Narrow gauge railways in Finland

Lovisa-Wesijärvi Railway (LWR) 2-8-0 steam locomotive number 6 (built in 1909) in running order on Jokioinen Museum Railway, Finland.

The vast majority of Finnish narrow gauge railways were owned and operated by private companies. There are only a few instances where narrow gauge railways were in direct connection with each other, and those interchanges did not last for long. The railways never formed a regional rail traffic network, but were only focused on maintaining connections between the national Russian gauge railway network and the off-line industries.

Some railways were closed due to competition from the roads, others were converted to 1,524 mm (5 ft) Russian gauge.

Common carriers

• The Lovisa-Wesijärvi railway (1900–1960) that operated a 80 km (50 mi) line between Lahti and Loviisa.
• The Hyvinkää–Karkkila railway that operated a 46 km (29 mi) line
• The Jokioinen Railway that operated a 23 km (14.3 mi) line until 1974, being the last common carrier narrow gauge railway in Finland.

Other lines were notably shorter. The common gauges were 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) and 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in), with a few railways built with 785 mm (2 ft 6 ²⁹⁄₃₂ in) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) gauges.

Tourist and heritage lines

Narrow gauge tourist and heritage lines of 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) narrow gauge and 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in) narrow gauge still operate.^[1]

• Jokioinen Museum Railway, 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in), 14 km, Jokioinen-Minkio-Humpilla.
• Nykarleby Jernväg, 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in), 2 km.
• Tankavaara Kultakylä, 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in), opened in 1997.
• Outokummun Kaivosrautatie, 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in), 1.15 km, former copper mine.

Other

• Rokua railway, 900 mm (2 ft 11 ⁷⁄₁₆ in), 3.3 km (2.1 mi), line connecting a hotel with a fitness center.

References