Europe's first interactive railway park re-opens to visitors in Budapest

The Hungarian Railway History Park - the first interactive railway park in Europe - exhibits more than 100 railway vehicles on about 70 thousand square metres, at a former shunting yard in Budapest. The yard was opened in 1913, and was the biggest of its kind at the time. Today's park was opened in July 2000, but renovation has been going on ever since. The Hungarian State Railways has established a Nostalgia Company that has now begun to operates the park.

Agi Varga of Radio Budapest talked to Edit Meszaros, who is responsible for international relations with the company:

"The original idea was conceived by the members of the heritage committee of the Hungarian State Railways, whose members have been with the railways practically all of their lives and would have liked to preserve the relics of the Hungarian railways. So, they decided that there ought to be a museum where these vehicles and other exhibits should be on display for the public. There were various ideas as to where the museum should be. Finally, a depot in Budapest closed down and was free for the purposes of the museum. As they started discussing what exactly the museum should be about, the idea of it being interactive evolved gradually."

What does the fleet consist of?

"At the museum, we have a total of 120 vehicles of which about 70 are only cosmetically restored, which means that they will not run as such. But we have about 50 vehicles which we are quite happy with and are in use. They are steam engines, diesel engines, and a whole lot of carriages, including sleepers, diners, and ordinary day carriages."

Are they only from Hungary?

"Yes. We do have some engines from abroad but most of the exhibits and vehicles in working order are Hungarian."

Apart from admiring the old machines, can visitors also try them out?

"Well, that's the whole point in being interactive. We have tried to set up the museum so that the public can 'play' with as many 'toys' as possible. This means that it is even possible to try and drive a steam engine, obviously under the careful supervision of an expert driver. We also have a simulator, which is something that trainee drivers use and it gives quite an interesting impression of what it's like to be driving an engine without trying it. Of course we also have hand carts - kids love hand cart racing - and we have an operating turntable as well. We welcome the public to come and try them."

The park has a beautiful landscape, which is ideal for relaxation as well. What kind of programmes, activities, or services do you offer to the public?

Another objective of ours when we designed the museum was to make sure that whoever comes there has a good time. We tried to make sure that we have something for people of all ages. We have model railways for little children who may be afraid of the real-size objects. We also have a little playground, a cafeteria, and a whole lot of different exhibitions for people with different interests. We regularly arrange events at the museum. The opening is always a great event and then in the summer, in mid-July, which is when the museum opened, we celebrate our anniversary every year and these events are always very successful."