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The traditional Minkiö Steam festival organized in the last weekend of July was again a great success. This year marked the tenth year for the two day steam event with 2535 people visiting it. The Jokioinen Municipal Days were organized together with Jokioinen steam festival at Jokioinen end of the railway.
This year four out of five operational steam locomotives of Jokioinen Museum railway were in operation. Three locomotives were pulling museum trains between Humppila and Jokioinen and the small H.K. Porter locomotive was pulling the one car park train at the festival grounds in Minkiö.
There were five stationary steam engine in operation; "Ruston" of Mäkilä Tractor Museum from Somero, "Kullervo" of the Finnish Museum of Agriculture from Loimaa, "Paras-Apu" of Mr Juha-Pekka Eeva, Ruston of Mr Kalle Huhtala, and "Kullervo" of Thomas Commondt from Pargas. In operation there was also an old steam ship boiler and a steam fire engine of Turku Area Rescue Services. In addition there were several stationary petrol engines and tractors. People could also try to use a railway hand car and watch a collection of miniature steam engines and Lego trains.
This summer steam trains operate on narrow gauge Humppila-Jokioinen railway every Sunday from the beginning of June until end of August. All the timetables and events of the summer can be found at the Event Calendar.
On the 14 km long Jokioinen Museum railway more than 400 000 trips had been made during the 41 years of museum operation. The railway is one of the most important tourist destinations in South-West Tavastia. The museum railway is fully operated and maintained by volunteers of Museum Railway Association, an association of more tha n 800 members in Finland and aboard.
This operating season there are four steam locomotives in operation from years 1901-1948. There are more than ten passenger carriages in use and a 1911 built passenger coach of Hyinkää-Karkkila railway is just about to be finished after more than 10 years of renovation.
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The traditional Minkiö Steam Festival held during the last weekend of July gathered more than 2700 visitors in hot and sunny weather at Minkiö station. The Museum Railway association is thanking all the participants of the very successful festival. Everybody will for sure remember the hottest steam festival of the summer! Next year we will be celebrating 10 years of Minkiö Steam Festival the last weekend of July!
The festival grounds were open for public on both days from 11 to 17 (ticket sales will closed at 16). On both days there were three steam trains running between Jokioinen and Humppila and a special Porter locomotive hauled festival train on the Minkiö festival grounds. From Jokioinen station there were rides on top of a tractor trailer to Jokioinen estate and the municipal festival of Jokioinen. There was also a very popular free Museum Coach transportation from Forssa buss station to Jokioinen station and Minkiö steam festival on both days.
There were total of four stationary steam engines and four steam locomotives of Jokioinen Museum Railway running on festival grounds. In addition to this there were old agricultural and industrial machines running and on display. For the smaller ones of the family and also for the older there were a garden train and miniature steam engines operated by the youth of Jokioinen museum Railway.
The festival ticket price was 16 euros for adults and 8 euros for children (6 - 16 years). Under 6 year entered for free. The ticket was valid all the weekend and entitled to free rides on board trains running on both days.
Read more about steam festival on the web pages of the Minkiö steam festival at www.hoyryfestivaali.fi.
The train timetables of the day can be found here.
The timetable of free Forssa - Jokioinen bus is here.
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Minkiö is the only place in Finland where you can experience an old time countryside market with real steam trains. The Sunday just in the beginning of July is the time of the traditional Minkiö farmers' market. Thousands of people crowd the market at Minkiö station and ride steam trains to Humppila and Jokioinen. On this Sunday there are two steam trains in operation from morning to late afternoon.
Minkiö is the only place in Finland where you can experience an old time countryside market with real steam trains. The Sunday just in the beginning of July is the time of the traditional Minkiö farmers' market. Thousands of people crowd the market at Minkiö station and ride steam trains to Humppila and Jokioinen. On this Sunday there are two steam trains in operation from morning to late afternoon.
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The traditional train to celebrate the Midsummer's Eve's Eve will be running at Jokioinen Museum Railway again on Thursday 20.6. With the train you can get to the Midsummer party at Enttu dance pavilion. You can take the train from Jokioinen and Humppila directions. Once the train arrives at Kermala halt there is a further transportation on top of open tractor trailers to Enttu pavilion. Timetables and more information is available at the event calendar.
