New Humppila Station

Here we go through the project to get a new building for the Humppila railway station. The aim is to follow the project untill the building is fully renovated and opened for public later in 2019.

The new Humppila station building was previously Riippa station in Northern Finland.
The new Humppila station building was previously Riippa station in Northern Finland.

Charted by an international railway photograohers group a goods train visited the new Humppila station for the first time on Saturday the 29th of June 2019. The restored station building with the surrounding park, a locomotive firewood shed, a workers hut, and an old railway crane is a prefect surrounding for a steam locomotive hauled freight train.

Mustan höyryveturin vetämä tavarajuna keltaisen puisen semarakennuksen edessä.
The first steam locomotive hauled goods train arrives at Humppila station. Photo: Jyrki Längman 29.6.2019.

The renovation of the station continues through rest of the summer and early autumn with electricity and plumbing work and by installing furniture and acsessories. The aim is to have the café fully functioning by the Santa Claus Train.

Also a second station platform was constructed at the station so there could be two trains at the same time. The new platform will be used for the first time during Minkiö Steam Festival on 27.-28.7. 2019.

On this week history will be made! It will be 25 years since the musuem trains started to operate on newly rebuilt Humppila-Minkiö track on 5.6.1994. The Minkiö-Humppila railway line was dismantaled the years 1975-1993. In addition to this on Sunday 9.6. will be the grand opening of the new Humppila museum railway station and the station park.

A yellow wooden railway station building.
Humppila station has been painted to its original yellow colour. Photo: Marko Laine 3.6.2019.

The renovation of the station building starts to come to end. The station has been painted with original yellow colour, the station park has been remade and the work is going in the station building to make everything ready for Sunday.

Green park with grave alley and a wooden bench.
The newly redone park of the Humppila station. Photo: Marko Laine 3.6.2019.

The last phase on moving the station building was to remove large temporary wooden blocks the station was sitting on top of. This work was done on Friday the 14th of December. The building was raised up corner by corner and the large blocks were replaced with smaller wooden wedges. The final leveling of the building will be done only after winter when the foundation stone blockes have settled.

Wooden station building surrounded by orange tarctors.
The new Humppila station building is lowered of the temporary wooden blocks on to smaller wooden wedges. Photo: Jyrki Längman 14.12.2018.

After all this work the last work to be done was to clean the Humppila railway yard of all the wooden blocks and sleepres and also clean the interior of the station building.

Station building and orange tractors.
Finally the station building is in it final location. Photo: Jyrki Längman 14.12.2018.
A station building on foreground and a work train on background.
The last work was to clean up the Humppila yard. Photo: Jyrki Längman 14.12.2018.

On Thursday the 13th of december it was finally the time to lift the building on top its foundation. There was a second mobile crane called to help the lifting operation and the operation succeeded after a long day.

A station building is resting on a temporary bed built with railway sleepers on top of railway tracks.
The station building is resting on a temporary bed built with railway sleepers on top of railway tracks. The building was lifted there very late in the evening of the 12th of December 2018. Photo: Jyrki Längman 13.12.2018

After the station was on its place some cleaning was started at the site. The return trip back to Minkiö station with the work train was also faster than day before as the TU4 diesel locomotive was pulling the work train.

STone foundation of the station waiting the station to be lifted on.
The foundation of the new station. Photo: Jyrki Längman 13.12.2018.
The station building hangin in the air with two mobile cranes.
Two mobile cranes are lifting the station building on its place. Photo: Jyrki Längman 13.12.2018.
Wooden station building standin on top of its stone foundation.
The new Humppila station building, finally on its stone foundation. Photo: Jyrki Längman 12.12.2018.
A wooden station building with a work train and a green diesel locomotive.
The station is finally there. The TU4 diesel locomotive is wondering the new station building. Photo: Jyrki Längman 13.12.2018.

On Wednesday the 12th of December at 3.05 AM after 12 hours and 15 minutes on the road through snow, sleet, rain, slat and mud the station arrived at Humppila. Also the foundation stones arrived during the same night.

Large stones are used to construct the foundation. Severale men and helping.
The foundation of new Humppila station is slowly coming up. Photo: Jyrki Längman 12.12.2018.

In the morning work started at Humppila. At the same time preparations for carning the station building were going on together with rebuilding the stone foundation of the station. Mr Murphy had played his game with the foundation stones as few of the stones had same number. However after some thinking the right order could be found out and by the time the darkness fell down the foundation was ready just after 5 PM on the same evening.

The station building on top of the transportation trailer.
Riippa station arrives to the site. Photo: Jyrki Längman 12.12.2018.

Before craning the station building a temporary road had to be constructed over the broad gauge tracks. Just when everything was ready for unloading one of the lifting beams bended.

The only solution was to call a break and order a new lifting beam. Finally the station building was lifted on temporary bed built of railway sleepers and also the volunteers of the Jokioinen Museum Railway could take their work train back to Minkiö arriving there just after midnight.

The long voyage of the Riippa station building for Humppila started finally on Tuesday morning the 11th of December. Originally the station was going to leave already two months before, but there were some last minute prpblems with missing construction permits. Finally the permit to remobe the station was received and the date for moving the station was agreed.

It was early morning when the crane arrrived and test lifting of the station building was done. That revealed a surprise as the weight of the station building turned to be 24 tons, instead of expected 10 tons. Luckyly the crane was large enough to handle also the heavier station building.

The station building is hanging in the mid air.
The Riippa station building has left its foundation and is hanging in the mid air. Photo: Jarno Heikkinen 11.12.2018.

For the time of craning the station building the voltage of the overhead lines had to be turned of two times; first for the test lifting and then for loading the station building on the low body trailer. The permit to cut the elecrticity on the South-North main railway line had to be applied for two weeks before.

The station building sits on top of a low body transportation trailer.
Riippa station building sits on top of the transportation trailer. Photo: Jarno Heikkinen 11.12.2018.

Before loading the station building there were some preliminary work done. The roof tiles of the station were removed together with some of the foundation stones to fit in lifting beams.

After the station building was loaded on the trailer and workers had been drinking fairwell coffee offerred by people of the local village the long voyage to south of the station building could start.