Hungary – August 2018 (Debrecen & Balatonfenyves NG with plenty of V63’s thrown in)

Thanks to my wife’s roster clerk being a bit rubbish after she started a new job with what became LNER in June 2018, our summer holiday had to be split into two bits; just because she couldn’t have Saturday 1^st September off. The result of that being me using 4 days leave to fit with her days off and after scouring the internet for flights we had 4 days in Budapest booked, followed by 4 days in Riga. In-between the two we’d fly home from Budapest on the Friday, she’d work on the Saturday and we’d fly out to Riga on the Sunday!

Flights

Booked through Wizz Air

W6-2206 1500 Luton – Budapest

W6-2205 1515 Budapest – Luton

Hotels

Both booked through Booking.com but via a direct link from Wizz Air (after the flight searches I did), which then results in 10% of the hotel booking being credited to your Wizz Air account after your stay.

Budapest – Nyugati Design Apartment – is a 5-minute walk from Budapest Nyugati station, under the subway outside the station front and up onto the left-hand side of Szent Istvan korut. The girl who I’d contacted earlier to confirm our arrival time met us outside the main entrance to the flat complex, spoke good English and was very pleasant. Once inside the complex we were presented with some rather rickety looking letter boxes, one of which we were told to leave the key in after our stay, and then a scruffy set of stairs led up to the third floor, where our apartment was situated; right at the front of the complex, overlooking Szent Istvan korut, one of the busiest roads in Budapest.

The apartment, other than the bathroom and toilet, it a single open space affair with a very high ceiling, which allowed for the bedroom area to have been built on an elevated platform above the main room. This had its perils though as anyone taller than 5ft6in would need to duck to walk around the area and the bed was just as hazardous with its supports sticking out at all four corners; which Danielle did trip over; twice! It was a bit rough around the edges and nowhere near as nice as the apartment we’d stayed at in Warsaw earlier in the summer and had the ceiling in the bathroom not been falling apart due to damp patches, along with the shower floor being a bit of a mess, then we’d probably wouldn’t have had anything to complain about. Still, it sufficed and surprisingly the 24/7 noise from passing trams on the #4/6 routes didn’t keep us awake at night. During our stay, I couldn’t get the TV to tune and we didn’t realise there was an air-con unit on the wall until the last day of our stay!

Train Tickets

Interrail Global Pass 10 days in 1 month – £299

Booked direct through www.interrail.eu

Monday 27^th August 2018 (Heading out to Budapest)

Thankfully the Bank Holiday in the UK did away with the morning rush hour traffic and our pre-booked taxi turned up early for a change. It was the same driver who’d taken me to the station earlier in the year, when I’d been heading to Ukraine; and he remembered me too! The harmless journey had us being dropped outside Doncaster station, amidst the ongoing renovation works to the station front, with plenty of time for our train and 91128 did the honours on 1A18 0845 Leeds – Kings Cross. Unfortunately, with it being a Bank Holiday, it was a weekend service in 1^st class and there wasn’t any porridge on offer, so we sat in steerage instead!

We arrived into Kings Cross with 5 minutes to make the 1110 St Pancras – Nottingham, which we made a bid for. There were two minutes to go before departure when we rocked up at the gates, yet we were forced to run down the platform by the guard, to board a train that then sat in the platform for 2 minutes waiting its departure. It took us to Luton Airport Parkway to recover and we were glad that the building works at Luton Airport had progressed to such a stage, that now allowed the front doors to be used to gain entry to the place. It seemed like a lifetime since Luton had been easy access, but the front of the airport was still a building site, with the bus stops now taking the brunt of the remodeling.

Our Wizz Air flight out to Budapest was full and our random seat allocation had us sat either side of a young girl, who couldn’t believe her luck when we asked if she’d swap us seats, so we could sit next to each other. Although after picking the window seat, as we came in to land, she nearly shit herself as she thought part of the wing had fell off! It was the deployed flaps that she was flapping about and when Danielle pointed that out to her she settled a little bit; but still seemed a bit confused with the whole flap deployment thing; bless her.

Safely on the ground, we had to wait for buses to fill up and take us to the terminal building, where thankfully we were among the first few at immigration. It didn’t take us long to get to the airport exit and right outside the main exit, between terminals 2A & 2B is where the 100E & 200E buses depart for Budapest City Centre & Kobanya Kispest. The former is a new service that goes direct to Budapest Deak Ferenc Ter in Budapest and coasts HUF950. The latter, 200E, is the long-standing service which links the airport to Kobanya Kispest via Ferihegy train station. Single journeys on the 200E are the standard HUF350 and tickets are easy to get out of the machines by the bus stops. Tickets should be validated when boarding the buses and yet in all my time travelling in Budapest, I’ve never had a ticket checked on a bus or tram.

