Karia HM V - Names

Names

The nicknames "Keppi-Karia", "keppi-Karjaa", "laihialainen" and "laihian nivel" have been used the HM V trams. Below are some of the explanations that have been offered for these nicknames.

• Keppi-Karia ("stick-Karia") and keppi-Karjaa ("stick-Karjaa")—reportedly after the stick-like controlling device in the trams combined with the name and location of the manufacturer in Karis.
• Laihialainen (roughly "thing from Laihia"), Laihian nivel (joint of Laihia)—in Finnish folklore, the inhabitants of the municipality of Laihia are believed to be extreme misers, while an articulated tram is in Finnish referred to as nivelvaunu, literally "jointed tram". These nicknames are said to refer to the changes made to the trams when they were converted to one-person operations. At the same time they were also refitted with door controllers similar to the newer Nr I type articulated trams, making the HM V units into "a miser's articulated tram". An alternative explanation for the name laihialainen is that the removal of the conductors made them "stripped models" and the nickname was used to describe the lack of conductors.