24 October – 5 November 2021 ÖBB MÁV ZSSK Trip Report (Part 2)

 India   USA   Romania   Austria –  Hungary – Slovakia.

Part 2 - Hungary and Solvakia

117 365 leads into Kutvolgy on 31/10/2021 with a service to Szeged in the last of the day's light.

Sunday 31^st October:

478 325 drags 628 223 towards Szekkutas. 31/10/2021

It was an unwelcome early start after a very late finish for me the previous day.
The clocks had changed overnight to mark the end of daylight savings- this had given me confidence to stay out a bit later last night, but had also brought sunrise forward an hour, and as a result we were up for the 06:53 from Budapest Nyugati to Szeged to begin our hunt for M41 diesels.
 

The work of this class has declined considerably in recent years with and to the best of my knowledge their current work is consigned to the following routes:

• From Győr largely down towards Celldömölk.
• The remaining unelectrified section of the North Balaton railway from Balatonfüred to Tapolca.
  
• Two diagrams between Budapest Nyugati and Lajosmizse.
• Several routes from Debrecen- largely towards Fehérgyarmat and Füzesabony.
  
• Between Püspökladány and Biharkeresztes (currently under electrification).
• Between Szeged and Békéscsaba.

(I think there may also be a route in the south west of the country).
The first two routes tend to employ re-engined 418/3’s almost exclusively and the next does not run at weekends. The routes from Debrecen (and Püspökladány) were to be our next target, so today we were bound for Szeged!

Ganz built 418 115 has just departed from Székkutas with a service to Szeged. 31/10/2021

I was slightly surprised to find a 480 on the front of the train, rather than a V43 which work most of the trains in these areas. At Szeged 418 163 was waiting with the connecting train to Békéscsaba and with the sun shining a good day of photography had begun.

418 163 at Szeged ready to work to Bekescaba. 31/10/2021

The MÁV mapper was of course a useful tool as we could pinpoint which trains were heading our way and what locos would produce, we were therefore fairly confident that we would see an M41 in each direction most hours (with a few railcars thrown in as well). We settled on Székkutas which has possibly the only mound of earth higher than a meter in this whole (very flat) part of Hungary! As well as having some height the location also boasted passing loops and semaphore signals with cabins.

Waiting for a loco hauled train towards Szeged we thought our pleasant day was rapidly coming to an end when the signaller came out of his cabin which we had composed nicely into our shot and started shouting and beckoning at us. We had had a similar situation in Ukraine which did NOT end well, so thoughts had obviously turned to this. We could see the train approaching but I felt there was no other option than to approach the man and explain what we were doing.

117 365 trails a classmate and trailer as they approach Szekkutas. 31/10/2021

The Szekkultas signaller.

Very quickly it became apparent that he meant no harm, and I explained (with no common language) that we were photographing the train. The shot achieved (thankfully) and we were once again beckoned over. Far from being accosted for our activities I ended up replacing the signal for the train that had just passed before our whole party got a demonstration in how to unlock the points and swing them! I was even able to leave with a souvenir bottle of water since that was all he had to offer.

Aside from the M41’s we were treated to a slightly odd move- the Mapper got us excited when we saw a move with an un-refurbished M62 heading our way, also with an M47 showing on the train. A freight would really have topped off the day! It wasn’t to be as the move turned out to be the M47 dragging 628 223. A little while later a similar move in the opposite direction moved 628 096 towards Békéscsaba, clearly swapping locos which had been out-based on the route.

418 142 approaches Szekkultas working from Bekescabar to Szeged. 31/10/2021

Last light at Kutvolgy as 418 126 approaches. 31/10/2021

We finished the day at Kútvölgy where the final diesel shot became a railcar- a very nice shot of a 117 though amonths the semaphores (the title picture) however so I cannot say I was too disappointed. 

The trip home was via Békéscsaba with another 480 taking us forward to Budapest Keleti. I was hoping we might have had a Romanian 47, since this train had come from across the border, though as it happens none were seen during this trip.

Back in Budapest we found dinner and waited the arrival of our final comrade before enjoying a beer and retiring for the night.

 
 
Monday 1^st November:

View from the drone - 431 198 heads west at Kaba. 01/11/2021

The day started early once again, with the 06:23 from Budapest Nyugati to Debrecen for the next chapter of M41 chasing. Before departure we were able to watch 418 148 with a train on the Lajosmizse route (if we had thought quick enough we could have ridden it to Kobanya-Kispest but never mind!). The station had a high staff presence as from today masks were now compulsory in the station and on trains.