On departure from the airport I messaged the person who was going to meet us at the apartment we’d booked to stay at, with an estimated arrival time but we managed to make it into town earlier than we expected when we made IC723 1645 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati at Ferihegy; 431306 was just rolling in when we got there.

The Nyugati Design Apartment is a 5-minute walk from Budapest Nyugati station, under the subway outside the station front and up onto the left-hand side of Szent Istvan korut. It’s only around the corner from a hotel we’ve used a couple of times and right across the road from the Okay Italia restaurant, which we’ve used on many occasions. The girl who I’d contacted earlier met us outside the main entrance to the flat complex, spoke good English and was very pleasant. Once inside the complex we were presented with some rather rickety looking letter boxes, one of which we were told to leave the key in after our stay, and then a scruffy set of stairs led up to the third floor, where our apartment was situated; right at the front of the complex, overlooking Szent Istvan korut, one of the busiest roads in Budapest.

The apartment, other than the bathroom and toilet, it a single open space affair with a very high ceiling, which allowed for the bedroom area to have been built on an elevated platform above the main room. This had its perils though as anyone taller than 5ft6in would need to duck to walk around the area and the bed was just as hazardous with its supports sticking out at all four corners; which Danielle did trip over; twice! It was a bit rough around the edges and nowhere near as nice as the apartment we’d stayed at in Warsaw earlier in the summer and had the ceiling in the bathroom not been falling apart due to damp patches, along with the shower floor being a bit of a mess, then we’d probably wouldn’t have had anything to complain about. Still, it sufficed and surprisingly the 24/7 noise from passing trams on the #4/6 routes didn’t keep us awake at night. During our stay, I couldn’t get the TV to tune and we didn’t realise there was an air-con unit on the wall until the last day of our stay!

Formalities done, I had an appointment with my red pen of an evening. The previous week had seen quite a lot of V63 workings on the Nyugati – Debrecen – Zahony route, so I’d been keeping an eye on the MAV mapper for the few days leading up to our trip, along with Clive Haines and Dave U; who were also in Hungary while I was. While on the bus from the airport earlier, I’d spotted 630048 en-route to Nyugati with IC1568 1812 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati and would be making sure I was somewhere out of town waiting for its arrival. In the meantime, Vonatinfo had revealed a couple of other scraps for me to head out and get and 431156 started proceedings off nicely on IC618 1921 Budapest Nyugati – Nyiregyhaza, dropping me into one I’d spotted on Vonatinfo; 431177 at Zuglo with IC566 1330 Budapest Keleti – Budapest Nyugati.

As I headed back out of Nyugati with 432250 on 2838 2001 Budapest Nyugati – Cegled, I realised that single line working (SLW) over the opposite line from just north of Zuglo to Kobanya Kispest was in force; which gave me answers as to why some of the locals were starting at Kobanya Kispest and why the table 100 trains were retimed earlier out of Nyugati; both obviously to accommodate the SLW.

I’d intended on waiting at Ferihegy for 630048 to arrive but 432200 on 2821 1948 Cegled – Budapest Nyugati put pay to that; however, 480014 on 6008 2026 Budapest Nyugati – Debrecen had me back at Ferihegy in plenty of time and I was quite pleased when 630048 rolled in with IC1568. I was even more pleased when it arrived into Nyugati and 630031, which had been out for the past couple of days, was sat on a set of stock in the Monor/Cegled local bay platforms. I discovered it to be at the head of 2858 2151 Budapest Nyugati – Cegled, with an IC set, including a first-class coach, which had almost all the passengers on the train taking up residence in it. I’d never viewed 2838 before, so don’t know if the IC set on the local is a regular occurrence or whether it was an anomaly caused by the current timetable changes for engineering work? I wasn’t complaining though but was rather glad that 630031 made the incoming 431276 on IC711 1945 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati at Zuglo. Options back into town after that were somewhat limited.

Food for the evening was sought at the Okay Italia, right across the road from our apartment, with it being the easy option. It’s not a posh restaurant like some of the Italian’s in Budapest but it did what it said on the tin and served up some decent food. We were ready for bed after it, yet neither of us could get to sleep that night! We both agreed that it wasn’t the noise of the passing trams keeping us awake but probably the strange surroundings and different bed, which we weren’t used to sleeping in.

