Finnish steam locomotives in England

[Sr1 3076]

Finland had lots of steam locomotives storaged after finnish state railways ended using steam locomotives at 1975. Late 80s and early 90s storages were abolished. Most of locomotives were scrapped, some of them were given or sold to museums, but some of them were sold to UK. They leaved from Finland 1990.

 

At least these locomotives came to UK:

 

Vr1-class locomotives (0-6-0T)

792

794

799

 

Hr1-class locomotives (4-6-2)

1008

1016

 

Tr1-class locomotives (4-8-2)

1060

1077

 

Tk3-class locomotives (2-8-0)

1103

1134

1144

1151

1157

 

794, 1016, 1060, 1134 were at some point in Epping Ongar Railway. Number 794 is now placed front of Blumsom timber centre in London.

 

Number was in timber group's area in Pondiers end, London. 

 

Does anyone know were these locomotives are placed now? Some of them have been mentioned in some topics here.

 

And sorry my bad english, i'm finn myself.

[Clay Country]

There was a thread about it on Railforums a while back, which might yield a few clues.

 

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/finnish-broad-gauge-steam-in-britain.58984/

[Invicta Informant]

I know many years ago at least four Finnish steam locomotives were at the Epping Ongar Railway, with the view to restore them to working order and converting the track gauge of the line.

 

One, as pictured here in July 2016, is still at the railway on static display just outside Ongar station gradually deteriorating.

[298]

The rhrp search facility is always a good place to look, search here and select VR (Finland) in the Designed for section.

 

http://www.ten.rhrp.org.uk/tens/tensearch.asp

[adb968008]

I believe it was a failed amusement park idea that bought them.

since then they have largely been left to rot.

They started like this

(flickr url not my image)

i did a search around the net to see what I could find... heres what I have, others may have further updates..

792 painted blue used to be at Enfield Timber but now gone

794 Blumson Timber, River road Enfield Plinthed.

799 Hope Farm Sellinge Kent (2013) wreck

1008 Epping Ongar Railway wreck

1016 Private preserved, operational Near Windsor

 

1060 Fengate farm, weeting, norfolk. wreck, to be restored.

1077 at Bull lane industrial estate, Sudbury wreck

 

1103 Summercourt Scrapyard, Newquay, Cornwall ( being restored onsite)

1134 Hope Farm Sellinge Kent (2013) wreck

1144 Bressingham Museum being static restored

1151 restored in red, Enfield timber now thought to be in St Albans.

1157 Hope Farm Sellinge Kent (2013) wreck

 

unfortunately as you see most are in scrap condition, 2 are unknown and may be scrapped, 3 are being restored, 1 operational, 1 used to be operational but is among the missing.

 

Not much love or use for Finnish steam  locomotives in the UK, though generally UKs track record on steaming any non-UK steam isn't very good, Finland would be a better home for them !

Back in the late 1980’s there was a sudden rush of imports, as a strong £ and a cheap locomotive in mechanically complete, sometimes even working condition meant a quick buck could be earned, several locomotives from Poland, Greece, Turkey, Finland, Baltics even returnees from the USA... by the time the next overhaul was due the story becomes a bit more vague, the “english” associated ones have fared better.. s100,s160,WD 2-10-0 and 8f..

 

Given rise of the Polar express, I would have thought these would be more popular, if they could be made to fit std gauge rail and height / width profiles... but time / cost have risen against declining skills & less money.

Edited January 5, 2020 by adb968008

[stewartingram]

I normally use this site to find where things are>

 

http://ukprsl.uk/

 

Stewart

[Colin]

I thought the red loco was reexported to Finland to enjoy an active second career in preservation. I well remember seeing the loco on a short section of track in a yard alongside the Arterial Road near Southend some years ago, as I understand it was actually steamed there once and moved under its own power. It certainly looked very well cared for, although the red livery did make it look like a 1:1 scale “Santa Express” to me!

[Johann Marsbar]

This is the one at Fengate Farm, Weeting, seen during the Weeting Traction Engine Rally in 2017.......

 

Hadn't realised, but according to the latest edition of Steam Railway, this one is owned by David Buck, the owner of 61306 "Mayflower". He also has another Finnish loco in his back garden (1016).

