ARCTIC BLACK BEAUTIES
Above the Arctic Circle in the scandinavian countries of Finland and Norway, the sun never sets during the summer months. But for a Rail Enthusiast, I suppose no holiday can be complete without a peek into the railway relics of the region visited. So, when I went there a couple of years back, I was very excited when I discovered a steam locomotive of 1949 vintage right on the Arctic Circle at the station yard of Rovaniemi, Finland. After witnessing the astounding phenomenon of the Midnight Sun, I was again awestruck, when I found a 135 year old engine in pristine condition, preserved on the platform of the Arctic port city of Narvik, Norway, at a latitude of 68.44 deg. North!
Location: ROVANIEMI Railway Station, Finland
- Loco No. 1147, built by Danish manufacturer, ASFRICHS in Aarhaus (Denmark) and assembled at Hyvinkaa (Finland), in 1949.
- It is a Finnish VR Class, TK-3 steam locomotive, with the manufacturer’s no. 393. It was nicknamed Pikku Jumbo (Little Jumbo)
- It runs on 5 feet (Russian) gauge. Even today, the 5 feet guage exists in Finland
- Wheel arrangement of the locomotive is 2-8-6
- It is 16 metres long and weighs 51.8 tonnes
- It has two cylinders, manufactured by Westinghouse in England, in 1937
- The loco used coal and birchwood as fuel
- Reportedly, this engine was used for freight and slow passenger operations, including marshalling till the 1970s
After witnessing the astounding phenomenon of the Midnight Sun, I was again awestruck, when I found a 135 year old engine in pristine condition, preserved on the platform of the Arctic port city of Narvik, Norway, at a latitude of 68.44 deg. North!
Location: Narvik Railway Station, Norway
- Steam locomotive no. 5, named BIFROST, built in 1882 at Nydqvist and Holm in Trollhatten, Sweden, one of the seven such locos produced
- The name is derived from the Norse (Norwegian) mythological name of the Rainbow Bridge between MIDGARD, ie. the World, and ASGARD, the realm of the Gods
- Wheel arrangement is 4-4-0, with 4 leading wheels and 4 powered, coupled driving wheels
- It runs on standard European Gauge of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches
- It is 7.2 metres in length and weighs 21 tonnes
- This engine was first used at Skane in south Sweden, before its transfer to Narvik in 1900 as the first steam loco of this region
Text and photos: Sanjoy Mookerjee