The Chosen Realm

Day 1 : 20th September 2004

Train Reporting Codes:
13490 : Budapest Keleti to Oroszlany
34407 : Oroszlany to Környe
34407-2 : Környe to Celldömölk Rendezo
13940 : Celldömölk Rendezo to Zalaszentgrót
39303 : Zalaszentgrót to Keszthely

Tour Review
(by Trevor Cockram)

An early breakfast in the hotel and an early start was the order of the day for this tour and the first day was no exception.

The stock was placed in the short bay platform on the right hand side of the main station, which was quite convenient to the hotel. It was the same stock as last years tour, but the bar car was centrally placed.

The ECS stock move at end of last years tour was hauled back to the museum by M61 006 and about half of the participants to the opportunity for M61 haulage. The first locomotive of this year’s tour was therefore to many one of the highlights of the trip and the first official M61 haulage for Mercia.

M61 017 had been specially painted for the NoHAB reunion at Odense in Denmark this year and renumbered in the UIC number series as 2761 017-9 which was the number carried today. The locomotive is owned by MAV Engineering department and has been modified for 120KM/H operation when it is used to tow the track measuring coach. The driver was seen refitting the makers’ plates to the loco before departure. The EMD 16-567D1 engine sounded good as we crossed the neck of Keleti station and passing the tracks into Jozsefvaros before curving down through Ferencváros. A slow crossing of the River Danube was in parallel with a tripled headed tram on the road bridge and the HEV tracks below.

The loco opened up after we joined the (Budapest –Wien) main line from Déli station at Kelenföld station. About Bicske I remembered that I should be recording the timings as the usual timekeeper was away working in Berlin, so Andy Powis and I agreed to share the time keeping between us. At Szarligeti elágazás the course of the old mainline diverged left as we passed through a cutting locally known as the “Grand Canyon”. The original main line course was regained at Tatabanyai elágazás were we slowed to enter the yard at Tatabánya. The station was busy with V43 electric locos on loco passenger services and 1047 002-9 on one of the Rolling Road car transporter trains.

The M61 ran round given the opportunity for many of the party to take photographs in reasonable lighting conditions.

Returning through the platforms at Alsógalla we then took the old main line at  Tatabányai elágazás. The line remains fully electrified with sidings serving at factory.

We came to a halt at Felsögalla station. Surprisingly the station remains full staffed, even though all that remains is a weighbridge. The tracks just beyond the station is banned for loco hauled trains due to weak bridges and apparently only used by maintenance trolleys. After running round it was time to return to Tatabánya and continue onto the electrified branch line to Oroszlány. There is a large but unoccupied yard where the M61 ran round for the last time on the tour before returning to Környe.

Here M44 045 was waiting and backed on, whilst the M61 was detached from the other end and departed back to Budapest. The next part of the tour was a slow trundle over the long cross-country line, which is normally only Bzmot railcar operated. Near Nagygylmót mrh we passed a large military airbase with a number of Russian manufactured helicopters on view. The main line from Györ was reached at Pápa, (but there was no sign of Nicole or a Renault Cleo in the car park!) which allowed an increase in speed to the maximum for the loco of 80km/hr. Taking the rare curve into the yard at Celldömölk Rendezó we stopped in the yard for the next loco change. It had been hoped that we would be hauled to the depot by the resident M28 1013, but this did not happen, there has been a change in policy with all the M28 locomotives being restricted to work within depots and not allowed to operate on the main line and we were running late and with single track main line ahead the visit to the depot was cancelled, with the loco change to Sergi M62 208 occurring in the yard. Further time was lost waiting for a path. There was no sign of the M28 on the depot and only a few M43’s and M41’s on show, before heading to Sárvár where the booked crossing with the express occurred on time. Arrival at Szombathely was almost on time. During the break here we had a tour of the loco depot by foot. One of the last remaining M63’s M63 003 was at one end of the depot, which is in the process of being repaired. (The only other is in the Vasúttõrténeti Park -Fusti museum). Austrian 2016 022-2 was also present in this areas together with a number of derelict M62 loco’s.

Down in the work shed end of the depot were re-engined M41 2302 and M62 301 and two out of traffic M40’s. It had been hoped that one of these would have worked our train forward if they had been serviceable. As an alternative MAV provided ex-works M62 306 (ex M62 171) it had been fitted a Zepplin prime mover and a rather incongruous drivers air-conditioning box above the cab. The date on the buffer beam for return to service was 10/9/2004.

Signs of change were seen at Zakaszentiván where the red-cap rioted when some of the party crossed the tracks to photograph the freight workings with M62 180 and M41 2208. After the arrival of MDmot 3012 we departed to Zalabér-Batyk where to picked up the guard from the local Bzmot train. (He was either acting as pilot-man or may be he just wanted to do the branch loco hauled.)  The short unit branch to Zalaszentgrót mrh was taken where M62 306 ran round. (It must have been the first M62-3! down the branch). Returning to Zalabér-Batyk we dropped of the local train guard who rejoined his unit to operate the service down the branch whilst the loco ran round. A further run round was required at Ukk where M47 2162 was shunting in the yard. A further stop was made at Tapolca for a brief depot visit. The depot is only a sub shed of Celldömölk and a shadow of its former self when it was the home of the M61 NoHAB fleet.  The single track runs along side Lake Balaton which has a parallel cycle track most of the way, before arrival at Keszthely.

After checking into the Helikon hotel on the shore of Lake Balaton we returning towards the station to one of the lakeside bars/restaurant. A very traditional meal of Goulash soup, bread accompanied by pickled cabbage and cucumber was followed by fruit pancake. The Goulash may have been rather spicy for some tastes, but it was one of the best so far as I’m concerned.

Route, Distances and Timing's (Booked & Actual)
(by Andy Powis/Trevor Cockram)

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