Hungary August 2014

This is an extract from a multi-country report to read the full report use the following link:

Multi Trip Switzerland – Slovenia – Croatia – Hungary – Germany August 2014

This trip was a week specifically to do Slovenia & Hungary:

Having been bowled for doing Slovenia earlier in the year when the storms hit and damaged the wires, which resulted in the Citadella not running, the opportunity to go arose and with even more on offer than usual it would have been rude not to take it while it was there. A nice move fell into place, which involved overnights into Slovenia from Germany, after flying into Switzerland, and out of Slovenia to Hungary, and from there to Berlin where I flew home from. With all the strange things happening in Hungary over the summer timetable it seemed like a safe bet to do something different and there was still plenty on offer and having kept an eye on things leading up to the trip I was even changing my plans/hotels only a few days before heading out.

Flights

Booked through British Airways

BA8763 0700 LondonCity – Zurich £78.69

BA0985 1710 Berlin Tegel – Heathrow £43.69

Hotels

Hungary

Gyor – Ibis Gyor, Szt Istvanut 10b, Gyor 9021, Gyor (€41.61 for a single room for 1 night, excluding tourist tax of HUF300) – Out of Gyor station to the main road, turn right and it’s a 5 minute walk down the road on the right. A pretty standard Ibis with the usual room layout so at least you know what you’re getting. Free WiFi was offered throughout the hotel.

Train Tickets

Booked through EU Rail

5 in 10 Day Global Inter Rail – £234

3 Day Slovenia One Country Inter Rail – £68

Reservations booked thorough Deutsche Bahn UK

EN499 2340 Munich HB – Ljubljana – €33 for a single bed in a two berth sleeper

IC1604 2128 Pivka – Zalaegerszeg – €30 for a single bed in a two berth sleeper

EN476 2005 Budapest Keleti – Berlin HB – €39 for a single bed in a two berth cabin

Saturday 16^th August 2014 (Yo-yoing at Tapolca)

Having not had a great deal of doss on this trip at all I was less than impressed that we were about 40 late into Maribor; which lost me more doss while I only dare doze to make sure I got the 664 that backed on when we arrived. Thankfully it was sat in the adjacent platform waiting when we pulled in and 664109 then shunted us from one platform to the other before departing. Luckily the earplugs kept the noise from 664109 out, as we were second from the engine upon departure from Maribor, where we departed about 15 late.

My sleep was rudely interrupted again by the 0415 alarm going off for the 0431 arrival into Zalaegerszeg. We were only just departing Hodos though, still 15-20 late which resulted in me missing the 0440 Zalaegerszeg – Celldomolk; which I’d planned to do and have a spin between Celldomolk and Boba. While festering in the waiting area, which was a lot warmer than on the platform, at 0520 I realised I could do IC959 0524 Zalaegerszeg – Budapest Deli to Ajka, which went round Boba avoider, for the same train I’d make at Boba off the 0603 ex Zalaeherszeg. The stupid thing about that was that the stock off IC1247 0200 Maribor – Zalaegerszeg is attached to IC959 to go forward to Budapest so I could have actually stayed in my sleeper berth and managed about 2 hours extra doss; definitely a doh! Moment. 433187 had worked IC1247 into Zalaegerszeg and 431078 had immediately back IC959’s normal coaches onto the stock from it.

When 431154 arrived into Boba 433187 was already there with the 0603 Zalaegerszeg – Boba, about to back its stock onto the Budapest bound train in the opposite platform, headed by GySev’s 430323. Correct move played all round there with 433187 producing; it just wasn’t worked out in time to accumulate more doss!

The plan for the day was centred around doing the M61 on the Summer Budapest – Tapolca turn and in the process yo-yoing up and down Lake Balaton between Tapolca and Revfulop nedding in M41’s. I’d like to say the day started quite promisingly when 418197 arrived into Celldomolk with 18807 0642 Szombthely – Kaposvar, as the 418/1’s are supposed to be better than the 2’s and 3’s, but it didn’t and 418197 was just as crap as the rest of the M41’s; it barely even rattled under full power!

