| Home | Open Account | Help | 399 users online |
|
Member Login
Discussion
Media SharingHostingLibrarySite Info |
European Railroad Discussion > Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04Date: 07/04/26 04:06 Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04 Author: GPutz Oulu is about 400 miles by train north of Turku by rail. I took the 20:05 train from Turku to Tampere where the sleeping car I was in was added to a train from Helsinki to Oulu, arriving about 06:00.
Oulu, 8/14/04 1. Oulu is not a small town. So, I was not surprised by the size of the station. At this time few stations had covers or shelters on the platform(s). 2 & 3. A n/b VR passenger train led by Dr16 #2815 originated here. Only 23 of these 2,000 hp diesel electric with AC traction motors locomotives were built between 1985 and 1992. Only two were still in service in March 2026. They worked their entire careers in the far north. The recently built catenary had not been energized north of Oulu in August, but it would be by the end of 2004. Gerry    Date: 07/04/26 04:08 Re: Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04 Author: GPutz I took the train another 67 miles northeast.
Kemi, 8/14/04 4. A s/b VR passenger train was led by Dr16 #2811. 5. VR Dv12 #2505 shoved cars of pulp logs. 6. At this time Lapin Kulta (Lapland Gold) beer was the #1 beer in Finland. It was brewed in Tornio, 17 miles northeast of Kemi on the border with Sweden. I’ve had quite a few. With gasoline at $6 to $7 a gallon (I have no idea what diesel sold for) shipping beer by train was probably cost-effective. Gerry    Date: 07/04/26 04:10 Re: Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04 Author: GPutz Kemi, 8/14/04
7. A s/b VR passenger train was led by Dr16 #2807. I took it back to Oulu. Oulu, 8/14/04 8. A s/b VR passenger train to Helsinki was led by Sr2 #3207. 9. Another s/b VR passenger train probably for the non-electrified line to Kontinomäki and further south was led by Dr12 #2649. Gerry    Date: 07/04/26 04:12 Re: Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04 Author: GPutz Oulu, 8/14/04
10 – 12. Two n/b VR passenger trains led by Dr16s #2819 and #2822 were about to depart. One train probably went northwest to Tornio and Kolari while the other went northeast to Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi. Gerry    Date: 07/04/26 04:15 Re: Mostly Oulu & Kemi, Finland, 8/14/04 Author: GPutz Oulu, 8/15/04
13. A n/b VR passenger departed with auto carrier cars on the rear. This was probably the next day’s edition of the train I arrive on. 14. The s/b IC2 #50 train to Helsinki was led by Sr2 #3244. I took it as far as Tampere, transferring to a train toward Turku, but detraining at Humppila (See next week’s post). Kempele, 8/15/04 15. Many closed rural stations (this one is about five miles south of Oulu) are very well maintained. References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_locomotives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulu https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Finnish_railroad_network-en.svg Gerry    |