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LEICA REPORTAGE
I
09
LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH., ISO 800, f/16, 1/125 s
The Yaroslavsky Railway Station stands proudly on Komsomolskaya Square in Moscow, a little way outside the
historical city centre. It is one of the busiest railway stations in Moscow. More than 300 trains depart daily from
here to destinations in the north. One of them is a particularly significant train. Every other day, ‘Train No. 2’
leaves the station on the start of its six-day journey to Vladivostok and the Pacific Ocean, 9,000 km away. On the
way, it crosses two continents, seven time zones and makes about 400 stops. It is the longest continuous rail line
in the world: the Trans-Siberian Railway.
It is a legend on wheels, and in cooperation with Leica Camera, the award-winning Magnum photographer, Jacob
Aue Sobol, took the new Leica M Monochrom on board on a journey of discovery. The young Dane, who represents
the third generation of a family of photographers, took the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Ulan-Ude, about
5,700 km away in south-eastern Siberia. From there, he continued through Mongolia and on to Beijing. This sec-
tion is not officially on the Trans-Siberian line (although it is often presented as such); in fact, it is part of the Trans-
Mongolian Railway, branching off the Trans-Siberian at Lake Baikal. Sobol chose to deviate from the original route –
a decision that indicates that his main focus lies beyond making a historically accurate record of the railway itself.
This extraordinary journey fascinated him for other reasons.
L E I C A REPORTAGE
Emotions within black and white.