Gen for Monday 27^th August 2018

431157 S6208 1826 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
431306 IC723 1645 Cegled – Budapest Nyugati
431156 IC618 1921 Budapest Nyugati – Nyiregyhaza
431177 IC566 1330 Keleti – Budapest Nyugati
432250 R2838 2001 Budapest Nyugati – Cegled
432200 R2821 1948 Cegled – Budapest Nyugati
480014 S6008 2026 Budapest Nyugati – Debrecen
630048 IC1568 1812 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
630031 2858 2151 Budapest Nyugati – Cegled
431276 IC711 1945 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati

Moves for Monday 27^th August 2018

Photos for Monday 27^th August 2018

Tuesday 28^th August 2018 (Covering the Debrecen narrow gauge railway)

I gave up on sleep quite early and found myself downstairs checking out the MAV mapper at 0630! The snippet of gen that mattered before we headed out for the day was M62 628322 having worked 6810 0507 Debrecen – Nyirabrany and then gone light to Valea Lui Mihai to work 6827 0433 Baia Mare – Debrecen back in later in the morning. I’d seen it on the mapper working the afternoon cross-border turn the previous two days, 6826 1511 Debrecen – Baia Mare; and was hoping it would do the same again as we’d be able to cover it after we’d done the Debrecen NG.

After seeking something for breakfast in the underpass, by the Metro entrance to Nyugati, we got ourselves reservations for IC34 0721 Budapest Nyugati – Chop, from one of the ticket machines between platforms 11 & 12. As we ambled down the platform to spot the loco at the front of the train, we bumped into Clive Haines; who was nedding about at Nyugati during the morning rush-hour. We’d be seeing a bit of each other during the next couple of days and messaging each other with various snippets of gen. 480011 led the way on IC34 and it was a rather pleasant journey in an air-conditioned coach, in airline seats. I chose not to show the ticket examiner the reservation we had, ad had no problem just presenting our Interrail passes; this wasn’t the case on every occasion though.

En-route, while using Vonatinfo to see if anything interesting was out, I spotted that V46’s were still working the Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged locals, with 460054 having done 7022 0834 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged and the opposing morning turn was the usual 117 DMU. Of more importance to the day was the fact that V63 630015 had departed Zahony with 6297 0803 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati; which would arrive into Debrecen 15 minutes after we did on IC34! On the approach to Debrecen, M62 628322 was sat by the shed at the head of a set of stock, which was a promising sign, and on arrival into Debrecen V63 630046 was waiting to shunt out of the adjacent platform and I thought it was going to drop onto the top of 431276 working 6202 0626 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony; but alas, it dropped onto a freight in the adjacent yard. Little did I realise at that point that it would feature in the following day’s move!

I played a brave move at Debrecen, after some consideration, and after photographing 630015 arrive with 6297 I watched it leave with 6297; and put my hopes in the fact it would return later. If we’d done it towards Budapest, there was no way of getting back to Debrecen in time to make it out to Debrecen Szabadsagtelep and get to the nearby NG station of Hetvezer in time for the 1140 departure on the NG. Doing the afternoon departure instead would mean a 2100-ish arrival back into Budapest, which I wasn’t fancying so much; but ended up doing anyway!

So, after watching the V63 leave we got some snacks from one of the snack shops on the station concourse, which was a good move as there was nothing on off at the NG until a small shop at yonder end. DMU 136001 with 6814 1111 Debrecen – Nyirabrany was a free taxi ride out to Debrecen Szabadsagtelep and it’s time rather nicely so that you can walk off the single platform, at the level crossing end, turn left and follow the road the 400m or so to the junction it brings you to. At the opposite side of the junction is the Zsuzsi Erdei Vasut NG station of Hetvezer; hidden from view by a line of trees but given away by the tracks that cross the road at the opposite side of the junction. The walk between the two stations takes 5 minutes.

