Class C1 - Bristollari (Locobase 5609)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003)--a later version of this data appears at the Suomi Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry website at [] (last accessed 11 August 2013); and Eljas Polho- Pekka Honkanen, Hoyryveturit Valtionrautateilla (The Steam Locomotives of the Finnish State Railways), Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry (Finnish Railway History Society) 1967-2017. Publishing information supplied by Teemu Koivumaki in a 24 January 2022 email as part of an indispensable series of emails concerning Finnish locomotives. Works numbers were 1427-1436 in 1869.

These were the first of a standard freight-locomotive wheel arrangement in Finnish service. See 5610 for Avonside's variation on the theme.

Translation by Tuulikki Heidik (June 2003) confirms that these were the first freight locomotives. They originally were fitted with screw brakes, later with "steam" (possibly vacuum) brakes and still later with air brakes. Operated in a variety of services including mixed passenger-freight, the class served Helsinki, Riihimaki, Turku, & St Petersburg in Russia.

With the exception

When freight trains grew too large for these engines, they successfully converted to switching duties. Most were put out of service and withdrawn throughout the 1920s with the lead engine -- 21 -- being preserved for the Railroad Museum.

Class C2 - Bristollari (Locobase 5610)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003); and Eljas Polho- Pekka Honkanen, Hoyryveturit Valtionrautateilla (The Steam Locomotives of the Finnish State Railways), Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry (Finnish Railway History Society) 1967-2017. Publishing information supplied by Teemu Koivumaki in a 24 January 2022 email as part of an indispensable series of emails concerning Finnish locomotives. Works numbers were 760-772 in 1869, 998-1000 in 1873, and 1001-1002 in 1874.

Although similar in boiler size to the C1s from Neilson and using the same boiler pressure, these Avonsides weighed about two long tons less.

Except for 33, 36, and 49--which went out of service in 1918--the C2s began leaving service in 1926 with the class leader #31 going last in July 1929.

Class C3 (Locobase 5611)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003); and Eljas Polho- Pekka Honkanen, Hoyryveturit Valtionrautateilla (The Steam Locomotives of the Finnish State Railways), Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry (Finnish Railway History Society) 1967-2017, p. 215. Publishing information supplied by Teemu Koivumaki in a 24 January 2022 email as part of an indispensable series of emails concerning Finnish locomotives. Works numbers were 247-248 in 1872.

Compared to the contemporary C1, C2, and C4s, this duo (named Antoinette and Helsingfors) were much bigger engines delivered to the private builder. Polho and Honkanen reported that this pair were diverted from a large order of 29 locomotives produced by BMAG (road numbers 131-159) for the Kiev-Brest Railway. (See Locobase 21023.)

A later pair filled the void opened by the HH engines and took road numbers 160-161.

Class C4 (Locobase 5612)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003); and Eljas Polho- Pekka Honkanen, Hoyryveturit Valtionrautateilla (The Steam Locomotives of the Finnish State Railways), Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry (Finnish Railway History Society) 1967-2017, p. 215. Publishing information supplied by Teemu Koivumaki in a 24 January 2022 email as part of an indispensable series of emails concerning Finnish locomotives. Works numbers were 2208-2219 in 1875.

In terms of their principal areas and dimensions, these Austrian-built locomotives repeated the C2 design built by Avonside and described in Locobase 5610.

Apparently satisfied with the two sizes of six-coupled locomotives, the railways operated them for over 40 years. Three were placed out of service in 1918 (81, 83, 89). The other nine were retired from September 1923 (88) and May 1928 (79).

Class C5 - Bliksti (Locobase 5613)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003); and Eljas Polho- Pekka Honkanen, Hoyryveturit Valtionrautateilla (The Steam Locomotives of the Finnish State Railways), Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura Ry (Finnish Railway History Society) 1967-2017, p. 215. Publishing information supplied by Teemu Koivumaki in a 24 January 2022 email as part of an indispensable series of emails concerning Finnish locomotives. Works numbers were 1468-1473 in 1881, 1474-1479 and 1509-1510 in 1883.

Smaller 6-coupled than earlier Finnish engines, but pressed to a higher point and fitted with more cylinder volume. That combined with smaller drivers yielded a significant jump in TE.

Class L1 / Vr1 (Locobase 5647)

Data from Markku Karvonen's personal.inet.fi/koti/markku.karvonen/prk/vanha3.htm (visited 29 March 2003).

Tampella delivered the first of these (530-535) in 1913 and 536-544 in 1914. The 1921 order was split between Tampella (656-660) and Hannover (661-665). Hannover supplied all of the 1923 batch (666-670). The class was finished off in 1925 (794-799) and 1927 (787-793) by Tampella.

The last of this class was retired in the 1970s.