to the triple phaeton, two Delaunay-Belleville 40/45 CV with a landole body and two limousines: a Roll-Royce 40/50 HP and a Renault 40 CV, were also parked in the garage. The latter vehicles were used by members of the Imperial Family and their retinue, when they visited Mogilev.
PHOTO: three of Nicholas II’s motorcars parked on Gubernatorskaya Square. On the right is Delaunay-Belleville triple-phaeton, on the left are two Delaunay-Belleville with a landole body.
PHOTO: Arrival of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to the General Headquarters in Mogilev in the summer of 1916. The Tsarina preferred closed cars.In front is a Renault 40 CV limousine. Behind is a Rolls-Royce 40/50HP.
Nicholas II himself preferred to drive a Delaunay-Belleville 40/45 CV with a triple-phaeton body, a seven-seater car with three rows of seats, a convertible roof and a 45 horsepower engine. The engine provided speeds of up to 90 km per hour. In addition, unlike serial models, the imperial motorcars were equipped with double steering rods and a disc clutch instead of a conical one.
The horses in Mogilev were frightened by the noisey, speeding motorcars, so before each trip, agents of the security department and the police were posted along the entire route, and traffic along Dneprovsky Prospekt was temporarily halted.
For political reasons, Nicholas II preferred riding in open vehicles. The Tsar believed that he should be visible to the people, and although the guards repeatedly urged him to move around the city in a closed vehicle, Nicholas II, as a rule, drove in open ones.
In the city itself, the imperial motorcars had only one route: from Gubernatorskaya Square, to the military platform of the Mogilev railway station, where the Imperial Trains [there were 2] were parked. The main routes were along the Bobruisk and Orsha highways, on which, the Tsar often ordered the driver to stop, so that he could get out and go for a walk in the forest, which he so enjoyed. Nicholas II did not change this habit until his abdication, when he made his last motorcar ride on 27th February, 1917, which was when the first telegrams informing about the riots in Petrograd arrived at Stavka.
PHOTOl Emperor Nicholas II arrives at Mogilev
FURTHER READING:
Why did Nicholas II’s favourite motorcar sport a swastika?
The fate of Nicholas II’s favourite motorcar
Exhibition dedicated to the 115th anniversary of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Garage opens in Moscow
NEW 4-volume set of books celebrates Emperor Nicholas II’s motorcar collection
© Paul Gilbert. 14 March 2024
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