I bailed off at Sumeg to do what turned out to be 418306 behind on 19607 0725 Szombathely – Budapest Deli forward to Tapolca, where I found 418313 waiting in the platform with the next Budapest Deli train, 9707 0940 ex Tapolca and shortly before it left 418305 connected into it as it passed through with 19809 0711 Gyor – Keszthely; and then the yo-yoing began….

There isn’t much in the way of food at Tapolca, with a café outside the station and a stall near the booking office selling fresh pastries. Thankfully the woman doing the selling returned before the 0940 Budapest departed and I loaded up on pastries for breakfast!

It was a nice clear morning and during my morning moves to/from Revfulop people were already setting themselves up on the lake’s edge and plenty more folk were using the trains to get about to the spot they wanted to get to. It looked like Badacsony was the place to be at the Tapolca end of the north shore of Lake Balaton.

I’d worked a move out to get all but one of the M41 turns in on the Budapest – Tapolca turns which included getting the M61 in on its way into Tapolca and then doing it back out of Tapolca on the 1540 towards Budapest. Al the diagrams seemed to stick to plan except Day 4 & Day 8 with 418320 working 8802 0901 Kaposvar – Tapolca (Day 4) then 9705 1340 Tapolca – Budapest Deli (Day 8) and 418324 working 9702 0905 Budapest Deli – Tapolca (Day 8) then 16906 1256 Tapolca – Zahony.

The sun was glorious when M61 2761017 arrived into Revfulop with a buffet right behind the engine and plenty of heads hanging out of the window; most of which seemed to be Hungarian cranks with a few English accents thrown in. My status of never having had Nohab kept me out of the front coach, respect where it’ due and all that, but I have to say I was massively disappointed when the M61 set off, when bellowing from the front of the 2^nd coach. It made hardly any noise at all and I’d go so far as to say that some M41s were louder; and my conclusion wasn’t because I’d been having loud GM’s in Slovenia either, it was based on the facts coming into my ears at the time. I can’t dispute the fact that the thing looked good in the glorious sunshine but just because an engine looks good doesn’t make it rateable at all; for me it’s the noise it makes that counts and there wasn’t much being emitted from 2761017. I have to say it smelt good though…

Yo-yoing complete by 1505 at Tapolca I was loaded up into the buffet car at the front of the train for the run back towards Budapest. I’d had to move a load of folks out of the way of the before boarding to enable photos to be taken. It seemed these folk were involved with the engine and should have better than to get in the way of a cranks photo; still they moved when asked politely to do so, so I wasn’t complaining. Not until the hordes of people came off a connecting train and the sun went in!

My opinion of Nohabs wasn’t changed at all on the run back to Szekesfehervar; in fact I was that disappointed I was discussing the fact with someone back home via text, when not falling asleep; the latter being literally not due to the lack of thrash. We’d been a little over 10 late before Balatonfured but the amount of people getting on/off there prevented us picking much time up in the booked 7 minute fester and I only just made the 1730 Budapest Deli – Nagykanizsa at Szekesfehervar; no thanks to the almighty stagger that it is into the station there.

I’d intended to go to Siofok to do 1988 1913 Siofok – Gyor throughout but as we were 5 late at Lepseny I bailed out for the safer move of the 1919 from Lepseny back into Gyor for a plus hour there vice the plus 13 at Siofok.

The mapper had shown 408203 on 1987 0658 Gyor – Siofok in the morning, with 431125 working forward to Siofok. I’d wanted to cover 1988 just in case it produced a 630 vice 431. I’d seen 630019 on the mapper with 1987 the previous week and there had been other reports of a 630 on the turn but if it was a 630 I wasn’t going to be having it as the train’s last stop before Szekesfehervar was the stop before Lepsany, Siofok side, and there was no way of getting to it.

I was beginning to think I was going to be royally shit out when the 1919 to Budapest hadn’t turned up 20 minutes after it should have gone as in theory 1988 should have been through Lepseny about 5 minutes later. Thankfully it wasn’t and when 851 1650 Nagykanizsa – Budapest Deli departed 30 late with 480013 I was a relieved man. Not that I’d have missed 1988 at Szekesfehervar at 30 late as it was booked to sit there 21 minutes while it was re-engined, but still I’d already worked out a back-up to get me to Gyor just in case; via Kelenfold! Ironically the back-up, which was EN463 Budapest Keleti – Munich with 470007, overtook us on the approach to Gyor and arrived first!

