The Rokua railway or Children's Land Railway ( fi, Rokuan rautatie or '), was a longInformation sign regarding the Rokua railway
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narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

operating in the

Rokua The Rokua region, also known as the Rokuanvaara region is a region known for its moraine and dunes. The region covers parts of the municipalities of Muhos, Utajärvi and Vaala in the province of Oulu in Finland. The Rokuanvaara formation was form ...

region in

Utajärvi Utajärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region next to the border of the Kainuu region, and is part of the former province of Oulu. It is from Utajärvi to Oulu and to Kajaani. The municipality has a pop ...

municipality in Finland. The railway was opened in July 1986 and had a gauge of . The line was demolished by Utajärvi municipality in May 2022, when the price of scrap steel was high.''Resiina'' magazine, issue 2/2022, p. 55.

Route

The line connected the Hotel Rokuanhovi with the Rokua Fitness Centre, running through

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

and

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

covered terrain. There were

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

s at both ends of the line, and the passenger carriages had doors on only one side. There were no intermediate stations.

Rolling stock

The train was hauled by a DHL-15 diesel hydraulic locomotive equipped with 37.5-kilowatt Dent engine. The locomotive weighs around five tonnes. The two 24-seat passenger carriages were made by Tuomo Takalo ky of

Nivala Nivala is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geo ...

. After the closure and demolition, the locomotive and one coach was retained as a memorial.

References

External links

Pictures from the Rokua railway
in vaunut.org railway photo gallery * Route {{coord, 64.5937, 26.5080, dim:3500, display=title Former railway lines in Finland 900 mm gauge railways in Finland Utajärvi Railway lines opened in 1986 Railway lines closed in the 2020s Tourist attractions in North Ostrobothnia