VR series H2

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VR series H2
The H2 293 locomotive on which Lenin fled Petrograd
The H2 293 locomotive on which Lenin fled Petrograd
Numbering: 1900: 291-300
1901: 322-333
Number: 22nd
Manufacturer: Richmond Locomotive Works , Richmond , USA
Year of construction (s): 1900-1901
Axis formula : 2'C n2
Gauge : 1524 mm
Length over buffers: 14,997 mm
Empty mass: 39.1 t
Service mass: 43.1 t
Top speed: 80/85 km / h
Continuous tensile force: 48.9 kN
(4980 kp)
Driving wheel diameter: 1575 mm
Number of cylinders: 2
Cylinder diameter: 406 mm
Piston stroke: 609 mm
Boiler overpressure: 12.2 bar
Tubular heating surface: 112.8 m²
Water supply: 9.5 m³
Fuel supply: Coal: 7.5 m³,
wood: 5.8 m³

The VR series H2 was a series of wet steam locomotives for passenger transport that was procured by the Finnish state railway company Valtionrautatiet in 1900 and 1901. They were built in two lots at Richmond Locomotive Works in Richmond , USA.

history

Rail traffic in Finland increased significantly in the late 1890s. This increased the mass of trains, especially in passenger traffic. The class A locomotives were too weak for the train performance. Therefore, in 1897, ordered ten larger and more powerful locomotives from Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia because the European locomotive factories were unable to deliver on time. These were given the series designation H1 .

In the following years VR ordered 22 similar locomotives from Richmond Locomotive Works, which were designated as H2 and received the serial numbers 291-300 and 322-333.

Technical specifications

The locomotives of both manufacturers were similar. The service weight of the H1 series was slightly higher, they had an axle mass of 10.5 tons. The tenders had three axles, the first axle was mounted in the frame, the next two formed a bogie . The locomotives had a bar frame . The two cylinders were equipped with flat slide valves.

Over the years they have been the installation of a superheater in steam rebuilt. This modification also required the replacement of the flat valve with piston valve , the reinforcement of the tender and other changes that were necessary to increase the speed.

VR series Hk1

When the VR numbering plan was changed in 1942, the H1 and H2 were combined in one series, the Hk1 , which consisted of American locomotives with the 2'C axle arrangement.

commitment

The locomotives were then in service for almost 40 years in passenger train service and were stationed in Helsinki , St. Petersburg and Vyborg , then in Riihimäki and Karelia and later in other parts of the country. They were popular and fast, but their fuel and lubricant consumption was higher than that of the H3 and H4 , built a little later in Tampere and designed as compound machines. They were used almost exclusively in long-distance traffic up to the commissioning of the H8 series , later then before lighter trains until the mid-1950s when railcars took over their service.

They were used in subordinate services until they were withdrawn and ultimately served as reserve locomotives.

Whereabouts

In 1918, six locomotives remained in Russia , which were bought back seven years later. After the winter war , eight locomotives had to be handed over to the Soviet Union . One remained in the military sector.

Three locomotives were decommissioned in 1936 and 1939, the rest in 1954 to 1959.

The H2 293 , with which Vladimir Ilyich Lenin fled Petrograd in 1917 , was given to the Soviet Union on June 13, 1957 . It was then installed behind glass in the Finnish train station in Leningrad .

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