At Szekesfehervar chaos seemed to have descended on the place with people missing trains all over the place. These were all connections they should have made, despite arriving on late trains though. The complete and utter lack of electronic displays at Szekesfehervar and the fact that trains weren’t arriving on their correct platforms are to blame. Even the fact that a guard, clearly waiting for his allocated train, didn’t have a clue where trains were going from meant people missed their trains. I only knew that mine hadn’t arrived at that point due to the fact that 408203 was sat around the back of the station waiting its arrival.

When 1988 departed for Gyor, 10 late, I struggled to understand why the train actually ran in the first place as there couldn’t have been more than a dozen people on it on departure from Szekesfehervar and I had the whole front coach to myself for the majority of the way. I’d hoped that 408203 might save the day in the thrash stakes but I was so wrong; it was worse than the quieter M41’s, topping off what was in essence a very quiet day indeed on the thrash stakes.

I spent most of the journey to Gyor getting my crap in order and up to date, which passed the journey nicely. At Gyor it was a short walk down the road (out of the station to the main road and turn right) to the Ibis Gyor. I was checked in quickly and the much needed relaxation that a proper bed offered, for more than 5 hours, was bliss!

The Moves

Gen for Saturday 16^th August 2014

MAV 418’s (by diagram day as per Szekesfehervar 418-3 Summer diagrams)

418328 – Day 1, 418327 – Day 2, 418332 – Day 3, 418320 – Day 4 (then onto Day 8 at Tapolca), 418306 – Day 5, 418313 – Day 6, 418330 – Day 7 (except 19703 as worked by the Nohab), 418324 – Day 8 (then onto Day 4 at Tapolca)

Note Day’s 4 & 8 swapped over at Tapolca 418320 arrived on 8802 (Day 4) then worked 9705 (Day 8) and 418324 arrived on 9702 (Day 8) and departed on 16906 (Day 4)

Other

418305 19809 0711 Gyor – Keszthely

430323 (GySev) 909 0605 Szombathely – Budapest Deli

433187 9509 0603 Zalaegerszeg – Boba (after working into Zalaegerszeg with IC1247 from Hodos)

The Photos

Sunday 17^th August 2014 (Best laid plans…..)

I was up at 0600, which was a lay-in compared to previous morning alarm calls on this trip, and walking to the station by 0640, feeling a lot fresher than I had when I walked into the Ibis some 8 hours previous.

I only had 4 plans to choose from on this particular morning, plan A had been to do the 0658 Gyor – Siofok if it had been an M62 but unfortunately there was no luck on that front, despite there having been during the previous week. Plan B had been to do an IC move out and back on the GySev 651s but the previous day’s lack of thrash put me off going for yet more overrated engines that didn’t make much noise so it was a toss-up between plans C & D, which was to either cover the 418 turns on the Satoraljaujhely branch in the hope that an M62 was out vice, which seemed to be a regular thing recently with 628326 & 628332 both having been out in the last 4 days. The last option was to cover the Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged 460 turns which had produced at least 5 different 460’s during the previous 7 days from my mapper observations, 460003, 013, 024, 035 & 057 all featuring with 003 being new to the electric gala that was the Szeged locals as far as I was aware, the other 4 all having already featured this year. Decisions, decisions?

Once I’d spotted 408203, already coupled to the stock for 1987 0658 Gyor – Siofok I went to the booking office to get an IC reservation for IC919 0600 Szombathely – Budapest Keleti and no sooner had I got onto the platform to await its arrival did it drop to 10 late on the screen which resulted in EN463 Munich – Budapest Keleti arriving and departing first. With MAV 470006 right there in front of me I wasn’t going to flag it so did it to Tatabanya and pondered exactly what to do en-route.

