TU10 diesel locomotive

The children's railways or pioneer railways were used for extracurricular education, where adolescents learned railway professions. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was greatly developed in Soviet times. However, existing children's railways continued to be used, and new tracks and locomotives were built even after the break-down of the Soviet Union.

Most of these railways operate diesel engines, but some of them occasionally fire up old steam locomotives. Some TU2 diesel locomotives from the 1950s are still being used, although most of them have been replaced by TU7 diesel locomotives or TU7A diesel locomotives. Narrow gauge locomotive production was discontinued in the 2000s due to the decline of narrow-gauge railways in Russia, such as forest railways, peat railways and industrial railways, which led to a lack of suitable new or second-hand locomotives for children's railways.

The Kambarka Engineering Works began in 2008 with the development of a modern diesel locomotive specifically for use on children's railways. Using experience with older models, the following changes were implemented: the locomotives have two equal cabs with an ergonomically designed dashboard and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air condition), a JaMZ 6563.10 (ЯМЗ 6563.10) diesel engine with 169 kW (227 hp) at 1,900 rpm, and a four gear Voith Type D864.5 hydraulic gearbox. The exhaust emissions are in line with the Euro-3 standard. Apart from a computer-assisted control and detection system, they have also a KLUB-UP (КЛУБ-УП) train control system with GPS. The locomotives have a modern wireless communication system RVS-1-01 (РВС-1-01) and an automatic fire detection and extinguishing system.

The prototype was unveiled in spring 2010, and delivered in August 2010 to St Petersburg. Most of the locomotives were painted in a variation to a common RŽD livery in the Russian national colours, except TU10-002 of Nowomoskowsk. 30 ТУ10 units have been built as of June 2015.