Not an M61- but in fact an MY export from Denmark- Still Karpat's 459 021 is definitely a NOHAB and the closet thing us Europeans will get to Santa Fe Warbonnet! The great looking machine was parked outside Debrecen and was definitely a win! 31/10/2021

 We had not managed to buy reservations at Nyugati before boarding. Despite being a major city centre station there was no desk for us to buy them from with our FIP coupons. It seems hit and miss whether the grippers care about them, but they did today. It wasn’t a massive problem but definitely a faff we could have done without. This was the best appointed Hungarian train we had been on, plus we finally had a V43 at the front.
 

628 327 approaches Vamospercs. 01/11/2021

Upon arrival in Debrecen we had time to put our bags into the lockers before heading for the 09:11 to Nyírábrány. I had done a lot of research into this area when we were originally planning to cross over from Romania. Extensive watching of the MÁV mapper had taught me that this train was about the only one of the day to be loco hauled on the line, and on most days it was followed by an M62 hauled freight.Today the expectation worked exactly as we had hoped with 418 146 working the passenger train and 628 327 following about an hour behind. The freight passed the M41 returning at Vámospércs, where we had been waiting for our photo- a very frantic run put us back on the loco-hauled service to Debrecen.

431 336 approaches Debrecen-Csapokert. 01/11/2021

With a good set of diesel photos achieved, and the weather looking rather less favourable we headed down to Kaba for the afternoon to photograph some electrics (and hope for some freight).I can’t say the afternoon was particularly exhilarating but we did get a few good pictures of the V43’s, and absolutely no freights in the right direction. Did I mention we had been screwed over again by a European Bank Holiday? It felt particularly unfair since it was my birthday that the UK is one of the few countries not to have a public holiday on All Saints Day!

432 378 pushes a suburban stopping service towards Debrecen from Kaba. 01/11/2021

The last shot of the day was once again a low light picture of a 117 railcar, before we headed back to Debrecen for my ‘birthday meal’, unfortunately this was our first journey on one of the new MÁV EMU’s that we had so far avoided. Back in town the place was hardly buzzing and the few sit down dinner options came down to ‘Beer & Wurst’ or the Belgian inspired (and very nice) pub we were staying at. The former won and we had a lovely meal surrounded by just two other tables dining in the whole place. Certainly not the ‘Wurst’ birthday I have had.

 

418 146 prepares to depart from Vesempercs having arrived with the morning train from Debrecen. 01/11/2021

 
Tuesday 2^nd November:
 

418 153 from behind 418 146. 01/11/2021

The day had not dawned quite as dark as expected, though the forecast weather soon caught up. Within minutes of leaving the hotel I had taken my only vaguely well lit photo of the day, one of the older style Debrecen trams (the ‘older’ ones now being what were the newer ones last time I was here!). Our luggage was left in the lockers at Debrecen station before we headed off to our final M41 diesel hauled line of the trip, from Püspökladány to Biharkeresztes, again we managing to avoid any of the new units which now work some of the trains between Budapest and Debrecen, taking 432 277 on a push-pull set.

 

418 145 stands aside 418 332 at Biharkeresztes. Evidence of 
the current electrification works can and general line upgrade
can be seen. Local trains are currently not running between
here and Oradea in Romania. 02/11/2021

When planning this trip, and before Romania had been shelved our original plan was to enter Hungary from Romania in this area and a lot of research went into the lines, and altered Covid services, on the lines to both Nyírábrány and Biharkeresztes both of which cross over from the Romania towns of Valea lui Mihai and Oradea respectively. What this research did through up, other than the fact that all of the regional and daytime cross-border services were suspended due to Covid was the fact that the line from Püspökladány to Oradea (via Biharkeresztes) was under the process of being electrified, and would re-open during the first week or our trip following a closure of several months. A very recent Google Streetview image had confirmed that masts had very recently been erected, but what we did not know was whether electric services (or the local cross border trains) would commence upon re-opening of the line. Fortunately the ever trusty MÁV Mapper had confirmed the day before that local services within Hungary were still in the hands of M41’s and once we arrived on the line it was clear to see that while well advanced, the electrification was far from complete. I would guess that its completion will be sometime during 2022.