The timetable for the line is posted on a post on the station, which isn’t that easy to decipher until you translate it to Hungarian, so is the fare structure for the line. A single ticket in either direction costs HUF700 and was purchased from the ticket guy on board the train. Green liveried Mk48-2002 was sat in the depot at Debrecen-Fatelep, visible from Hetvezer platform, and was soon along with its two coaches to pick up the dozen of so waiting passengers. The rake was only load-2 with an open-air coach leading and a conventional coach, with opening windows, trailing. The line initially follows adjacent to the main road, without any barriers anywhere; what would the health & safety police say about that!? After a few kilometers it branches away from the main road and heads through a forested area for the remainder of the 16.7km journey, before emerging at Harmashegyalja some 50 minutes after departing Hetvezer. There’s a wildlife photo gallery in a newly erected building at Harmashegyalja, which looks like it doubles as a conference centre; and it has public toilets, which the train and Hetvezer doesn’t. A short walk from the station is a park area with kiddies play areas and a small shop, which is the only pace to buy anything resembling food along the whole line, so come prepared like we did. And under a nice quiet spot in the trees we devoured the snacks we’d bought at Debrecen station, before heading back to the train and returning as outward. There were a few more people on the return train, who much have come down on the morning departure and stayed in the park for a few hours. I have to say, bearing in mind this was my first narrow gauge trip in Hungary, that I was expecting a totter on a short stretch of line, but no, the little Mk48 was put to work and we were romping along at points; if you can imagine what romping along on NG is like! All-in-all, it was a pleasant trip out and I was glad we’d done it. We were delivered back to Hetvezer a few minutes early, after waiting for traffic signals to allow the little train to cross two road junctions on the approach to the station. Conveniently, it’s a plus 17’ from Hetvezer to Debrecen Szabadsagtelep for the next train back into Debrecen. BzMot 117235, with trailer, did the honours with the 1410 Nyirabrany – Debrecen and loaded up well at Debrecen Szabadsagtelep, with what seemed to be local workers after they’d finished for the afternoon. My hand now turned to what the afternoon had to offer, which at that very moment was bugger all!

At Debrecen things started to look up when M62 628322 came off shed with the stock for 6826 1511 Debrecen – Baia Mare and I was quickly figuring out what to do, fully aware that my wife was with me and stupid moves involving walking 3km weren’t up her street. So, with her deposited at the station I did the M62 out to Debrecen Szabadsagtelep and walked back. The route being out of the station, towards the NG, turn left and follow the main road straight back to virtually Debrecen station. It took me about 35 minutes at a decent pace; in the afternoon heat! By the time I got back I was aware that V63 630015 was heading back towards us, having departed Nyugati with IC616 1403 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati; so, my brave move of flagging it in the morning had paid off, on this occasion. Any plan of getting back into Budapest early went out of the window though and I might as well have done it in the morning anyway.

While trying to hatch a plan to cut 630015 off at the pass, M41 418145 dropped into the station to work 6326 1605 Debrecen – Mateszalka, so the plan went on hold for a moment while we went to Debrecen Csapokert on it; for 431276 back on 6203 1403 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati. Getting off at Debrecen for 431229 behind it on IC1566 1612 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati probably wasn’t the brightest move but the loco wasn’t shown on Vonatinfo until a few minutes after it departed Nyiregyhaza, by which time it was too late to carry on with 431276.

We could only get to Hajduszoboszlo for the V63 coming the other way and wen it dawned on me that it was the IC with the portion for Mateszalka, I was intrigued to find out what went off with said portion at Debrecen anyway; and was quite pleased to find 448435 waiting o shunt the portion. Which it did from one platform to he next where a waiting V43 then dropped on to work IC638 1825 Debrecen – Mateszalka forward; meanwhile the V63 continued to Zahony.

After getting reservations for IC1568 1812 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati, the long journey back to Budapest commenced, with V43 431271 providing the entertainment. The same train was of course worked by V63 630048 the previous day; which was still sat at Budapest when we arrived back that night! When I noticed 432318 following us in from Cegled with 2831 2048 Cegled – Budapest Nyugati, it would have been rude not to get off for it at Kobanya Kispest, for the sake of a few more minutes.

A favourite restaurant of ours provided a much-needed meal that night, Da Mario’s Italian. We found out that night that the restaurant had recently changed ownership and my wife’s previous mentions of it on Trip Advisor had been removed due to said fact. Other than there being a load of outside seating, we didn’t notice anything different about the place and the pizzas were still top quality.

