The Baikal-Amur Railroad (BAM) 3 of 3 by A. Bates

The 10 year goal was to lay 1988 miles of finished track over and through seven mountain ranges. Needless to say, the working conditions within Siberia were unpredictable.

This railroad was also intended to be a supply route along which population could settle and inhabit the most hostile and primitive depths of Siberia, thus over 200 railroad stations were eventually built along the line. Workers advancing into the forest had makeshift living and working conditions. Tents or pre-fabricated structures were setup, then construction began on proper housing, medical stations, schools, and sporting grounds. The final piece of track was laid in 1986, and the BAM was operational in 1989. The total route is 3200 kilometers (1988 miles), this averages to 20.5 km (13 miles) per month of finished railroad track which was built. This timetable included cutting through seven mountain ranges, and digging tunnels through four of them, one of which is 15 km ( approx. 9 miles ) long. The roadbed for the BAM required moving 100,000 cubic meters ( 131,000 cubic yards ) of earth-either cutting or filling-for each kilometer ( .621 mile ) of track. Bridges also needed to be constructed over 3,000 rivers and streams, and because of the permafrost, new bridge construction techniques had to be devised. Driving a tractor across an area of taiga and stripping off a layer of moss or turf with the tractor treads would cause the temperature of the soil to change and turn the once hard-as-stone soil into a swamp. Insulation techniques were developed which would surround a selected area to prevent the soil from thawing. The intense cold also meant rails had to be made of special steel that does not become brittle at the very low temperatures of the Siberian winter.

The medal "For the Construction of the Baikul-Amur Mainline" was instituted by a Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet on October 8, 1976. The medal was awarded for distinguished labor at the construction sites, qualified project research execution, and for logistical support provided to the workers and the overall project who worked with construction or construction services for a period of not less than 3 years. It was awarded approximately 170,000 times. There are 3 small letters on the suspension ring, "LMD", for "Leningradskii Monetny Dvor" (the Leningrad Mint). It is constructed of Brass, measures 32mm in diameter, and is 2.6mm thick. The suspension ring is part of the medal. There are no known variations.

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