I only really got off to use the WiFi in my reserved IC coach on the way to Keleti; this actually swinging the ball further in one direction than the other. Thankfully the mapper on the phone held out for as long as I needed it to as sometimes it can be very, very slow on board MAV trains depending on the WiFi signal strength.

I’d already checked the 418’s on the Satoraljaujhely branch at the Ibis in Gyor to find three 418s out, a second check en-route to Keleti revealed another two 418’s and no random M62 spare at Satoraljaujhely poised to work back with something. What really swung it was the fact that new kid on the block 460054 was one of the locos out on the Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged trains and even more bizarre was the fact that the other turn was 431218. It was a bit of a waste of a 431 if you ask my opinion; and MAV were clearly short of them on this particular day as I found out by chance later in the day. My mind was made up; I was Kiskunfelegyhaza bound for the 1234 departure to Szeged, hoping that 431218 would be swapped for a 460 by the time I arrived.

GySev’s 1116063 was the traction for IC919 and I decided on getting off at Kelenfold to enable me to get round to Kobanya Kispest on one of the Szekesfehervar – Kobanya Kispest locals, which depart Kelenfold at xx:16. In the meantime I actually had enough time for a fill-in move to Deli and back, it was tight but there was a second train I could do back from Deli if the plus 1 missed. While waiting I spotted a Floyd 86, 450007, being dragged by a Floyd Sulzer, 609003, both in their corporate black colour scheme. Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear the Sulzer pull away as it only pottered away from the signal as my train was arriving with 431177 for me to ned in.

The plus 1 made at Deli, just, and as 431290 was pulling into Kelenfold with 9052 0900 Budapest Deli – Veszprem 609003 was backing into the yard with 450007. I assumed they were in the vicinity to work a freight away but couldn’t see exactly what due to all the wagons being in the way.

My pair of flirts round to Kobanya Kispest were in on time but departed 10 late for no real reason. This delayed the start of my Nyugati based spinning a little but dropped me right into new 431114 heading towards Nyugati with 6209 0546 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati. It was quite a successful couple of hours, until the train I needed to be on to Kiskunfelegyhaza, the 1053 Nyugati – Szeged, turned up with a dud 431230.

I couldn’t complain though, the train was pretty empty in the front coach and it was bang on time into Kiskunfelegyhaza; where I thought I’d been completely bowled. When I’d done the move three weeks earlier the Szeged local had gone out of the platform nearest the station buildings, which was occupied by a Bzmot and trailer on this particular day. Thankfully I soon clapped eyes on the one coach that formed 7114 1234 to Szeged and 431218 was sat at the head of it.

With 4 people on board from Kiskunfelegyhaza I got off at the longest named station I could find on the route just so I could take forever writing my moves up; or so it seemed anyway. It happened that Petofiszallasi Tanyak was the shack before where the two locals would cross and common sense prevailed. My fester there though had me wishing I’d got off at the shack before as the whole time I was there a bunch of dogs in the garden by the station building were constantly barking at me; for the whole 16 minutes. It was enough to drive anyone mad and no matter how much I shouted and growled back at them they simply didn’t get tired of constantly barking at me, even when I was out of sight and quiet! I stopped short of starting to throw ballast at them but my mind was picturing it let me tell you. 460054 saved me from being eaten by the savage hounds in the end and thankfully arrived to collect me, the only person at the station with the long name, on time.

431357, the engine on IC715 1245 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati, was equally as dud as the engine I’d had out and the train wasn’t as good at keeping time as the outbound had been. It was a good journey back though and I was subjected to questioning about the typing I was doing on my Surface.

In my compartment two teens were travelling home with the mother of one of them and their curiosity seemed to get the better of them, either that or they’d managed to pluck up the courage to speak to me in English? They thought for some reason I was a writer, bless them. Once the conversation started though both the teens spoke good English but the mother hadn’t practiced hers in 25 years so her questions had to be translated. It turned out they’d all been on a family weekend to Szeged and were travelling home to Szombathely; the total journey time being 7h30m for them and something they seemed in good spirits about. This was the first proper conversation I’d had with local Hungarians and I got from it that most that speak English are scared to use it and don’t practice it enough after school & college to keep up their fluency. The older generations don’t widely speak English as it wasn’t taught at school as standard back then but it is now. Their company was a pleasure to have had on the journey and I left them to it while trying to gather their things together at Kobanya Kispest and make their way to Keleti for their Szombathely train.