Gen for Tuesday 28^th August 2018

432200, 236, 256, 302, 307, 318, 343, 355, 373 Nyugati Commuters
480011 IC34 0721 Budapest Nyugati – Chop
630015 6297 0803 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati, IC616 1521 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
431276 6202 0626 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
431361 6212 0824 Cegled – Zahony
431069 IC1560 1012 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
418153 6327 0822 Ferhegyarmat – Debrecen
418177 6614 1045 Debrecen – Fuzesabony
418187 6637 0859 Fuzesabony – Debrecen
628322 6826 1511 Debrecen – Baia Mare
418145 6326 1605 Debrecen – Mateszalka
431276 6203 1403 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati
431229 IC1566 1612 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
448435 shunt Mateszalka portion off IC616 to form IC638 1825 Debrecen – Mateszalka
431246 6293 1603 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati
431271 IC1568 1812 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati

Zsuzsi Erdei Vasut (Debrecen NG)
Mk48-2002 all services

Mapper
460054 7022 0834 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged, 7013 1511 Szeged – Kiskunfelegyhaza
460024 7016 1436 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged

Moves for Tuesday 28^th August 2018

Photos for Tuesday 28^th August 2018

Wednesday 29^th August 2018 (Nedding around Budapest and an afternoon venture to Kiskunfelegyhaza for the V46’s)

Being completely knackered after the lack of sleep on our first night, nothing woke me at all the following night and I was wide awake before 6am and scanning the mapper for gen. With a leisurely day ahead, I was planning to nip out and see what I could find during the morning rush. Of note was M62 628322 having done 6810 0507 Debrecen – Nyirabrany again and then gone light to Valea Lui Mihai to work 6827 0433 Baia Mare – Debrecen and V63 630015 was on its way into Budapest with IC609 0518 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati. For me there were a few things on offer in both the Nyugati area and the Keleti area and a decent morning ensued when I nipped out for a foray. There wasn’t anything too exciting, with pioneer V43 431001 being the highlight of my bash. However, with Dave U now in the country as well, or should I say no on his way back to the country after playing a wrong move and heading straight to Austria overnight, there were three of us hunting for gen and Dave was first up with something useful that morning when he told me about V63 630046 heading to Budapest on 6297 0803 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati; the same train that 630015 had done the previous day. And before I’d got back to the apartment Dave also told me about V63 630030 heading into Budapest with IC617 0912 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Keleti. And bugger me if I didn’t spot V63 630048 at Szeged on the mapper; which returned with IC715 1145 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati; so just the four V63’s out! While out and about, I’d also spotted V43 431163 working 7022 0834 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged on Vonatinfo; which didn’t bode well for my afternoon jaunt to cover the V46’s, but at least I needed it if I was going to get bowled out. Of course, I forwarded all this gen on to Clive Haines, who’d ventured out to Miskolc to cover the NG.

I wasn’t back long before we headed out for our afternoon jaunt, which started with heading off V63 630030 on its way into Budapest; with 431069 on 6207 0553 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati providing a welcome bonus at Ferihegy. At Kobanya Kispest I thought I was going to be denied boarding IC617 when 630030 arrived as one of the ticket inspectors stood on the steps to the front door of the train, while I was clinging to the handrail, one foot on the bottom step and just hanging there. Eventually I broke the silence and asked him to move, his response asked if we had reservations, to which I replied yes, and he simply moved out of the way; without demanding t see them. Knowing Dave U was on a tight plus from Wien for IC617 at Zuglo, I told him not to board at the front door but he still managed to get clocked when he got on at the 3^rd coach at Zuglo and the trains departure was delayed while another ticket inspector came down the train looking for him; and initially beckoned for him to leave the train until his Interrail was produced. Never had I come across such a desperate crew on a Hungarian IC; and then for one to not demand to see the reservation that I didn’t have and the other to then accept an Interrail without a reservation just makes a mockery of their desperation! Either way, we all spun 630030 and no TI was verbally abused during the short bash as a result.

Just like the previous morning, I made a bold decision on arrival at Budapest, which was to head out to Kiskunfelegyhaza to cover the V46’s, knowing that none had turned a wheel on passenger trains yet, on this particular day. It was another gamble but one I was willing to take again. And not to forget that 630048 was also heading back into Budapest, and so should 630015 be later in the afternoon; should, being the operative word. It was after we’d headed off towards Kiskunfelegyhaza with 431044 on IC724 1251 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged that I noticed 630015 was in the yard at Szolnok and not anywhere near Nyiregyhaza as it should have been. Further scrutiny of Vonatinfo & Vonatdroid revealed that something had occurred between Szolnok and Debrecen that had resulted in the service being suspended. Then came a message from Dave U to tell me 630046 was now heading towards Budapest on 6297 0803 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati, which had started at Szolnok; we must have passed it somewhere near Cegled! Not to worry though as gen-monkey Dave was in Budapest and would advise what it was heading back out of Budapest on. Hopefully it would be something that we’d be able to make after getting back to Cegled later.

