Address: 14th district, Tatai út 95
How to get there: Bus 30, 120, Train from Nyugati Railway Station to Rákosrendező
In season, a vintage diesel shuttle train runs between Nyugati and the museum
Open: April 03 – October 31, 10-18, Tues-Sunday, 10-15 during the winter
The museum was founded in 1999; the 70,000 square meter site was formerly the North Depot of the Hungarian Railway System. The interactive exhibition opened a year later. It displays more than a hundred railway vehicles and railway equipment in open air space. The round house, originally built in 1911, hosts an operational vintage fleet of fifty engines, railcars and hand carts, inspection cars, steam cranes, snow ploughs, and other curiosities, including a steam engine built in 1870, and the legendary Árpád railcar, built in 1934, which covered the distance between Vienna and Budapest in less than three hours. Another gem is an elegant teak dining car from 1912, once part of the Orient Express.
The exhibition spans railway history from the steam engines of the 1870s, to today’s powerful electric engines. The operational vehicles are used on nostalgic train trips, at home and abroad, organized by MÁV Nosztalgia Ltd. As mentioned above, the exhibition is interactive, the old machines are not only there to admire, but there are steam engines to drive, hand carts to operate, horse trams to ride, and model railways to play with. An engine stimulator offers a virtual experience.
The park is well kept, ideal for family fun. Refreshments are available in the Buffet, on the Nostalgia Café Terrace, or in the Füsti Dining Car. The Museum Shop sells various souvenirs, cards and books.