431 225 speeds through Kaba in the late afternoon sun. 01/11/2021

 
There were four sets of locos and stock operating on the line, one swapping out at Püspökladány providing an hourly service. The locos involved were 418 145, 177, 317 and 332. Given that the weather could now only be described as awful we stayed on the line long enough to cover all of the diagrams. There was a little drama down at Biharkeresztes on our first trip when we had a bit of grief from the border police while taking our photos. Passports were examined and grumpy faces were shown- a bit more of an issue for the member of our party who had left his passport in Debreceen! We never 100% worked out what the issue was, but we were allowed on our way and decided to stay away from the border subsequently (this despite the only cross border service still being the overnight train).

418 332 between duties at Puspokladany on a very grey afternoon. 02/11/2021.

 

Freight action with 630 028 at Puspokladany. 02/11/2021

Another objective of the trip was to achieve a ride behind one of the ‘freight’ class 460 (or V63) Co-Co locos, many of which are covering passenger duties. While we had seen several around they never seemed to align with our plans. Having decided against a spin on one earlier in the day in favour of a diesel we were fortunate to get another chance. 630 028 was taken on a mega tight move to Kaba where there was something like a +4 minute connection onto a service back to Püspökladány for a +3 or something silly onto the next required diesel. I’m pleased to say it all worked, though it was very very tight at the Kaba end with the first train running a couple of minutes late. Fortunately back at Püspökladány the branch connection was held for us and a couple of other passengers. Phew!

Czeck Plastic- 230 067 waits for the road in the freight yard at the back of Debrecen. 01/11/2021

117 358 waits for the off bound for Hajdoboszormany - 
Tiszalok (quite a mouthful!). 02/11/2021

After our final part-way trip down to the line we headed back to Debreceen in the dark and wet, but at least loco hauled (well, pushed). Again we picked up our bags and continued our journey on to Miskolk on one of the ‘Budapest rounder’ services from Keleti to Nuygati (via a large part of the country). In Miskolk we had a break to take a tram (you can buy tickets on board rather than missing it while looking for a machine) into town for dinner before continuing to our ultimate destination for the night of Kosice in Slovakia. 

418 157 waits for the connection off the delayed train from Budapest (right). 01/11/2021

An EMU beneath the Miskolc canopies. 02/11/2021

Dinner didn’t prove all that easy to find, but we did settle upon a place that was empty, like everywhere, but reasonable enough once we had coaxed the staff out of hiding in the kitchen. The food was prepared quickly but as we rushed to pay at the end it was announced that they didn’t take cards- a bit of a panic as we had worked hard to finish off our forints before heading into Slovakia- thankfully there was a machine close by!
 

It was still raining by the time we arrived at Kosice and any ideas of taking what would have been an appalling picture of our train were quickly dashed when it seemed to have attracted a huge armed police presence.

 
 
Wednesday 3^rd November:

125 626 leads 816 with 840 banking on the rear through Ruskov with one of the broad gauge trains to the Ukrainian border. 03/11/2021

 

131 060 hauls a rake of tankers through Ruskov. 03/11/2021

Another gloomy day! We headed loco-hauled to Ruskov, a location I had visited on my previous trip to Slovakia. The aim once again was to catch some of the heavy double-unit 131 hauled trains in this mountainous region, many of which had been banked on my last trip. Also appealing of course was the hope of catching some action on the broad gauge line- which had been unhelpfully quiet last time.

757 002 briefly interrupts the gloom at Trebisov. 03/11/2021

It wasn’t the most pleasant morning truth be told, mostly thanks to the weather! Traffic levels were not huge, though we did see a few freights, none of which were banked, and all of the 131’s we saw were now in the newer blue/white livery rather than the older yellow and green.

We were cold and about to give up when just on que a rumble in the distance heralded the arrival of a broad gauge train with a pair of 128’s up front and another banking on the rear.

721 065 is kept busy shunting the stock of the many Intercity trains that start their journeys at Humenne. 03/11/201

 

742 618 parked with a train at Trebisov. 03/11/2021

Our escape from the chill of Ruskov was via Michal’any to Trebišov rather than the direct route. A mecca for parked up blue/white 131’s but barely time for any photos before boarding our connecting 812 railbus along with most of the other passengers. I have to admit I quite enjoyed the journey on the rickety thing, at least until Upor, where we were all thrown off- ‘Autobus’. We never worked out why, but on arrival Trebišov looked particularly uninviting and rather devoid of trains. It didn’t take long to catch another long train on the broad gauge, which also passes through the station here, but after that it was time to find some refreshment and respite from the cold.

