And the winner is . . . the Kiev funicular railway. (1964)

If you didn’t click through the links on Svetlogorsk, you will have missed a treat of a page for Sovietica buffs: Soviet Funiculars.

It has been my privilege to ride several of these, but how many can claim to be truly Soviet is questionable. There are two in Kaunas, Lithuania - one on either side of the river - and neither were Russian built. Since they are over 70 years old, maybe that’s just as well.

In this picture of the un-aerodynamic Kaunas railway you can see the single-track layout with heartstopping ‘near miss’ loop, where ascending and descending cars squeeze past each other.

Here is an old postcard of the German built funicular in Svetlogorsk. I can vouch for the fact that the town is a steep climb from the beach - especially after some traditional kippers and konyak.