Friday 01/01/82
At Nurnberg the New Year was welcomed in with a display of fireworks, then we set off once more into the night on D223 heading for Wien. DB 111 005 was now the power, and it worked through all the way to Wien Westbahnhof. I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep, dossed in one of those nice comfy 6-seater compartments with fluffy orange seats that slid out to give an improved dossing position. A (very) early breakfast in the restaurant car was followed by a punctual arrival in Wien Westbahnhof. I took the free tram 18 across to Wien Sudbahnhof, then had my first taste of OBB motive power as 1042 651 was on D1461 0735 to Budapest Keleti.
Hegyeshalom was the border station between the Western Bloc including Austria and the Eastern Bloc including Hungary, dividing the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hegyeshalom was also as far as the OBB traction was permitted to travel. After negotiating another border crossing – this time all the formalities took place in the train – we set off for Budapest behind my first Hungarian locomotive, V43 1328. These unattractive boxy electric locos worked most passenger services on electrified routes.
Hungary and the Hungarian language were another severe shock to my system. I had just spent a week in German-speaking countries, and with Ken’s help, I had begun to understand a few words and phrases. Nothing could prepare me for the sound and syntax of the Hungarian language, which was completely alien to me. Bewildered doesn’t come close to how utterly lost and confused I felt. Still, I had my trusty Thomas Cook timetable, a rail map of Europe, and a book that needed to have some haulage inscribed in it, so I simply blundered on in confused wide-eyed astonishment.
The MAV station announcements jingle, a descending cadence, followed by a torrent of incomprehensible random syllables! Every station, every announcement. Nowadays it would be called an “earworm”. I wish I could forget it.
From Budapest Keleti I continued east to Vamosgyork, as it had been reported that the Vamosgyork – Gyongyos branch line was still steam worked. V43 1071 powered the 1205 to Miskolc, which I took to Vamosgyork. Alighting there, I was delighted to encounter my first MAV steam loco, 424 345.
The MAV 424 class are 2-8-0 and seemed quite old-fashioned and oddly proportioned to my eyes. I was used to steam locos built to the UK gauge, and over the previous few days I had encountered the handsome German steam locos for the first time. The MAV class 424 was entirely different, with a high-set boiler and a large space between the bottom of the boiler and all the motion and gears beneath. That made it ideal for ease of maintenance, but to me it appeared functional rather than aesthetically pleasing. 424 345 took its 6 coaches the 13km down the branch line to Gyongyos, departing at 1325.
On arrival at Gyongyos I walked forward to examine the loco and was invited onto the footplate – another first for me. I didn’t have a copy of the timetable for this route, so I was just “winging it”. The crew seemed to be preparing to run round the coaches, so I thought I had better alight. They gestured towards me and spoke some more encouraging (?) words in the (incomprehensible to me) Hungarian language, then a little bell rang on the footplate, and the train departed, leaving me behind! Of course they didn’t run round the coaches, why would they? It was a steam-worked push-pull set, with the 424 propelling the stock back down the branch! I hadn’t even considered that possibility.
I settled down for a wait and a lunchtime meal in the station buffet. Gyongyos was (and remains) a famous wine producing region. Even so, I hadn’t expected the station buffet to be dispensing wine in industrial quantities by the ladle at lunchtime. A bowl of hot food and a large ladle full of wine seemed to be the “meal deal”. It certainly helped pass the time until 424 345 put in another appearance. This time I wasn’t going to be fooled. The crew invited me back onto the footplate and I had my first ever steam footplate ride, propelling the 1507 Gyongyos – Vamosgyork the 13km back down the branch to the main line. Quite an unusual way to get a first steam footplate ride!
There was more steam on offer at Vamosgyork, as the 1557 to Ujszasz was worked by class 375 2-6-2T tank engine 375 663. These locos were built over a period of 50+ years, and were ideal for lightly-laid rural lines commonplace in Hungary, where no very high speeds were required. I believe this particular loco dated from the late 1940s. It was a gentle low-speed totter over the branch to Ujszasz as the sun set on the first day of 1982.
From Ujszasz I took V43 1252 the short distance to Szolnok, for V43 1246 on a longer run up to Szerencs in the north eastern corner of the country. Again, it had been reported that class 375s steam locos were still operating the branch from Szerencs to Hidasnemeti, on the Hungarian / Czechoslovakian border. The gen proved to be correct, so I took 375 670 on the 2220 Szerencs – Hidasnemeti, even though it meant I would be stuck at an Eastern Bloc international border station for several hours overnight. I was just thinking I must be mad to even contemplate this when we reached the first station out of Szerencs. As if to confirm my thoughts, the station name was “MAD”.
