Pikku-Pässi was imported to Fiskars from Germany via Krauss factory’s agent in Finland, Axel von Knorring’s Technical Bureau. The order was mentioned in the newspaper Teknikern on March 1, 1891, issue no. 5. The bureau had been established in Helsinki in 1890, and Fiskars was one of its first prominent customers.
Krauss, originally known as Lokomotivfabrik Krauss & Comp., was a renowned German locomotive manufacturer founded in 1866 by Georg Krauss in Munich. The company specialized in steam locomotives, particularly narrow-gauge models, which were used across Europe and beyond. Krauss narrow-gauge steam locomotives were known for their robust design and efficiency.
The steam locomotive, along with a long list of spare parts, was ordered in February 1891. It was shipped from Munich via Lübeck to Finland in July and arrived at Hanko harbor in August, where it was cleared through customs. The locomotive was delivered in parts, which were assembled in Pohjankuru into operational condition under the supervision of the supplier, Axel von Knorring. An agreement had been made that the delivery would reach Fiskars and be covered by the supplier.
The order also included training for the future locomotive driver, machinist Johan Andersson from Helsinki, who had already been hired by Fiskars company. A more convenient package solution was hardly imaginable.
The purchase cost of Pikku-Pässi
The locomotive was a full ½ ton heavier than expected, even after its actual weight increased to 6 tons from the anticipated 3.5 tons, which in turn raised transport and customs fees.
It ended up becoming significantly more expensive than originally estimated, as additional spare parts were ordered directly, including 55 tubes for the locomotive’s steam boiler, a complete set of wheels with axles, rods, bearings, and piston rings for the cylinders, with a total price of 1,640 Finnish marks (2024: approx. 9,000 euros). The total price of the locomotive had originally been estimated at 9,300 marks (2024: approx. 52,000 euros), but the final cost increased by 30% to 12,006 marks (2024: approx. 67,000 euros).
Pikku-Pässi’s wagons
The Krauss locomotive’s rear buffer was similar to the one used by Koppel & Orenstein in their models, allowing the coupling of two common wagon types. The tipping wagons were supplied partly by the engineering firm Lindqvist & C:o in Helsinki and some directly by Koppel (Orenstein & Koppel) in Berlin. They were mainly used during the shipping season, meaning the ice-free period of the year, for transporting coal.
Open freight wagons were also ordered for larger products such as Fiskars plows. These open wagons could easily be converted into passenger wagons with removable roofs, which, according to documents, were regularly used on various occasions. The Fiskars train never had passenger wagons in the true sense of the word. The wagons were 4 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, and had a height from the track of approximately 0.7 meters.
Similar open wagons were advertised in Orenstein & Koppel’s and Aktiebolaget R. Dolberg’s German product catalogs, which arrived in Fiskars on April 5, 1922. At least one new wagon order was placed for Fiskars in the 1920s.
It can thus be concluded that Fiskars ordered the very best materials available on the market, from the most prominent companies in Europe—Orenstein & Koppel, R. Dolberg, and Krauss & Co. These were the largest and most reliable suppliers of narrow-gauge equipment of their time.