Snow lies on the ground in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. In a remote corner of the Urals region at the end of a narrow-gauge railway is Kalach, population about a dozen. Three decades ago 600 people called the village home, but the local forestry industry suffered as the former Soviet Union imploded and people moved away in search of work. In Kalach today there are no telephones, no mobile reception and only a few hours of electricity a day. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Engine driver Alexander Kuznetsov, 53, drives a train through the village of Strokinka in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. Kuznetsov's father and grandfather also worked on the railways. Only 20 people live in the village of Strokinka. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Employees of the Russian postal service load letters and newspapers onto a railway carriage in Alapayevsk in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Schoolchildren from the village of Muratkovo study inside a train on the way to school in Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. Muratkovo does not have a school and so the children have to travel to a neighbouring village to study. The journey takes about 40 minutes. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





A man sleeps inside a train travelling to Sankin, in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. The narrow-gauge railway is the main transport connection between seven rural settlements in Alapayevsk District. The train from Alapayevsk to Sankin usually has three carriages, two second class sleeping carriages and one sitting carriage. The train makes its journey four times per week. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Snow lies on a railway bridge near Sankin in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Dogs run past the boiler room, which heats the House of Culture in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 17, 2015. The population of Sankin is between 400 and 600 people. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Babushka (Grandmother) Shura carries buckets of water to her home in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. The villagers do not have a central water supply and have to draw water from a well. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Alexey stokes a boiler in Sankin in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Babushka (Grandma) Shura shows her scarecrows in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Alexander fertilises the soil with ash in a greenhouse in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Alexander removes ash from a stove as a cat sits nearby in his house in Sankin in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An abandoned house stands in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Graves stand in a cemetery near a train depot in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 17, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





People travel inside a train on the route from Ugolnaya station to Elnichnaya station in Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Engine driver Alexander Kuznetsov, 53, drives a train through the village of Strokinka, in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. Kuznetsov's father and grandfather also worked on the railways. Only 20 people live in the village of Strokinka. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An engine driver looks out from his train in the village of Ugolnaya in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





A woman who lives in Muratkovo speaks to the train driver who is taking her daughter to school in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Nina Vysotina, 60, poses in her office at the railway depot in Elnichaya, in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. Vysotina has worked for the railway for 42 years. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





People wait to board a train in the village of Ugolnaya, in Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 16, 2015. Many people who live along the Alapayevsk narrow-gauge railway do not earn enough to buy a car and so depend on the railway for transportation. Train tickets cost between 10 and 50 cents. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An engine driver's assistant attaches a train carriage to TU4 Soviet narrow-gauge diesel locomotives in Muratkovo, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Car tyres painted in the colours of the Russian flag stand in front of the administration building in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 17, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Snow lies on railway tracks near Sankin in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Engine driver Alexander Kuznetsov climbs onto a locomotive at a train depot in the village of Elnichnaya in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 16, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Lyudmila stands in a goat barn in her house in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Sergei plays the accordion for Vassa, his partially deaf mother, in their house in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia. October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Vassa, 86, who suffers from hearing difficulties, poses in her house in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An abandoned house stands in the village of Kalach in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





(L-R) A man nicknamed "Barcelona", Alexey Bolotov and Alexey Jakushin drink vodka as they travel by a pioneer motorised railcar on their way to Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. The "pioneer," a light auxiliary rail vehicle, is a popular form of transport among people who live along the Alapayevsk railway. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Sergei poses for a picture on a street in Alapayevsk in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Workers unload mail from a train at a railway station in Sankin in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local residents await the departure of a train to the town of Alapayevsk, in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An engine driver's assistant walks past Soviet narrow-gauge diesel locomotives TU7 and TU4 at a train depot in Alapayevsk in Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An engine driver's assistant attaches a train carriage to a TU4 Soviet narrow-gauge diesel locomotive in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





An engine driver's assistant walks at a train depot in Alapayevsk in Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 15, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





A rusty car lies near an abandoned house in the village of Kalach in Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





The Jakushin family (L-R) Egor, Alexey and Lena, pose for a picture in their home in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local resident Alexander poses with a gun in his house in the village of Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)





Local residents Elena, Olga, Galina and Tatiana drink and eat at the House of Culture in Sankin, Sverdlovsk region, Russia, October 17, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)