A collection of Skoda boxes, 163 105, 131 015 and 065 together with our railbus at Mikhal'any. 03/11/2021

752 030 livens up a dull afternoon at Humenne. 03/11/2021

Returning after our unexpectedly pleasant lunch stop in this gloomy brutalist town the weather had certainly not improved, so rather than waste any more time standing in it we made use of our FIP coupons and took the 757 hauled service to Humenné. Here we entertained ourselves watching the attractive shunting loco 721 065 before we received quite a surprise in the form of ‘Grumpy’ 752 030 working in on a wood train. It sounded great and while hoping it would run round we let the train back to Kosice go- of course at the same moment that it departed the 752 also disappeared off light engine… 2 hours in Humenné then!

757 002 is waiting on it's stock to form our next train back to Kosice from Humenne. 03/11/2021

752 030 blasts away from it's train. 03/11/2021

The shunting operations at the station and the very smoky bar next door however kept us entertained, quite a number of ‘Goggles’ work services here and there was also shunting to prepare various trains for their next journeys. The ‘Grumpy’ even made a very brief appearance once again, light engine, but only to disappear back to where it came from- maybe a shunt from the nearby depot. When the time came we weren’t disappointed to leave after our extended stay and enjoyed a nice meal back in Kosice.
 
 
Thursday 4^th November:

'Laminatka' 240 036 pauses to wait for time at the delightful Surany station. 04/11/2021

 
If yesterday had been gloomy then today we woke to a downpour! It had only worsened by breakfast so our dash to the supermarket for supplies and then to the station with our cases became quite unpleasant! One of our group was educated in the physics of paper bags and water, much to the detriment of his beer which ended up shattered across the concourse at Kosice!
 
Thankfully our itinerary would not be badly affected by the weather- we were taking the long distance diesel hauled train to Bratislava via Zvolen. Unexpectedly our loco leaving Kosice was 754 071 in place of the booked 757. The journey was interesting and scenic and was an opportunity to catch up on the levels of ‘Grumpy’ activity on this route based out of Plešivec- not a lot!

754 071 detaches from our train at Zvolen while 757 070 waits its next departure. 04/11/2021

 

A busy scene at Levice with 240 084 heading to Bratislava, 
while 240 028 is bound for Nove Zamky with a railcar also 
providing connections. 04/11/2021

At Zvolen, which clearly seems to be the Slovak capital of ‘Goggle’ activity we had our expected loco swap, but rather than the expected 362 coming on to take us forward it was actually ‘Laminatka’ 240 084! This was a big win as we had wanted to scoop a few more of these locos who’s passenger duties are very much dwindling and now have very little work out of Bratislava.

 
The train lost quite a bit of time as it continued forward from Zvolen with some very slow running. Our plan had been to change at Levice to pick up some more 240’s on the Nové Zámky – Levice route, but the connection was now looking decidedly unsure. Fortunately it did make, with 240 028 taking us forwards. The route turned out to be very scenic as we enjoyed the front compartment with the window open – did I also mention that the sun had now come out as well!?

240 028 gets away from Hul - rather a grab shot from the train which we had just hurried to disembark! 04/11/2021

240 132 catches the dying light at Hul with a service to Levice. 
04/11/2021

Such was the upturn in the weather that we bailed off at Hul for a photo in the last of the days light, then picking up the following service with 240 036 onto Šurany where some night shots were then taken (and also allowing us to claw back a bit of time rather than travelling through to Nové Zámky. Finally we picked up another delayed Inter City service to finally reach Bratislava. Our trip was almost complete and we weren’t far off being full circle from Vienna where we started.

 
 

Friday 5^th November:

Slovak 'Gorilla' 350 002 arrives ECS into Bratislava
Nove Mesto. 05/11/2021

The final day of the trip looked a lot more promising weather wise- there were a few options since the ‘Laminatkas’ had been achieved quite successfully the day before. The winning option was to head down towards Komárno for the ‘Grumpy’ hauled freight which works to Dunajská Streda on selected days from Bratislava, although we were not really too sure which ones, we were hoping that this was one of those days having seen a recent report of it running on a Friday.

