Budapest Guide
The city limits
Railway History Park
Opening time: Tues– Sun: April– Oct 10am–6pm; late March & Nov to mid-Dec 10am–3pm
Price: 950Ft, child 300Ft, family 1900Ft
Address: XIV district
Website: www.mavnosztalgia.hu
The engagingly hands-on Hungarian Railway History Park, or Hungarian Railway Museum (Magyar Vasúttörténeti Park), lurks in the freight yards of the XIV district. Its roundhouse and sidings house over seventy locomotives and carriages from 1870 onwards, including the Árpád railcar that set the 1934 speed record from Budapest to Vienna in just under three hours, and a 1912 teak dining carriage from the Orient Express. Many of the museum's staff are ex-employees of MÁV (Hungarian State Railways), proud of a tradition inherited from the Royal Hungarian Railways. Between April and October (10am–4pm), you can drive a steam train (1000Ft), luggage cart (300Ft) or engine simulator (500Ft), ride a horse-drawn tram (100Ft) or a turntable used for turning locomotives around (200Ft), and operate a model-railway (200Ft) – wear old clothes. Children's Day (May 25) and Transport Day (June 7–8) see all kinds of events, with free admission for under-18s.
From April to October, the ticket price includes travel to the museum by vintage train (különvonat) from Nyugati Station (9.40am, 10.40am, 1.40pm & 3.40pm), for enthusiasts who don't mind being choked by diesel fumes for half an hour. Tickets are available from the MÁV Nosztalgia office next to platform 10 in the station. Otherwise, the park gates at Tatai út 95 are a short walk from the Rokolya utca stop, which is a longish ride by bus #30 from Keleti Station or Hősök tere.