Meanwhile, far away from the V63 gala, 431044 rolled into Kiskunfelegyhaza and I was pleased to find V46 460024 waiting up ahead with one coach, forming 7016 1436 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged. It was a compo coach and relatively empty, once 431044 had sailed off ahead of us, the little V46 got its train on the move; a few minutes late. Late running on the Szeged line can have consequences as it’s single line and not all stations have passing loops, on this occasion though we were sat waiting at Kistelek for 431007 to arrive with IC703 1445 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati. It wasn’t until 460024 departed that 7013 1511 Szeged – Kiskunfelegyhaza departed its origin and Vonatinfo updated with the consist details. Thankfully it was V46 460054 and a certain person in Budapest was wishing he’d done the same move as us now!

460054 arrived into the main platform, vice the loop, at Kistelek as IC734 1351 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged was running late. We passed 431223 with IC734 at the next loop towards Kiskunfelegyhaza and by the time we arrived into Kiskunfelegyhaza we knew that 630048 was heading IC716 1551 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged, 630046 was heading IC626 1621 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony and 630030 was now stabled in the station yard at Budapest Nyugati with is pan down. Luckily for me, 431217 on IC713 1545 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati was a small plus onto IC626 at Cegled, and thankfully IC626 was a bit late as IC713 would have missed it otherwise. One of those nail-biting moment occurred just outside Cegled when we came to a stand, but all was well, and we made V63 number 5 of the trip with ease.

Doing 630046 to Szolnok offered up a nice little fill-in move on the Szolnok – Hatvan locals, thank to a bit of late running. As Vonatinfo had revealed that I needed all three V43’s on the Szolnok – Hatvan circuit that day, I couldn’t fail; so, it was 431349 out for 431127 back and 431123 on the other turn would have to wait till another day! 431147 was also welcome on IC1566 1612 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati and I’m glad I decided to get a reservation for the train in the end. The ticket inspector doing our coach certain took his time and was very thorough. Having read our Interrail Passes from cover to cover, then handwritten the date in the control column because he had no irons, he then went about his business in the next row of seats, only to turn back around and then tell us that our tickets weren’t valid on Intercity trains. He was completely withered when I produced the two reservations but did check them with a fine toothcomb.

As we headed back toward Budapest, having achieved everything I’d wanted to that day, we passed Dave U heading out to Kiskunfelegyhaza to try and mop up the two V46’s on the evening runs. He was already on a minus at Kiskunfelegyhaza, thanks to the single line working at Kobanya Kispest, and was completely withered when 7018 1836 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged was held for his late running IC; only to be presented with a BzMot and 460054 staring at him from the station yard. At least he knew by that point that 460024 was heading back towards him with 7011 1811 Szeged – Kiskunfelegyhaza. When I sat and thought about it, the BzMot made sense as when 460054 had rolled into Kistelek it had smelled very hot, like hot metal to be precise. The driver even got out to have a look at all the wheels before we departed and was looking around it again after it had arrived into Kiskunfelegyhaza; and was still doing so when we left for Cegled. Later that evening I noticed 460024 on the mapper heading towards Budapest and 460054 was still in the yard at Kiskunfelegyhaza and after checking the locals for the next two days on the mapper, it seemed that we’d done the last one-for-one move on the V46’s and Dave had been on the last working, full-stop, for the 2018 summer season.

Having made sure Clive was aware of all the V63 action, I was surprised to learn his day hadn’t quite gone to plan but he’d managed to pick a few things up and was going to head out for 630048 coming back in from Szeged on IC711 1945 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati; which it did work. Randomly we had the same plans for the following day, which was to cover the Balatonfenyves NG; so, we arranged to meet up at some point the following day.

Meanwhile, back in Budapest we discovered our new favourite restaurant. It was an Indian restaurant, only 5 minutes from Budapest Nyugati, called Indigo. Initially it seemed like we might not get a table without a reservation, but I’m so glad we did as the food they served up was fantastic and I highly recommend the onion bhaji’s to start! The staff were great, the service prompt, the food piping hot, tasty and of decent sized portions, what more could you possibly want? We left stuffed to he hilt!

After a thoroughly enjoyable day and some cracking food to boot, it was great to relax with a cuppa back at the flat; where we found some of the bathroom ceiling in the sink when we got there…….

