Kemence Forestry Railway Museum, April 2024

So upon an announcement on the Facebook Page Kemencei Erdei Múzeumvasút (https://www.facebook.com/Muzeumvasut/?locale=hu_HU) that the steam loco would be fired up on Saturday 27 April 2024, I quickly prepared to make my way there. The museum itself is located in Pest County, or in Nagybörszony to be precise. The nearest mainline national railway is Szob Vasútállomás, which then you have to get off and continue your journey on bus either number 322 or 355 operated by Volánzbusz. All the trains, domestic and international, stop at Szob Vasutállomás and it is the last station in Hungary before crossing Ipoly River and getting to the neighbouring country Slovakia. The bus journey itself is about 1 hour and 10 minutes and you get off at Kemence Fő utca, and the museum should be a short distance walk downhill.

In terms of the museum railway, the total length of the railway preserved these days is only 4 km, starting at Kemence before reaching the terminus at Feketevölgy (Black Valley). Previously, when the railway saw regular traffic, there were a total of 53 km of tracks extending deep into the forest. But, which I assume, due to regular floodings in 1993 and 1999, part of the trackbed was eroded away due to the stream at Feketevölgy changed direction in its current. A bridge was already built, but the stream eroded the soil trackbed rather than going in the direction of underneath the bridge. So the remaining tracks are now used as a walking trail.

As for the steam loco operation, it would be best to check the Facebook Page beforehand just to make sure that when you get there, the steam loco would be fired. And also there's only one steam loco in the museum. The steam loco itself is MÁV 356.301 "Triglav" built by Krauss (4713/1902) an 0-6-0T steam loco with 600 mm gauge.

Here are some photos from Adtiya of this charming operation.

MÁV 356.301 "Triglav" with passenger train travels along the roadside section on Kőrósza.

On the first part of the roadside section just south of the museum at Godóvár.

-A bit further down at Kőrósza.

Climbing a gentle gradient as it approaches the 4 km terminus at Feketevölgy.