History
The Tk3 was the most built steam Finnish locomotive class over a period of 26 years. The locomotive weighed 51.8 tons, the coal cart 26.4 tons and the Tk3 could pull a weight of 10.5 tons.
Because of its small size with its sturdy performance in combination with a low fuel consumption the Fins called it “Pikku-Jumbo”, Little Jumbo.
161 Tk3 locomotives were built in total by two Finnish manufacturers – Lokomo and Tampella – and one Danish constructor Frichs. 100 locs were built between 1927 and 1930 numbering 800-899. Another 35 were built from 1943 to 1948, 20 by the Danish Frichs company and the last four in 1953. Adding two made by Rauma Railway (originally 1927 and 1935 by Tampella company) makes 161 in total.
VR Class Tk3 Locomotive
Before its name-change the Tk3 locomotive was originally classified as K5 until 1942 thereafter it was classified as Tk3. Tk3 means: “Tavarajunaveturi kevyt”, in English freight locomotive light.
The classification; “VR Class Tk3” is used as well. VR or Valtionrautatiet, is the State Railways, the national Finnish railway company from 1873.
Technical specifications
The Pikku Jumbo has an axle setup of 2-8-0 and a maximum speed of 60 km/h, a gauge of 1524 mm and is 16 meters long. The Tk3 was designed for low axle loads of 10.7 tons.
After the Winter War the Finns were ordered to hand over some of Tk3 locomotives to the Russians but most remained in Finland. Next to their freight duties they were used as commuter trains. Around 35 Tk3 Locomotives are known to exist today (2026) in museums, as monuments and a few are kept running as museum pieces or tourist attractions.
The Tk3 Locomotive in the photos is stationed in the Parola Armour Museum and has number 1106, it was built by Lokomo in 1943 but lacks armor plating usually added in an armored setup.
Sources
- VR Class Tk3 — Grokipedia
- Wikipedia.fi
- www.jaegerplatoon.net
- SA-kuva Photo Archive
