11th July 2015 - Balaton dieselsSaturday 11th July 2015 Another leisurely start this morning but there was a reason for this one as we had finally managed to get a summer weekend off in Hungary to sample the extra trains serving Lake Balaton. This large freshwater lake is Hungary’s answer to the seaside and is very popular so there are several extra trains from various areas to transport the holidaying hordes to lakeside, in fact we had already inadvertently sampled one that runs during the week a couple of days ago. Although a railway line runs along both sides of the lake, we would be concentrating on the diesel line on the north side on this occasion - our previous visit had been a rather tedious circular trip round both sides of the lake but we were hoping for a more positive experience this time. One feature of recent years has been the use of heritage traction on a couple of trains and this year was no exception with a class M62 (628) “Sergei” booked to work the 7:35 from Budapest-Déli to Tapolca and 16:55 return between the latter and Szabadbattyán and an M61 “Nohab” on the 9:40 Budapest-Déli to Tapolca and 14:42 return. We chose the later departure with the Nohab and aimed to return with the M62 so presented ourselves in good time for the 9:40 departure hoping to get some pictures but the train was in the worst possible platform for the light. Not to worry there was other stuff around and we even got more pictures of the Mariazellerbahn stock as the train conveying it was now standing in the yard at Kelenföld, right next to the station.
The Nohab’s train comprised of a set of MÁV Nosztagia Schlieren coaches with a MÁV blue and white restaurant car leading, we decided to leave the restaurant coach free for people wanting to eat or drink but later discovered that it was actually intended for any “cranks” to travel in, beer and food being optional extras! On the subject of “cranks” we were slightly surprised that there was no-one on the train that we knew, there were some acquaintances in the country but they presumably had other plans. Our plans were to travel behind the Nohab for at least 100 miles and keep a careful eye on what other locos were out, in particular the two 418/1 turns.
Badacsonytomaj was the chosen location to get off though, in hindsight, the next stop at Badacsony itself had a little bit more in the way of civilisation but we were not going to be there for long as the first 418/1 turn was due. This diagram was booked to finish the day at Szombathely so we thought that it would be better to get it today in case the loco didn’t come out tomorrow, just as well as it was required 418.149.
Deciding to stick with the 418/1 diagrams, this was taken to Balatonakali-Dörgicse for the other loco which was another winner in the shape of 418.178. We could have gone to Balatonfüred where the trains crossed but as that station had two island platforms and a subway it didn’t lend itself to quick moves. The station at Balatonakali-Dörgicse was being re-paved but the work looked to have stopped, leaving a fair amount of uneven ground and half-finished kerbs to trip over. Mileage behind 418/1s over lots of short moves was the order of the day today so we stayed on the latter train to Tapolca, with the idea of having a late lunch before catching the M62 hauled train back to Budapest but were rather surprised when we arrived to find some sort of “open day” taking place. A line up of diesel locos was in the yard with cabs open for inspection along with M61.010, which we saw on the shed at Keleti the previous Monday, and 408.203 near the loco shed. In case diesels weren’t of interest there was also a rather ancient looking 4-4-0 steam loco chuffing up and down a siding as well as two inspection vehicles giving rides, one of which was an actual car fitted with railway wheels.
We had an hour and a half here so rushed around taking some photos before attempting to find somewhere to eat but the bar next to the station was heaving and the town some distance away so we would have to find an alternative. Just across the road from the station was a small park which was covered in what looked like a fair of some sort but, although there was plenty of food and drink in evidence none of it appeared to be for sale. Wandering past various camp fires, stalls and people relaxing we came to the conclusion that it was some sort of giant party consisting of various groups who had brought their own refreshments and we eventually worked out that the event was a “Railway Day” for staff and their families, the various groups on the green being from different local staff associations in the surrounding area. Perhaps if we could speak some Hungarian we might have been able to befriend someone and blag some food, we are railway staff after all and the railway is (or should be!) one big happy family wherever you are. Luckily the station kiosk was open so dinner ended up being a selection of bite-sized snacks sold by weight, an arrangement which is quite common in Hungary.
Placing our selection in a carrier bag for later, we had another look round the exhibits in the yard, actually managing to get photos of everything without anybody standing in front of them, then admired the extensive model railway laid out in the goods shed before making our way back to station to meet our Austrian friend off the Bzmot from Ukk. The three of us then had a wander round catching up on each others news and taking more photos including 418.178 departing to Kesthely and Pécs before returning to the station for the 16:55 departure. The loco for this was intended to be pioneer M62.001 to celebrate 50 years of M62 locos but is was still undergoing an overhaul so 628.265 (M62.265) was deputising which it ended up doing for the rest of the season. Today, 628.271 was tucked between 265 and the train to get it back to Székesfehérvár after being on display at the “Railway Day” but the two locos were not in multiple so no extra winners for us then.
Unlike the Nohab which is based in Budapest and works through from there, the M62 is based at Székesfehérvár and is replaced by an electric loco at Szabadbattyán for the run to Budapest; the reason for the locos being changed here was due to Székesfehérvár station being totally rebuilt and only having about half its platforms in use whilst this was taking place. We missed getting a picture of a pair of 628s on a freight train as we ran into Szabadbattyán but the 17 minutes it took to do the loco change was more than enough time to walk round our train to get a photo in the evening light. A couple more photos which included a green class 449 were grabbed as we called at Székesfehérvár then we settled down to enjoy our bag of “snacks” whilst watching the sun set on the run back to Budapest.
Keywords:
Hungary
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