Gen for Wednesday 29^th August 2018

628322 6827 0433 Baia Mare – Debrecen
630015 IC609 0518 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati, IC654 1021 Budapest Nyugati – Nyiregyhaza (caped at Szolnok due to line blockage)
630048 IC715 1145 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati, IC716 1551 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged, IC711 1945 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati
431163 7022 0834 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged
630046 6297 0803 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati, IC626 1621 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
431101 S6225 1303 Zahony – Cegled
431371 S6202 0626 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
432171 in Bud CS in on commuter
432263 2822 0656 Budapest Nyugati – Cegled
431109 S6099 0404 Debrecen – Budapest Nyugati
480011 IC34 0721 Budapest Nyugati – Chop
431150 S6199 0413 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
433201 IC979 0558 Tapolca – Budapest Deli
433222 1205 1828 (P) Split – Budapest Keleti, IC922 1010 Budapest Keleti – Szombathely
433227 852 0935 Budapest Deli – Nagykanisza
431001 IC909 0605 Szombathely – Budapest Keleti
431212 IC614 1121 Budapest Nyugati – Nyiregyhaza
431069 S6207 0553 Zahony – Budapest Nyugati
630030 IC617 0912 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
431044 IC724 1251 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged
431007 IC703 1445 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati
431223 IC734 1351 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged
431217 IC713 1545 Szeged – Budapest Nyugati
460054 7013 1511 Szeged – Kiskunfelegyhaza (didn’t go back)
117 DMU 7018 1836 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged
460024 7016 1436 Kiskunfelegyhaza – Szeged, 7011 1811 Szeged – Kiskunfelegyhaza then headed towards Kekscemet on Mapper (last day of 460s on these trains)
431349 5743 1731 Szolnok – Hatvan
431127 5746 1713 Hatvan – Szolnok
431147 IC1566 1612 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati

Moves for Wednesday 29^th August 2018

Photos for Wednesday 29^th August 2018

Thursday 30^th August 2018 (A day out on the Balatonfenyves narrow gauge)

The plan was simple today, head out to Balatonfenyves and do the MAV operated NG line to Somogyszentpal and back. With the service being thinned out at the end of the summer timetable, on 27^th August, the late morning return trip didn’t run, so we had to head out for the early afternoon return trip instead. To get there we caught a No.4 or No.6 tram from Nyugati to Szell Kalman ter and then walked the short distance to Budapest Deli station, which was probably quicker than figuring out which tram we needed to get forward; the walk taking about 15 minutes.

At Budapest Deli we met up with Clive, who had planned to do the same move as us and MAV V43 433197 led the way on 852 0935 Budapest Deli – Nagykanizsa, which filled up quite well along the way and over 2 hours later we got off at a sunny Balatonfenyves. With time to kill, we had lunch at a the Gomba Café just outside the mainline station front and then walked the short distance to Balatonfenyves GV station, which only took a few minutes.

MAV Mk48-2013 propelled 2 coaches off the depot, towards the station, and then drew them onto the curve, adjacent to the station building; which is in the middle of a triangle. Tickets didn’t go on sale until the train was in the station and there was a bit of a queue immediately prior to departure, but thankfully Clive had got himself in there before others had figured out what was going on. Tickets cost HUF235 for a single journey, so HUF470 for a return; with tickets sold as singles for each leg. As “we” were towards the front of the queue we had the pick of seats when we boarded and did so in the front coach, which had bay style seating down the middle of the open coach, with walkways down either side. Tickets were checked en-route and the run was a lot faster than I’d expected, with nothing but fields throughout the 13km journey; and at the destination of Somogyszentpal. Nobody was left behind at Somogyszentpal, with everyone returning on the same train, 30845 1450 Somogyszentpal – Balatonfenyves GV. To say there wasn’t a great deal to look at along the way was an understatement and back at Balatonfenyves GV the train ran around the opposite side of the triangle to drop people off at the back of the station; before running propelling the train back down and drawing it back into the station in readiness to work the 1605 Balatonfenyves GV – Somogyszentpal.

As we walked back to the station AWT Goggle 753711 passed through with a freight, and we’d seen classmate 753739 heading the same way with a freight before we’d departed. With a little time to kill before our train back to Budapest we had a walk down to the edge of the lake (Balaton), which was quite busy, with people lounging around on the grass alongside it, sun seeking! The “main drag” down to the lake was a bit quiet though and it would have been rude not to have ice cream on the way back; especially as it was a scorching hot afternoon. Our ride back to Budapest was spot on time with MAV 433288 doing the honours on 843 1508 Nagykanizsa – Budapest Deli. It was a busy train but at least we managed to get ourselves a bay when we got on.

