Finnish Steam Locomotive Class F1

Finnish Steam Locomotive Class F1 was a class of tank locomotives, which did not have to be turned at terminal stations. The water tank was located below the space behind the cab, in contrast to more modern tank locomotives where the water tanks usually placed either side of or on top of the boiler.

Finnish Steam Locomotive Class F1
Class F1 No 132 photographed in Jakobstad, Finland. It operated between 1886–1932. It is now preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works Serial number 63–64, 115–116, 132–133 Build date 1885–1898 Total produced 6
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-4RT Gauge 1,524 mm (5 ft) Length 8.6 m (28 ft) Loco weight 26.1 t (25.7 long tons; 28.8 short tons) Water cap. 2 m3 (71 cu ft) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 0.87 m2 (9.4 sq ft) Heating surface 44.9 m2 (483 sq ft)
Performance figures Maximum speed 60 km/h (37 mph)
Career Nicknames “Felix” First run 1885 Withdrawn 1935 Disposition One preserved (No. 132) at the Finnish Railway Museum
information from [1] and [2]

F1 locomotives were used in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Viipuri for local traffic, which they could easily handle. When the local transport in the early 1900s increased, the F1 locomotives proved no longer sufficiently powerful, and they were replaced by more powerful Vk1/I1 locomotives. They were employed moving lightweight mixed trains short distances, a task for which they were well suited. The F1s were withdrawn in the 1930s. The only surviving F1 is the number 132 at the Finnish Railway Museum, which is painted in the livery that was applied as new.