Under the Red Star – Railways

Shown here are caps worn by workers and supervisors of the Soviet Railways. Of all the Non-MOD visor caps, these are the most often seen and collected. Railroads have always been vital to the functioning of the Soviet State – both militarily and economically. As such, Soviet railroad personnel typically recieved recognition and respect in excess of their counterparts elsewhere in the world. A thumbnail image accompanies each cap description. Clicking on that thumbnail will bring up a larger, higher resolution image.

Railways Worker/Junior Supervisor Service

1943-1955

This cap carries the traditional Soviet railroad colors of black and dark blue piped in green. Although railroad symbols changed over the years, this series of cap colors continued until the end of the USSR. The crossed wrench & hammer symbol on the band and the small red star on the crown marks this as a wartime/immediate postwar issue worn by both “enlisted” workers and junior supervisors. The black oilcloth chinstrap and squared-off fiberboard visor were normal for the period. The chinstrap buttons were also embossed with the railways’ crossed wrench and hammer. Rare

Railways Tech School Student Service

1970-1991

This cap was worn by students at Soviet Railways technical schools. As with other Railway caps, it was manufactured according to the same standards as the military services. It has a blue-gray crown and black velvet band with medium blue piping. A black chinstrap is secured with standard Railways buttons – with crossed hammer and wrench. Its relatively “late” manufacture is indicated by its saddle form and plastic visor. The winged emblem on the crown and the cockade are unique to Railways’ technical schools. Available (cap only) -Scarce (with both badges)

Railways Worker Service

1979-1991

This was the most common cap worn by Soviet Railroad personnel. Although it is nominally a “winter” version, lower ranking personnel seldom (if ever) wore the light gray “summer” version. The cap has a black felt band, dark blue crown and green piping. This 1985 dated cap belonged to a lower grade individual, as delineated by the use of a black chinstrap rather than gold cords. The “crossed wrench & hammer” cockade on a green background is characteristic of Railways from the early 1970’s (the particular version shown on this cap was the last version dating from 1979-1991). Before that, Railway personnel wore crossed wrench and hammer badges without the oval background. The “winged wheel” emblem on the crown is a symbol for transportation units used since the time of the Tsars. Embroidered versions of both the cockade and the winged wheel can be found on senior Railroad officials’ hats. This particular cap has an unusually small plastic visor that looks remarkably like an older fiberboard one. Common

Railways Junior Supervisor Service

1979-1991

This is the “summer” uniform cap worn by Railroad supervisors. It retains the black band and green piping of its more commonly seen winter-weight cousin, but the crown is made from light gray fabric instead of dark blue and the black band is “upgraded” to velvet. The cap is a junior officer’s or supervisors’ model, with gold cords instead of the black chinstrap. The metal cockade and winged wheel emblems are standard for all positions except for senior supervisors (general-equivalent), who typically wore gold wire embroidered versions. Standard metal color of these cap badges is gold, although silver versions existed for technical personnel. Available