Vonatinfo took a hammering on the way back to Deli and thanks to gen from Dave U, I was able to hatch a little impromptu evening bash, which I wasn’t going to do but 431232 waiting to depart with 908 1830 Budapest Deli – Veszprem twisted my arm. GySev played a part in the evening with 470505 working into Keleti on IC943 1621 Sopron – Budapest Keleti and Cargo Vectron 471501 then dropped onto the opposite end to work back out with IC938 1910 Budapest Keleti – Sopron. The evening ended with 431338 at Budapest Deli on 19713 1550 Tapolca – Budapest Deli and we hotfooted it to Szell Kalman ter, caught a tram back to Nyugati and then walked to the Indigo Indian restaurant; where we had a reservation this time.

The food at the Indigo was as good as it had been the previous night and the evening topped off what had been a long, but enjoyable day; in fact, a cracking few days in Hungary in all. The weather had been great, MAV had treated me well during our stay and it had been quite relaxing too. All that was left to do now was pack, relax of an evening and head to the airport the following afternoon. MAV had one last trick up their sleeve for me in the morning though…..

Gen for Thursday 30^th August 2018

433197 852 0935 Budapest Deli – Nagykanizsa

480008 844 1135 Budapest Deli – Nagykanizsa
433288 843 1508 Nagykanizsa – Budapest Deli
431232 908 1830 Budapest Deli – Veszprem
470505 IC943 1621 Sopron – Budapest Keleti
471501 IC938 1910 Budapest Keleti – Sopron
431002 903 1802 Veszprem – Budapest Deli, 9008 2030 Budapest Deli – Veszprem
431338 19713 1550 Tapolca – Budapest Deli
433224 971 1701 Tapolca – Budapest Deli
480008 853 1710 Nagykanizsa – Budapest Deli

Mk48-2013 1405 Balatonfenyves GV – Somogyszentpal, 1450 Somogyszentpal – Balatonfenyves GV, 1605 Balatonfenyves GV – Somogyszentpal

Moves for Thursday 30^th August 2018

Photos for Thursday 30^th August 2018

Friday 31^st August 2018 (Homeward bound, via Debrecen!)

I couldn’t sleep and while using the facilities early in the morning I got on my laptop, which I’d had ready laid out every morning to check the MAV Mapper. When I found M62 628313 at Valea Lui Mihai for 6827 0433 Baia Mare – Debrecen, with a valid ticket, why would I not take the plunge? Leaving my wife in bed, I was out before 5am and on 6260 0501 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony with 431101; winging my way to Debrecen. Our flight home wasn’t until 1515 from Budapest, so time was on my side and randomly, I managed to get a bit of sleep on my way to Debrecen. From where, a fast taxi was required to Debrecen Szabadsagtelep as I wouldn’t have made the M62 if I’d walked.

Due to the engineering works along the route back to Budapest, I ended up getting my wife to meet me at Ferihegy to save time. Thankfully we didn’t have a lot of luggage and my train back from Debrecen was on time, so there was plenty of time to spare when we got to the airport; via the 200E bus. As there are no ticket purchasing machines at the Ferihegy bus stops, I’d bought a couple of tickets from a machine at Budapest Nyugati tram shack the previous day, which saved a couple of hundred Florint and the hassle of paying the driver on the bus. With the new 100E bus running direct from the airport to/from the city centre, it seemed that less tourists were using the 200E and especially the Ferihegy option. Tickets for the 100E were a lot more though and there were signs up on all the ticket machines at the airport confirming the price and what ticket people needed to buy to use the service. It was all trivial to us, on our way home, and we walked by a few people scratching their heads, looking a bit confused at the options now available.

Our 1515 Wizz Air flight to Luton was a few minutes late off the stand but 5’ early landing. We were through security in a breeze and rushing to the bus stop, in the hope we’d make the 1746 from Luton Airport Parkway into St Pancras; which we did, and then legged it over the road for the 1833 Kings Cross – Bradford home to Doncaster. With 91131 leading the way. With a day’s respite, we’d be doing the opposite less than 48 hours later to get back to Luton for our flight to Riga; and part two of the trip!

Gen for Friday 31^st August 2018

431101 S6260 0501 Budapest Nyugati – Zahony
431374 IC1560 0621 Budapest Nyugati – Nyiregyhaza
628313 6827 0433 Baia Mare – Debrecen (from Valea Lui Mihai)
431215 IC617 0912 Nyiregyhaza – Budapest Nyugati
418321 6822 0911 Debrecen – Satu Mare (to Valea Lui Mihai)
431163 IC712 0751 Budapest Nyugati – Szeged

Moves for Friday 31^st August 2018