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Collections
The collections of the Finnish Railway Museum consists of various railway items, photos and drawings and there are more than 20000 items. A small part of these items can be admired in the basic exhibition which was redesigned for the celebrations of the museum's 100th anniversary in 1998. One of the most exclusive items in the collection are the historical passenger coaches of the Russian Czar. The imperial train was built in the 1870's to be used while the Czar visited Finland and travelled by train. Finnish Railway Museum's train is the only surviving Russian imperial train in the world. The trains that were in Russia after the revolution of 1918, were all destroyed. Originally the train consisted of six coaches, but only three of them have survived: the Empreror's coach, the Empresses coach and a saloon coach. Museum has also 25 steam locomotives of which 14 are on display in museum. The oldest of the locomotives, B1 no. 9, is the oldest still existing steam locomotive in Finland and was built in England in 1868. The oldest Finnish built locomotive is A5 series locomotive number 58 dating back to 1875. The most recent addition to the locomotive collection, is diesel-electric express train locomotive Dr13. The unit in the museum was built in 1965 and has been fully restaured and is in fully operational condition. Museum's photo archives consists of more than 150.000 photos. The library has over 10.000 books. Both the library and the photo archives are open for researchers by appointment only. Rolling Stock Jetons Imperial Train
Rolling Stock Visit our Gallery of Rolling Stock to learn more about Finnish railway vehicles.   Locomotives Passenger train locomotive A5 no. 58 Shunting locomotive B1 no. 9 Freight train locomotove C1 no. 21 Freight train locomotive C5 no. 110 Rail car Dm7 nro 4020 Diesel-electric general purpose locomotive Dr13 no. 2349 Rail car Ds1 Passenger train locomotive F1 no. 132 Light freight train locomotive G1 no. 124 Diesel-hydraulic general purpose locomotive Hr12 nro 2241 Passenger train locomotive Hv1 no. 555 Commuter train locomotive I3 no. 489 Small shunting locomotive Otso 2 Passenger train locomotive Pr1 no. 776 Narrow gaige locomotive Rro 2 Mixed train locomotive Sk3 no. 400 Heavy freight locomotive Tr1 no. 1033, Risto Heavy freight locomotive Tr2 no. 1319, Truman Diesel locomotive Vk11 no. 101 Shunting locomotive Vr1 no. 669   Coaches and Goods Wagons Presidential coach A 30 Combined 1st and 2nd class coach C no. 80 Second class coach D no. 242 Third class coach E no. 857 Goods wagon G no. 4033 Goods wagon Gd no. 38'965 Baggage wagon Ge no. 3845 Postal wagon P no. 9950   Other Rolling Stock Motorised rail bike Tre-Rto 9 Rail tractor Trr no. 378, Kisko-Kalle Rail car Fiat Rail car Cadillac   Trains Russian Imperial Train   Rolling Stock Gallery
Jetons One of the most remarkable treasures in the museum's collections is a rare collection of jetons. It was donated to the museum in 1900 by baroness Sophie Stjernvall and it belonged to her late husband, Baron Knut Stjernvall, who was one of the early railway founders in Finland. The donated collection consists of 52 jetons and most of them are of Russian origin.   Jetons are coin-like personal medals produced to celebrate the opening of a new railway line. Bearer of a jeton was entitled to free travel in the railway line in question. Normally the jetons were awarded to the highest ranking railway civil servants and certain engineers that were part of the railway line building team. Typically a jeton was decorated with a subject related to the railway line and the other side of the jeton contained either the name or the initials of the bearer.   Railway jetons were common in Russia and from there, found their to Finland. Originally jetons were French military medals, later adopted by the Russian military and finally the railways in Russia. In Finland, the last jetons were issued in 1926. After that date, the jetons were replaced by medals.   The diameter of jetons was between two and five centimeters (0.8 - 2 incehes) and the material was gold, silver with colourful vitreous enamel decorations. Some of the Russian jetons combined other functions like an integrated pen, compass or even a cigar cutter. Some jetons in the Finnis Railway Museum's jeton collection are manufactured by the famous jeweler, Fabergé in St. Petersburg.   Currently the jeton collection of the Finnish Railway Museum contains over 150 jetons, of which about 100 are of Finnish origin. The jeton collection is unique in the world. The collection is not normally on display in the museum and the last time was In October 2002, when part of the collection was on display for one day.
Imperial Train The highlight of the collections is the special train built for the Russian Emperor. The train was built for the Emperor's and Grand Duke's of Finland trips to Finland, an autonomic part of Russia at the time. The train consists of three wagons, Emperor's car, Empress's car and the lounge car. The three wagons are the only remaining Russian Imperial train cars in the world.   The decision to acquire imperial wagons was made in 1869, at the time of building of the railway line Riihimäki - St. Petersburg. The Emperor, Alexander the II, had already imperial wagons in other parts of the country and it was considered necessary to have such rolling stock for Finland also. The railway line connecting Finland to St. Petersburg was opened in 1870, but it was not until 1913 when the railway networks of the two countries were finally connected when the bridge over Neva-river was finished.   Originally the Imperial train consisted of six wagons. However, train's dining car, kitchen unit car and the heating car did not survive to our days. The oldest cat of the train is the Emperor's car which was built in Germany in 1870. The interior of the car was decorated with luxury materials. The walls and the furniture of the reception area of the car were covered with dark green leather, the ceiling is decorated with silk. Wooden decorations are made of American walnut tree and the carpeting is of wool plush.   The Empresses' car and the lounge car were built in 1870's in the Finnish Railway's repair shop in Helsinki. The decoration of the Empresses' car is blue silk and the lounge car and it's furniture are decorated with red silk. The outside of all the three cars was painted dark blue and decorated with golded imperial emblems. The cars were later modified and improved in many parts like in the heating system, illumination and the toilets.   The Imperial cars survived mainly for two reasons. They were built by the Finnish Railways and kept from 1914 in Kaipiainen train shed instead of earlier storage site in St. Petersburg. If the train had been left in town, it would have most certainly been destroyed during the Russian revolution in 1917 like happened to all other imperial trains in Russia.