VR Class Hv1
# VR Class Hv1

The Finnish VR Class Hv1 (original classification 'H8') was a 4-6-0 express passenger train locomotive. 42 were built between 1915 and 1921. They were numbered 545–578 and 648–655.

Because of the increasing weight of trains, around 1910 there was a need for a more powerful passenger train locomotive, and the Finnish State Railways ordered a new design from Tampella and Lokomo. The initial maximum speed was 80 km/h but this was increased to 95 km/h in 1934. Hv1 locomotives were in use on passenger trains throughout Finland for 50 years. The last of these locomotives was withdrawn in 1967.

The very similar locomotive types Hv2 and Hv3 were built later. The Hv2s were almost identical to the Hv1s, while the Hv3s had longer, 4-axle, 2-truck tenders.

## Preservation

Locomotive No. 554 is plinthed in Riihimäki, and No. 575 is located next to the Lokomo factory gate in Tampere. The Finnish Railway Museum has locomotive No. 555 (Tampella No. 264), which was called “Princess”. It was in running order between 1995 and 2000, and is again from 2012 onwards.

## Gallery

* VR Class Hv1 steam locomotive #554 'Heikki' near Riihimäki railway station in Riihimäki
* VR Class Hv1 steam locomotive #554 'Heikki' near Riihimäki railway station in Riihimäki
* Hv1 No 547 heads an express train from Turku to Helsinki over the River Aura bridge in 1958
* Hv1 class No. 575, preserved in front of Metso Lokomo Steels in Hatanpää, Tampere, Finland. This was the first locomotive manufactured by Lokomo and entered service in 1920.
* Class Hv1 No. 575 at Metso Lokomo Steels in Hatanpää, Tampere
* Class Hv1 No. 575 at Metso Lokomo Steels in Hatanpää, Tampere
* A Hv1) steam locomotive at Turku railway station in the 1920s.
* A Live Steam 1:8 scale model of the Hv3 series loco and three wooden coaches. Note the longer, 4-axle tender.
* Photograph of a wrecked VR Class Hv1 in Iittala, 4 March 1940. Taken later at a depot.
