Eskola village

Eskola house (Eskola-talo), Koulutie 3 / Locomotive shed (Veturitalli), Eskola village hall, Pinolankatu 1 / Heritage centre (Perinnekeskus) 63.9079N 24.1731E Kannus

Along with the forest railroad, the area around the Eskola railway station gradually became a lively and multifaceted working and residential area. The timber brought from back forests to the station was loaded directly to VR wagons, or chopped wood was piled temporarily into huge shelters to wait for later loading. In addition to the locomotive shed, the railway station yard comprised an office building, a reparation workshop, a coal shed, a firewood shed, store sheds and staff’s residential buildings. The Kujala café was an important rest stop.

A building for drying cones, a nursery garden, a woodchip factory and a sawmill were also built near the station area. The cone-drying building provided seeds that were planted in the forests of Metsähallitus. The nursery garden, whose water tower still exists, produced pine and spruce seedlings for the needs of forestry areas. The chips of the woodchip factory were used as fuel in cars, especially during the Continuation War. The sawmill prepared timber mainly for the needs of workers’ cabins, stables and other buildings.

Accidents could not be avoided either. A locomotive could hit a car or fall off the forest railroad anywhere, and there were fires as well. For example, the Eskola station yard and village were threatened in August 1955 when firewood shelters caught fire. The fire area was large and threatening, but thanks to the hard work of several fire brigades, they were able to restrict and finally extinguish the fire. More than 7,000 cubic meters of firewood burned, but a more serious catastrophe was avoided.

Stories

“The locomotive shed was my favourite place. It was black and dim there, and I always found some locomotive where I could examine the mechanics and compare with other locomotives. Number 1 and Number 2 were of similar size, as far as I can remember. Number 2 was used the most. Number 3 was bigger and made in Finland. The biggest of them was Ranko.” (Email interviews with Seppo Paavola 2015, Eskolan Metsärata)

“Firewood shelters were also built later. There the goal was eight firewood wagons by five men. The firewood was fresh, so it was hard work. The shelters usually consisted of five piles and were 20 meters long, (…) but some also comprised seven piles and were longer than 20 meters.” (Eero Ojakangas reminiscing, around 1995, Eskolan Metsärata)

“I need some orientation with the working phases that follow roadbed draining. In addition to draining work and the clearance of the railway route, various other tasks are going on at the same time: gravelling the railway embankment, placing the sleepers and rails; constructing the locomotive shed, workshop and residential building; building workers’ cabins along the railroad, acquiring the stock, and planning and starting the felling. (…)The railroad already extends to faraway state forests. Firewood cutting is urgent just to ensure fuel for our own locomotives, and we should be able to transport goods further. The railroad should be profitable!” (Ojakangas: Aurinkomutka 2005)

“The locomotive is smoking. I don’t quite trust it and its staying on the rails, and I always try to keep a distance between it and myself. There’s no harm in being wise with machines. They say that the steam from hot water makes the locomotive move. Let them say what they believe. I do not believe. If hot water could make iron move, I’m sure all iron and coffee pots would glide to Russia or Sweden as well. They would glide! (…) The gentry try to make us believe anything. They’re in alliance with the Devil. The Devil!” (Ojakangas: Aurinkomutka 2005)