VR plans to divest entire collection of museum vehicles across Finland

VR, the Finnish state-owned railway company, plans to divest its entire collection of museum vehicles. According to the company, it has over a hundred items, including locomotives and carriages, dispersed across the country. Janne Runsamo, VR’s finance and risk management director, stated that ownership of these vehicles is intended to be transferred to their current custodians.

Last summer, VR assessed the condition and location of its museum collection, but some items were overlooked, including a locomotive that currently stands on land owned by Seppo Lampinen’s company in Keuruun Haapamäki. The locomotive has been there for over a decade, yet there are no records regarding its ownership in property documents. A purchase agreement found by Yle indicates that movable assets were not included in the sale of the station to Lampinen’s company 11 years ago.

Lampinen claims that he hasn’t heard from the locomotive’s owner in the past 11 years and feels justified in treating the locomotive as his own. He has not sought clarification on the locomotive’s origin or ownership from VR or the Finnish Railway Museum, but museum director Tiina Lehtinen quickly identified the locomotive’s history, noting it was transferred to the Haapamäki village association in 1981 while still under VR’s ownership.

Runsamo confirmed that the majority of VR’s museum collection is provisionally held in museums or associations, with the company striving to transfer ownership. He expressed a desire for Lampinen to contact VR directly to resolve any ownership issues regarding the locomotive. Moreover, the ownership of such vehicles could potentially be assigned to private individuals on a case-by-case basis.