Trams|Scrap metal or valuable history? The fate of Helsinki’s old trams will be decided in the fall.
Two an old Helsinki tram was saved from the scrapyard, one was dismantled. The trolleys had been sent to Rumuttamo in the spring by the owner of the Pääkaupunkiseudu kaupunkiliken oy.
“One out of three managed to be properly processed for recycling. The other two have been moved to temporary storage,” the manager Antti Nousiainen The unit responsible for the management of urban transport assets says.
According to Nousiainen, the fate of the old trolleys has been tried for years. One option explored has been the establishment of a foundation, but no funding has been found for it.
“We have been looking for the last five years [vanhoille ratikoille] all kinds of further investment locations and purposes of use. If you want to keep them, you can’t just place them anywhere,” says Nousiainen.
“They are valuable, and they need to be constantly renovated.”
The trolleys maintenance costs again. They are appreciated among urban transport personnel, but whether taxpayers have to support a hobby-like museum activity from their wallets is another question.
Nousiainen does not want to comment on the question of whether it is right to pay for museum activities from travel ticket revenue, because according to him, the statement would be “interpreted strangely”.
The Helsinki City Museum has under its control 11 carriages from the years 1890–1955. The wagons are not operational, but are treated as museum pieces. The Wagon Museum, located next to the Töölö depot, photographed in 2000.
“Urban traffic has enough challenges to implement tram traffic. We implement the city [poliittisten] the will of the decision-makers”, he formulates.
Councilor Otso Kivekäs (vihr) made a council initiative in May that the city of Helsinki should prepare a model in cooperation with the City Transport and other parties, by which the trolleys could be preserved.
In his initiative, Kivekäs mentions the foundation or the financial support of hobby-based Stadin ratikat oy as alternatives. According to Kivekkää, the preservation of the old trams is not the responsibility of Kaupunkilikenne oy.
“The company’s task is to operate trolleybuses and not to preserve historical equipment. But instead, Helsinki needs to preserve its history,” says Kivekäs.
The trolley that was scrapped was made in Germany and had not been used in passenger traffic. Wagon 339 from 1955 and wagon 12 from 1959 were saved from the scrap yard.
Before Kaupunkilikeumen and Stadin ratikat oy have 11 remaining Helsinki’s historical trolleys that were completed in the 1970s and are in roadworthy condition. In addition, the Helsinki City Museum has 11 carriages from the years 1890–1955, but they are not considered roadworthy.
However, the condition of the current 11 carriages that are still roadworthy will soon be at risk: “After next year, the trolleys will not be able to run when the voltage is increased. Another option is to make changes worth several hundred thousand euros to them,” says Antti Nousiainen.
“But now that [Otso] Kivekäs decided to open such a discussion, let’s see what will be done then.”
Pubiratikka Spårakoff’s home stable is at the Töölö depot.
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