VR Class Hr11
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The VR Class Hr11 was the first class of line-haul diesel locomotives used by Valtionrautatiet (Finnish State Railways). Only five units were built, all delivered by
Valmet Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial operator. Formerly owned by the S ...
in 1955. The
Maybach Maybach (, ) is a German luxury car brand that exists today as a part of Mercedes-Benz. The original company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach, originally as a subsidiary of ''Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH'', and ...
diesel engines used in the locomotives proved highly unreliable, resulting in a complete overhaul of the engine-transmission system in 1956–58, but this did not solve all of the reliability problems. The Hr11 series was withdrawn from service in 1972.


History

VR (Finnish Railways) started a modernization project in the early fifties. VR had a small amount of diesel and gasoline-powered railcars since the 1920s, but in 1952 VR had only steam locomotives. Modern aluminum-carriage diesel powered express multiple units (Dm3 and Dm4) were introduced in 1952. Related to these orders, VR ordered in 1952 five passenger train diesel locomotives with hydraulic transmission from
Valmet Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial operator. Formerly owned by the S ...
Oy, Tampere. The locomotives were delivered in 1955.


Technology

The locomotives had originally two six-cylinder Maybach MD320 diesel engines driving each their own Maybach
Mekydro A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the power ...
K64B hydraulic-mechanical gearbox. The engines and transmission were placed in the bogies. The engine-transmission units proved to be very unreliable, and in 1956–58 a complete overhaul was done. Among other improvements, the engines were fitted with turbochargers, which increased the power from 450 hp to 600 hp, but simultaneously lowered the RPM from 1700 to 1500 r/min. The new engine designation was Maybach MD325. The gearboxes were changed to another type, Mekydro KL64. After the upgrade, the engines were reasonably reliable, but the reliability of the Maybach Mekydros did not improve significantly.


Operation

The locomotives carried a gray livery, with wine-red broad stripes. The gray color and sleek looks earned it the nickname ''Lentävä susi'' (Flying Wolf). They pulled mainly passenger trains between Tampere, Helsinki and Turku. All units were abandoned in 1972.


Preservation

No 1950 is stored at the
Finnish Railway Museum The Finnish Railway Museum ( fi, Suomen Rautatiemuseo) is located in Hyvinkää, Finland. It was founded in 1898 and located in Helsinki. The museum was moved to Hyvinkää in 1974. The museum is on the original station and yard site of the Han ...
.


See also

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Finnish Railway Museum The Finnish Railway Museum ( fi, Suomen Rautatiemuseo) is located in Hyvinkää, Finland. It was founded in 1898 and located in Helsinki. The museum was moved to Hyvinkää in 1974. The museum is on the original station and yard site of the Han ...
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VR Group VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...
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List of Finnish locomotives This is a list of locomotives and multiple units that have been used in Finland. VR Group (privatised in 1995, previously ''Valtionrautatiet'', Finnish state railways) had a monopoly on passenger traffic until 1.1.2021, but is currently the only ...
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List of railway museums A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic equ ...
Worldwide *
Heritage railways A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
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List of heritage railways This list of heritage railways includes heritage railways sorted by country, state, or region. A heritage railway is a preserved or tourist railroad which is run as a tourist attraction, is usually but not always run by volunteers, and often seeks ...
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Restored trains Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles. Trains It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...
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Jokioinen Museum Railway The Jokioinen Museum Railway is located in Jokioinen, Finland. It is located on the last operating commercial narrow gauge railway in Finland, the gauge Jokioinen Railway. The museum was established on February 2, 1978, four years after the di ...
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History of rail transport in Finland :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The history of rail transport in Finland began on January 31, 1862, with the opening of the railway line between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna. By 1900 most of the future mai ...


References


External links

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Finnish Railway Museum
{{Finnish locomotives Hr11 Hr11 Hr11 Railway locomotives introduced in 1955 5 ft gauge locomotives