The article is devoted to showing up the experience of state and social organizations to preserve cargo in the railway stations and during the movement of trains. Three information blocks are analyzed: the reasons for escalation of a cargo preservation problem in 1960-1980s, scales of cargo losses and experience of loss minimization. The problem sharpness is considered in a context of disappearance of the Soviet society concrete condition prospects.

Key words: railway transport of West Siberia, pilferage at the railway stations and in the trains, cargo preservation, cargo damage, sender, receiver.