For me more nedding about on 431’s ensued and the afternoon was just as successful as the morning stint had been, yielding predominantly 431/0’s which was a bonus. At the end of it all I finally figured out how to get from Kobanya Kispest to Kelenfold, Budapest Keleti or Deli without having to use the metro or do EMU’s and so simple it was too but it doesn’t stare you in the face either!

The xx:32 Kobanya Kispest – Kunszentmiklas Tass trains are a plus 6 onto a Keleti bound train at Ferencvaros, departing at xx:45. While this is a rule there are exceptions on some hours, 18:45 ex Ferencvaros being one that doesn’t run for example so I planned to be on the 17:32 ex Kobanya Kispest, which was the only one of the Kunszentmiklas Tass trains that I’d seen depart right time while I’d been nedding about, most seeming to wait for the xx:21 IC arrivals, going into Nyugati, as a connection.

At Ferencvaros I was trying to get the gen on which platform the train to Keleti would depart from out of the station master when a train appeared in the distance; she told me that it wasn’t for Keleti but the moment I realised that the MAV 630 approaching was on stock and not freight wagons I wasn’t interested that it wasn’t the train for Keleti anymore and just wanted to know where it was going. Rather than ask her and then completely confuse the issue I asked some normal that was walking down the platform to get on it, she confirmed it was the Zahony train; this being 16806 1336 Keszthely – Zahony summer train and it was a decent rake too; headed on this day by 630040. So rather than head into Keleti I found myself heading straight back to Kobanya Kispest on a train that I should have passed en-route to Ferencvaros in the first place, so I was thankful it was late.

The bonus 630 move put an end to the day really and despite being late it made the 1751 IC into Nyugati, which itself was late, which I did into Nyugati for a metro move to Keleti costing HUF350 for a single ticket. There was gripping on the barriers at Nyugati and Keleti but only going onto the trains, not coming off them.

I had figured out I could do the 1838 Keleti – Szombathely to Kelenfold for something back in but when I found GySev 1116063, which I’d had that morning, at the head of the train I called it a day and did a Burger King food move instead and just generally bummed about for a while before boarding EN476 2005 Budapest Keleti – Berlin HB, which I’d be doing throughout. I spent the first 10 minutes on board figuring out just when I needed to be up and about to check engine numbers, the diagrams showing the following: ZSSK 350 Budapest to Bratislava, no gen for Bratislava – Brno, CD 362 Brno – Praha, CD 371 Praha – Dresden and finally a DB 101 Dresden to Berlin. It was like a bloody railtour and not really what I needed but I figured out that if I stayed up till Bratislava and checked what went on there I could flag the Brno engine change and do a double whammy at Praha at 0403 in the morning and then get the DB 101 when I got off at Berlin. Move sussed I chewed the cud with the other occupant in my two berth sleeper compartment, who was thankfully a decent chap, before chilling for the journey towards Bratislava.

As we approached Bratislava, 15 late, I stood at the doorway to make a quick exit and run to the front. While waiting the sleeper attendant seemed far too curious as to what I was doing and didn’t seem quite satisfied that I was getting off for some fresh air. His only response to that was to tell me I couldn’t smoke as the security staff on the platform would be watching; once off though virtually every door down the length of the train had someone smoking at it during the station stop. The train was rammed as well, with people on the floor in the open coaches.

At the front of the train the shunter had already uncoupled 350018 and sat just off the platform end was the fresh loco waiting to back on; it being 242275, which was unexpected and a bit of an unexpected bonus. Job done at Bratislava the walk back down the platform wasn’t quite as chaotic as it had been to get to the front in the first place; everyone either having dissipated or boarded the train.

I was glad to get into my berth for some sleep and with the alarm set for 0355 I would almost get as much sleep as I’d been getting in Ljubljana! Unfortunately lateness took some of that away from me in the night!

The Moves

The Photos