Unsurprisingly, my arrival at Hidasnemeti did not go unnoticed by the border guards, who were keen to process me for onward transit towards Czechoslovakia by overnight express train. I declined their well-intentioned proposal, showed them my tickets, then dossed down in the waiting room for a few hours to await the first service back to Szerencs …
At Nurnberg the New Year was welcomed in with a display of fireworks, then we set off once more into the night on D223 heading for Wien. DB 111 005 was now the power, and it worked through all the way to Wien Westbahnhof. I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep, dossed in one of those nice comfy 6-seater compartments with fluffy orange seats that slid out to give an improved dossing position. A (very) early breakfast in the restaurant car was followed by a punctual arrival in Wien Westbahnhof. I took the free tram 18 across to Wien Sudbahnhof, then had my first taste of OBB motive power as 1042 651 was on D1461 0735 to Budapest Keleti.
Hegyeshalom was the border station between the Western Bloc including Austria and the Eastern Bloc including Hungary, dividing the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hegyeshalom was also as far as the OBB traction was permitted to travel. After negotiating another border crossing – this time all the formalities took place in the train – we set off for Budapest behind my first Hungarian locomotive, V43 1328. These unattractive boxy electric locos worked most passenger services on electrified routes.
Hungary and the Hungarian language were another severe shock to my system. I had just spent a week in German-speaking countries, and with Ken’s help, I had begun to understand a few words and phrases. Nothing could prepare me for the sound and syntax of the Hungarian language, which was completely alien to me. Bewildered doesn’t come close to how utterly lost and confused I felt. Still, I had my trusty Thomas Cook timetable, a rail map of Europe, and a book that needed to have some haulage inscribed in it, so I simply blundered on in confused wide-eyed astonishment.
The MAV station announcements jingle, a descending cadence, followed by a torrent of incomprehensible random syllables! Every station, every announcement. Nowadays it would be called an “earworm”. I wish I could forget it.
From Budapest Keleti I continued east to Vamosgyork, as it had been reported that the Vamosgyork – Gyongyos branch line was still steam worked. V43 1071 powered the 1205 to Miskolc, which I took to Vamosgyork. Alighting there, I was delighted to encounter my first MAV steam loco, 424 345.
The MAV 424 class are 2-8-0 and seemed quite old-fashioned and oddly proportioned to my eyes. I was used to steam locos built to the UK gauge, and over the previous few days I had encountered the handsome German steam locos for the first time. The MAV class 424 was entirely different, with a high-set boiler and a large space between the bottom of the boiler and all the motion and gears beneath. That made it ideal for ease of maintenance, but to me it appeared functional rather than aesthetically pleasing. 424 345 took its 6 coaches the 13km down the branch line to Gyongyos, departing at 1325.
On arrival at Gyongyos I walked forward to examine the loco and was invited onto the footplate – another first for me. I didn’t have a copy of the timetable for this route, so I was just “winging it”. The crew seemed to be preparing to run round the coaches, so I thought I had better alight. They gestured towards me and spoke some more encouraging (?) words in the (incomprehensible to me) Hungarian language, then a little bell rang on the footplate, and the train departed, leaving me behind! Of course they didn’t run round the coaches, why would they? It was a steam-worked push-pull set, with the 424 propelling the stock back down the branch! I hadn’t even considered that possibility.
I settled down for a wait and a lunchtime meal in the station buffet. Gyongyos was (and remains) a famous wine producing region. Even so, I hadn’t expected the station buffet to be dispensing wine in industrial quantities by the ladle at lunchtime. A bowl of hot food and a large ladle full of wine seemed to be the “meal deal”. It certainly helped pass the time until 424 345 put in another appearance. This time I wasn’t going to be fooled. The crew invited me back onto the footplate and I had my first ever steam footplate ride, propelling the 1507 Gyongyos – Vamosgyork the 13km back down the branch to the main line. Quite an unusual way to get a first steam footplate ride!
There was more steam on offer at Vamosgyork, as the 1557 to Ujszasz was worked by class 375 2-6-2T tank engine 375 663. These locos were built over a period of 50+ years, and were ideal for lightly-laid rural lines commonplace in Hungary, where no very high speeds were required. I believe this particular loco dated from the late 1940s. It was a gentle low-speed totter over the branch to Ujszasz as the sun set on the first day of 1982.
From Ujszasz I took V43 1252 the short distance to Szolnok, for V43 1246 on a longer run up to Szerencs in the north eastern corner of the country. Again, it had been reported that class 375s steam locos were still operating the branch from Szerencs to Hidasnemeti, on the Hungarian / Czechoslovakian border. The gen proved to be correct, so I took 375 670 on the 2220 Szerencs – Hidasnemeti, even though it meant I would be stuck at an Eastern Bloc international border station for several hours overnight. I was just thinking I must be mad to even contemplate this when we reached the first station out of Szerencs. As if to confirm my thoughts, the station name was “MAD”.
Unsurprisingly, my arrival at Hidasnemeti did not go unnoticed by the border guards, who were keen to process me for onward transit towards Czechoslovakia by overnight express train. I declined their well-intentioned proposal, showed them my tickets, then dossed down in the waiting room for a few hours to await the first service back to Szerencs …
) on the 22.05 down.