The tradiotiona Old Times Midsummer Part at Enttu pavillion will be celebrated a day before Midsummer's Eve on 19.6.2014 starting at 7 o'clock PM. The program includes games, dance, buffet, lottery, etc. You can get there by train from Jokioinen and Humppila on the narrow gauge Jokioinen Railway. departures from Jokioinen at 18.20, Minkiö at 18.40 and Humppila at 19.20. Return trains from Enttu starting at 22.40 and arriving at Humppila at 22.45, Minkiö at 23.20 and Jokioinen at 23.40. Trains will stop on request at all halts and railway crossings.
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In the coming weekend are the Humppila Days. To celebrate that steam trains will be Running from Humppila Station to Kernmala halt and back. Also the cafe at Humppila station will be open!
In addition to normal scheduled trains there is a special Humppila Day train running between Humppila station and Kermala halt. The first train of the day calls Humppila at 10.27 and the last train will leave Humppila at 16.05. Trip on the special Kermala train costs 5 euros for adults and 2,5 euros for children. You can also take the special train with a normal day ticket of Jokioinen Museum Railway.
It is also posiible to make a longer steam train trip from Humppila to Minkiö or Jokioinen by taking one of the normal scheduled trains.
For more information please check the Event Calendar!
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The scheduled steam train traffic started on Sunday 1.6. The event calendar and timetable of Jokioinen Museum Railway for operating season 2014 is also online. The season started like always with the Minkiö Antique Car Day at Minkiö station on Sunday June 1. There were no long speeches on that day but old and also newer antique cars filling the Minkiö station and old steam trains were running on narrow rails.
The main event of the season is the Minkiö Steam Festival, organized already for the tenth time in 2014. The best steam festival of the summer will be organized the last weekend of July, 26. - 27.7. at Minkiö station. The two day event will have several stationary steam engines, running steam locomotives, stationary agricultural gasoline engines old vehicles and of course the old narrow gauge trains running on the tracks of Jokioinen Museum Railway.
Steam trains running all the summer
In 2014 steam trains are running on the 14 km track between Jokioinen and Humppila on 14 summer Sundays of June, July, and August. In addition there will be the traditional diesel hauled Mid Summer train to Mid Summer part at Enttu dance pavilion in Humppila on Thursday 19.6. and steam trains running on Saturdays 12.7. during Häme Day in Humppila and on 26.7. during Minkiö Steam festival. The operating season will end with the Star Light Train on Saturday 13.9. when several extra trains will run for the Children Country Fair at Jokioinen.
Read more about the events of Jokioinen Museum railway at our event calendar. We reserve the right to change prices, timetables and events, so please check the events regularly.
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The early spring has arrived at the Museum Railway and all the snow has now melted away. Because of this we can declare the hand car rental season open!
You can rent the hand cars for weekend use until mid May. From the mid May you can rent the hand cars every day. Until end of May you have to reserve the hand car beforehand. After the Narrow Gauge Museum opens in the beginning of June you can also rent hand cars directly at Minkiö station. Hand cars are not rented on scheduled operating days or when charter trains are running.
For more information please visit the following page:
http://www.jokioistenmuseorautatie.fi/en/hire-a-hand-trolley.html
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The small electric locomotive of ex Finlayson Forssa Factory built by Siemens-Schuckert Werke in Germany has been this week the star of the RATA 2014 seminar of Finnish Transport Agency in Turku. The locomotive was loaded ontop of a truck at Minkiö on Sunday 19.1. and transported to Logomo conference center in Turku. It was the first time the locomotive was travelling on a road! In Logomo the locomotive was unloaded and then moved on top of small track panels in to the Logomo building in the middle of a stage with a not so swift manouver that took several hours.
Forssa electric railway was an electric railway built for internal traffic of Forssa factories and owned by Forssa-yhtiö (Forssa Comppany), later since 1934 Finlayson Oy. The railway was of a 750 mm narrow gauge and had a direct connection with Jokioinen Railway. The voltage of the overhead wire was 500 volts DC.
The railway had total of two electric locomotives. Operation of electric locomotives ended up already in 1973 when a lightning had ben damaging the newer of the two locomotives.
Both of the locomotives are preserved. The older one, Orenstein & Koppel locomotive (1898, 0-4-0sm) is cosmetically restored and painted yellow. It is on display in a glass box in the front of Forssa Library. The newer one which was damaged by lightning in 1973 (Siemens-Schuckert 1647/1922, 0-4-0sm) is at Jokioinen Museum Railway and this week on display at the RATA 2014 seminar.