Pikku-Pässi’s personnel

On Fiskars’ narrow-gauge railway, people worked with both knowledge and skill to keep the train running. The locomotive driver played a central role—he needed to understand the steam boiler’s function and be able to control the locomotive in all situations.

The first locomotive driver was machinist Johan Andersson from Helsinki.

Locomotive drivers in Fiskars were called machine operators, and they were respected professionals who earned the same salary as the master builders and accountants. Their salary ranged between 90 and 120 marks per month, equivalent to approximately 400–500 euros in today’s currency. In addition to the fixed salary, drivers received so-called “wagon money,” amounting to 1 penny for each empty wagon transported and 3 pennies for each loaded wagon. The importance of the locomotive driver’s role was evident, as wagon money continued to be paid until 1915.

Training and Experience

Becoming a locomotive driver required a long training process. It began in the machine workshop—so too in Fiskars—where workers learned the construction and maintenance of steam boilers in detail. After that, they worked as firemen (stoker) for several years.

Each locomotive also had a switchman, often a young boy known as a switchboy. He efficiently handled track switches, coupled wagons, applied brakes, and monitored the water level in the steam boiler. During periods of heavy traffic, more experienced switchmen, such as Urpo Helminen and Lauri Heino, sometimes took over as drivers when the regular operators needed a break. Their work was demanding and risky—one mistake could lead to serious consequences.

The railway also required a maintenance team to keep the tracks in good condition. Every year, between 500 and 1,000 railway sleepers were replaced, representing about 5–10 percent of the total need. Additionally, all culverts along the tracks were built according to the American wooden model at the time, creating a constant need for maintenance and replacement.

The steam boiler was inspected annually, and all practical work necessary to keep traffic running was carried out by these workers.

Everyday Life with Pikku-Pässi

In the 1950s, Pikku-Pässi operated six days a week. With its rhythmically clanking wheels, the locomotive transported raw materials from Pohjankuru Harbor to the Rolling Mill and returned with finished products to the harbor. The workday began early, at seven in the morning, and continued until four in the afternoon, with a well-earned one-hour lunch break.

During the break, workers gathered by the tracks to enjoy their packed meals—sandwiches, eggs, coffee, and milk. When Pikku-Pässi operated in Åminnefors, lunch breaks became more than a moment of rest for young switchboys; they were a chance to compete and test their strength against each other. Locomotives were placed head-to-head in a show of force, where the strongest managed to push the other away. On Sundays, instead of resting, the workers sometimes had to clean the steam boiler. Once the locomotive had cooled down, water was drained from the boiler, and the tubes inside were cleaned.

Pikku-Pässi’s Locomotive Drivers and Maintenance Team

Andström and Nyman were married to half-sisters Selma Irene Lindholm (born 1.4.1886 in Fiskars – died 8.8.1982) and Hilma Maria Bernström (born 29.10.1880 – died 10.1.1969). Their brother Karl August Lindholm (born 3.4.1884 in Fiskars) also worked with Pikku-Pässi.

Väinö Saarinen, Pikku-Pässi’s last locomotive driver in Fiskars, was first hired as a filer in the Plow Workshop at age 15. He later worked as Pikku-Pässi’s driver for 25 years, the last 15 as a full-time operator. The local newspaper Västra Nyland (24.12.1948, no. 296, p. 2) described him as “always conscientious and ensuring the traffic ran smoothly to everyone’s satisfaction.”

Other Personnel Who Worked on the Locomotive or Tracks

Urpo Helminen – hired in Fiskars in 1928, long-time member of Fiskars’ fire brigade

Lauri Heino – born in 1923 or 1924, active FIF athlete

Arthur Åkerfelt – born in Pohja on 31.10.1888, fled to the USA after the Pikku-Pässi accident in 1912, died in Chicago on 25.8.1934 at the age of 45

Karl August Lindholm – born in Fiskars on 3.4.1884

Johan Albert Nässling – born in Kisko, 24.9.1862 – died 18.1.1932 at the age of 69

Nestor Pihlgren, Rainer Friman, Valter Nyman, mr. Masalin, Rainer Westerlund

Pikku-Pässi’s Last Switchboy

In 1952, Pikku-Pässi traveled through Fiskars for the last time, but its journey was not over yet. The locomotive was assigned a new role at the Rolling Mill in Åminnefors, where it served for another six years. Lauri Suutari along with a few others took the controls, while the young Rainer Westerlund stepped in as the switchboy—the last in a long tradition of young workers learning their trade along the tracks.

Rainer was only 14 years old when he took on the responsibility of handling switches, coupling wagons, and working on the steam locomotive. The task was far from easy. Quick hands, sharp eyes, and a keen sense of balance were necessary to ensure everything ran smoothly. A mistake could be dangerous, and the locomotive demanded both respect and precision.

Rainer Westerlund, in 2017

When rail traffic finally ceased in 1958, it seemed that Pikku-Pässi had reached its final destination—a scrap heap at the rolling mill in Åminnefors. But the locomotive’s story was not over yet. Thanks to Fiskars’ heritage association, it was saved and given a new home—not to transport goods this time, but to carry its own history forward as a monument in Fiskars, where it stood as a silent witness to past workdays and trackside competitions until 2016.