In the middle of some old red brick buildings and some new block of flats, in the Tampella residential area, there is a huge, brand new window display. It accommodates an important and heavy (44.3 thousand kilos) piece of the industrial history of Tampere.
The locomotive Pikku-Rusko, Tampella 315,is the first of its kind to be fully manufactured in Finland, in the Tampella factory which was previously situated on the spot. This beauty, Pikku-Rusko, saw the light of day on 25.7.1900. The curiosity is that although the serial number of Pikku-Rusko is 2, it was the first one to be ready for the railways.
Pikku-Rusko retired in the 1960s and was taken back to its place of birth as a museum piece. The locomotive was fully renovated during 2015-2020. After the very careful and time consuming renovation process, Pikku-Rusko has regained its beauty and reminds us of the era of steam locomotives, the beautiful giants, and the rich industrial history of Tampere.
I like to admire this piece of history during the dark, when the this old locomotive wakes up with all its headlights on. Then I can imagine it’s on duty on the national railways in Finland in the beginning of the 20th century.