[EddieB]

Both 792 and 1151 were moved to a private site in Hertfordshire, where their owner has laid a section of track (visible on Google Earth).  Their exact location cannot be given in a public forum.  For a short time 1151 (the red Tk3) was operated on a track laid beside Ongar station.

 

794 is at the front of Blumson’s timber in Barking (not Enfield).

 

The loco plinthed in the timber yard beside Southbury was Hr1 1016, which is now (as noted above) privately preserved near Windsor.  I don’t think this loco was ever at Ongar (where classmate 1008 was, and still is).  The timber yard at Southbury has since been replaced by housing.  Just a minor point, the Tr1 class are 2-8-2s.

 

It’s not just the UK that “benefitted” from the disposal of the “strategic reserve”.  Last year I came across Vr1 663 plinthed outside a hotel in Brüggen, Germany.

[kernowtim]

There is a video of 1103 being moved, I believe it has nowbeen scrapped! 

 

[Johann Marsbar]

All these locos appeared here in the early 1990's and initially ended up in store in Acton, Near Sudbury, in deepest Suffolk.

 

They certainly held at least  one open day at that site, as we ran a trip in our museums Bedford OB to one that was held on 4th May 1992.

 

The one that is now at Weeting looked in very good condition back then....

 

 

Whilst 1151 was in steam and running up and down a short length of track.....

 

 

[Michael Hodgson]

I saw some Finnish locos, part of the strategic reserve stored on a disused line north of Rovaniemi in the late 1970s (a route that has sometimes been proposed towards Murmansk, obviously now unlikely to happen).  When I first visited the Epping_Ongar Railway a lot of decrepit Russian gauge stock was stored at Ongar on the line parallel to the platform (ie the run-round road) which had been converted to broad gauge.  This meant of course that you couldn't run round at Ongar.  That didn't matter as the service to North Weald was worked by a DMU under Train Staff rules.

 

I asked a volunteer what they proposed to do with the Finnish stock, and  he suggested that when they got the funds to extend to Epping they would probably run standard gauge from Ongar to North Weald, where passengers would change onto a Finnish train ... break of gauge at Epping and at North Weald to Ongar!!!   I  was also given to understand that they did however have a steamable broad gauge engine in the shed, which was isolated from all other tracks; but it was not to open to visitors. 

 

More recently the line has been managed somewhat more logically, although they have unfortunately lost the goods yard which was then in use as a car park.  Lack of car parking at North Weald must make the line lose out on a lot of potential visitor traffic, and motorists are advised to park in Epping and take a heritage bus.

[Grovenor]

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5215594,0.0967002,3a,75y,194.77h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZDQZ7mB_oUEo0Wvl1cZWTw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[melmerby]

On 20/10/2022 at 13:25, Grovenor said:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5215594,0.0967002,3a,75y,194.77h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZDQZ7mB_oUEo0Wvl1cZWTw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Now gone.

 

[Covkid]

I believe Laurie of LMM youtube channel recently did a video on 1016 which has been repainted as a BR liveried 91016 "Lady Patricia".  It was in steam abnd running up and down a length of track paralleling another loco. 

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcJ4NbY1eeg

 

 

[009 micro modeller]

On 02/09/2023 at 17:30, melmerby said:

Now gone.

 

It was definitely still there last November when I saw it:

 

 

 

Does anyone know where it’s gone to? Still appears on Google street view.

[melmerby]

10 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

Still appears on Google street view.

Which is only up to July 2022, It was definitely there later but gone on a recent photo posted on the thread I started in 2016.

[009 micro modeller]

On 04/09/2023 at 09:35, melmerby said:

Which is only up to July 2022, It was definitely there later but gone on a recent photo posted on the thread I started in 2016.

It’s recorded here as being seen at Blumsom’s again on 12th January 2024 (which is where the coordinates stated go to). Can anyone confirm whether it’s returned or otherwise know what happened to it?

[melmerby]

5 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

It’s recorded here as being seen at Blumsom’s again on 12th January 2024 (which is where the coordinates stated go to). Can anyone confirm whether it’s returned or otherwise know what happened to it?

Pedantically It actually says the entry has been amended by "a map was added to the database", it's not the same as saying it was still there.

 

The photo on the other thread has a lorry with a 23(?)  plate outside and the loco is not there.

 

Edited February 18 by melmerby