OBB 2016 002 heads towards Bratislava on one of the turns from Komarno / Dunajska Streda. 05/11/2021

 
One surprise here, clearly not having paid huge attention to the diagrams, was that the majority of trains on this route are loco hauled- by OBB 2016 diesels working push-pull with similarly hired ‘City Shuttle’ coaches. We hadn’t managed to ride one of the diesels in Austria so it was a bit weird to finally be travelling behind one here!

Certainly an unexpected sight- 701 615 on a trip working at Rovinka on the outskirts of Bratislava. 05/11/2021

The landscape here is flat, and the linespeed low, but we found a reasonable spot to shoot the trains from Rovinka, just on the outskirts of Bratislava- we just needed to hope our freight would turn up.

Metrans 761 102 still wears 'Dispolok' colours as it works a
freight south at Rovinka. 05/11/2021

The first time the barriers went down it was an interesting trip working with a small diesel shunter; 701 615 complete with very friendly driver. Over the next few hours the barriers could be heard several more times for freight trains and overall the line turned out to be surprisingly busy, at least in the southbound direction. Unfortunately however, while we returned plenty of nice pictures of Metrans ‘Hercules’ locos on container trains the ‘Grumpy’ trip working never did produce.

More southbound containers - Metrans 761 005 passes Rovinka. 05/11/2021

2016 008 became our final loco of the trip taking us back to the main station in Bratislava where there was just time for one final surprise- 240 067 hauling a well lit freight through the station. That made up for some of the mornings disappointment as Cargo ‘Laminatkas’ were the alternative morning plan.
 

2016 008, our final loco of the trip at Bratislava hl.st. 05/11/2021 

Now all that remained was to pick up our bags and head by bus to the airport. We had made it to the end of the two week trip and despite some initial hesitation over its length had thoroughly enjoyed it.

Getting through the airport to get home was less eventful than flying out, though the Covid check in was obviously a right pain, even for those not checking anything in. The final meal of the trip became a sandwich from the very measly offering airside at Bratislava airport.
 

ZSSK Cargo 'Laminatka' 240 067 makes a fine finale to the trip. 05/11/2021

Conclusions:

418 126 passes the cabin and attendant at Szekkutas 
working from Bekeskabar to Szeged. 31/10/2021

This certainly was not the trip we had been planning for much of 2021- but when it came down to it we just needed to get away somewhere and this was the result. Far better than staying at home this rather lengthy trip had many highlights and ticked a few things off for all of us- most notably for me the Brenner Pass in Austria which up until this point had never quite made it high enough on the list for an actual visit. Austria impressed us all hugely with it’s incredible scenery and good quality and quantity of loco hauled trains- it’s just a shame so much of it is being put into tunnels!

 
Hungary wasn’t a country I had felt a strong urge to return to, but I’ve always considered the M41’s to be underrated and with their work slowly reducing it was a good opportunity to enjoy the remaining traditional lines on which they find work. Freight was sadly lacking for us on this trip and the ever elusive ex-British class 56’s and 86’s stayed firmly tucked away from our cameras.

Night has fallen as 721 065 prepares the overnight sleeper train at Humenne. 03/11/2021

Slovakia was great the previous time I had visited and again on this trip everyone seemed to be impressed by the country. It is a shame the weather was so poor around Kosice as the trains were good. I had wanted to get a few more ‘Laminatkas’ under my belt before they disappear from passenger use altogether and this was achieved… though I’d still like to come back for another go!

125 838 banks another double (or is it quadruple?!) headed broad gauge freight at Trebisov. 03/11/2021

 

Double diesels as 418 146 and 153 await subsequent 
departures from Debrecen. 01/11/2021

Covid despite being an ever threat was not actually much of an issue once we had made it off our island! Masks were worn where mandated, while restaurants and entertainment venues certainly seemed to be much quieter than would be expected. All this said we were probably quite lucky with the timing of our trip (and to avoid catching the virus)- while Romania had been abandoned, our replacement Austria was back into a state of lockdown barely three weeks after we had visited and chances are that the case rates were rather high right across the areas that we covered at this time.

 
So… here’s to 2022 (and nobody is making any predictions about foreign travel)!

431 135 passes the fields east of Kaba with an Intercity service. 01/11/2021