The Haapamäki Museum Locomotive Association celebrated its 25th anniversary by organizing a tour with a museum train to the main and secondary tracks of Central Finland, North Savo, Kainuu and Ostrobothnia between the 20th and 24th of April 2018. The tour was also accompanied by the British Branch Line Society. English was the most common language spoken on the excursion train which made the atmosphere of the tour quite international. The British humor also appeared as seen on TV.

The train consisted of two wooden passenger cars and two wooden sleeping cars from the 50’s, a steely passenger and guard coach from the late 60’s and a restaurant car from the 80’s. The train was hauled by a Dr13 series locomotive designed in France in the early 60's.

A significant group of the passengers only attended a part of the tour; local people maybe just a few miles. However, the craziest ones without the proper medication stayed on the slow-running train for all five days. Most of these long-distance passengers stayed in hotels overnight, but the most hardcore and dedicated enthusiasts stayed in the moldy sleeping cars while the train was lying overnight at the stations.

In the world of railways and public transport, twenty-five years is a sufficient quarter. A quarter of year is nothing. A solid basis for train traffic can be established only with sustainability and long term thinking.

Many thanks for the excellent tour and congratulations to the Locomotive Association!

Jyväskylä

Here it begins. Old hobby friends gather to the excursion train. The feeling of departure is so thick that you can almost touch it. Expectations...

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20.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Saarijärvi

Oncoming freight train T 55564 with heavy lumber loads hasn’t managed to climb uphill between Keitelepohja and Kannonkoski. To its surprise, the...

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20.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Saarijärvi

The customers are told bad news by the map operator of the tour. The engine has separated from the excursion train and is now leaving to go to the...

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20.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Keitelepohja

The freight train T 53344 meets the excursion train MUS 1921. This is one of the greatest events that Keitelepohja has seen.

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20.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Pyhäkumpu

The delay caused by the misfortune of the freight train T 55564 nearly cost us the visit to the Pyhäsalmi Mine which would not have been...

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20.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Iisalmi

A local confectioner has made something sweet and brings it to the restaurant car.

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21.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Välillä Murtomäki–Otanmäki

Not any further than this! Rotting of wooden ties has caused the railway to become unmanageable. This time Otanmäki could not be reached.

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21.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Murtomäki

Instead of visiting Otanmäki the engine driver invited me to the warm, machine grease-​scented engine room of the Alsthom locomotive. There...

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21.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Talvivaara

We were told by Terrafame that crossing over a mile radius around the Talvivaara yard would be considered as trespassing. Instead, everyone had to...

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21.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Lahnaslampi

Access to the Lahnaslampi mill was also denied. However, there were no security gorillas around to be seen.

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21.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Välillä Kontiomäki–Ristijärvi

Train Control System ends here.

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22.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Berliini, Hyrynsalmi

The Berlin timber loading line is a residue of World War II. This area was a military base and the starting point of the narrow-​gauge field...

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22.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Ämmänsaari

The excursion train consumes incredible amounts of food and other goods.

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22.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Laajakangas

The pilotage center of Laajakangas is used to test the railway fleet.

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22.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Kontiomäki

The timber train T 5020 has been prepared for departure.

7 kommenttia
22.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Oulainen

Markku Veteläinen retired from his job as a traffic instructor, a regional supervisor and a shift manager in Oulu on the 31th of July 2016....

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23.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Kokkola

Wagon boys have been sent for shopping. The consumption of handwash paper was considerable on the excursion train.

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23.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Pännäinen

The Pännäinen triangle is under construction. It should be completed this year to serve great freight traffic caused by the Pietarsaari forest...

1 kommentti
23.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Alholma

The engine moves to the other end of the train.

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23.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne

Kovjoki

In Kovjoki we had the opportunity to travel by a narrow-​gauge train. Fortunately, there were two locomotives on the train because one of...

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23.04.2018 Ari-Pekka Lanne