Steam in Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic 14

Thursday 18th May With a NOHAB along Lake Balaton and via unusual secondary lines to historic Pecs

Today you experience one of the iconic GM-designed, NOHAB-built 6-axle diesel locomotives, delivered to Hungary in the 1960s. Tall and majestic with distinctive rounded noses, your NOHAB will pull your private charter train with luxurious Swiss Schlieren coaches and dining cars. Travelling along the southern banks of Lake Balaton, you traverse on to “rare track” and venture on scenic secondary routes via Fonyod and Kaposvar to Pecs. You’ll have free time to see the beautiful landmarks in the historic old town, before your charter returns to Budapest on the direct Intercity route via Dombovar. Lunch and dinner will be served in the dining car. (B L D)

Friday 19th May On to Vienna, City Sightseeing by private charter tram Today you travel First Class from Budapest to Vienna, arriving into Austria’s largest city by mid-day and checking into your elegant hotel. A privately chartered tramway takes you on a scenic sightseeing tour of the famed Ring Road and the historic city centre, past the Imperial Palace, Opera House and Neo-Gothic City Hall. Alighting the tram you visit one of Vienna’s Grand Cafes for high tea. You’ll have free time to explore the city, making use of your transport rover ticket. (B L)

Saturday 20th May Steam at the Prater Railway, Steam at Strasshof and Prater Ferris Wheel After breakfast you take an OBB service train to the famed Strasshof railway museum and steam shed. The site hosts one of the largest collections of preserved and operational steam locomotives in Central Europe and has many iconic tank and tender locomotives dating from the Austro-Hungarian era. The 4-4-0 tender locomotive 17c372 dating from 1891 will be in steam and provide cab-ride opportunities up and down the mile-long museum yard. In the afternoon you return to Vienna and ride the Prater 15 inch railway. This 4 km long line in Vienna’s largest park dates from 1928 and has two beautiful 4-6-2 “Pacific” steam locomotives. You make a full roundtrip with picture opportunities, before riding the iconic Prater Ferris Wheel. Built by Royal Navy engineers in 1897 it was made famous by the British film “The Third Man” with Orson Welles. (B L) Sunday 21st May Steam on the Mariazell Railway with Mh.6 from St. Pölten to Bischoffstetten Following breakfast you take a high speed train from Vienna to St. Pölten, the provincial capital of Lower Austria. There you join an exclusively chartered steam train on the spectacular Mariazellerbahn, Austria’s longest and most famous narrow gauge railway. Your private First Class carriages are hauled by the vintage 1908 0-8+4 articulated tender locomotive No. Mh 6. You steam from St. Pölten to the junction station Obergrafendorf and continue on the nonelectrified branch line to Bischofstetten. This line only re-opened in 2019 and with no regular service trains on this line, it is possible to stage numerous run-pasts along the way. After the private charter train returns from Bischofstetten to Obergrafendorf, there is a visit to the depot, before lunch is served at the local brewpub. In the afternoon you sample one of the Mariazellerbahn’s modern, Swiss-built electric trains to St. Pölten, where you continue on the high speed line back to Vienna. (B L)

Monday 22nd May Main Line Steam in the Czech Republic through the Moravian Wine Country The holiday concludes with steam in a third Central European country, as you take an international train from Wien Hbf to Brno and then join a private charter train to travel through the scenic South Moravian winegrowing region hauled by the rugged 1950s tank engine 213.901. Your journey starts at the city’s main station and travels south through vineyards and landscapes on the “freight only” branch line to Pohorelice. Along the way, several photo stops and run-pasts will also be staged. Lunch and complimentary drinks will be served in the bistro carriage of the train. After getting the best of Czech steam and railway culture, you return to Brno and from there take another international express back to Vienna. (B L)

Tuesday 23rd May Return to London After a morning and afternoon to still spend at leisure in Vienna to enjoy all the city has to offer and to take advantage of your public transport rover to ride on the trams, you have a direct evening flight back to London. (B)

Tour Summary

Tour price £2495 Single supplement £395 Ground only £2395 (Budapest – Vienna)

Price includes:

• Flights from London to Budapest and

Vienna to London • 8 nights hotel accommodation with breakfasts • 7 lunches and 3 dinners • All specially chartered steam trains as detailed in the itinerary • Complimentary public transport tickets in Budapest and Vienna • All train and road coach travel as detailed in the itinerary • All transfers and visits as detailed in the itinerary • The services of a tour manager

All prices shown are per person based on two persons sharing. Meals included each day are shown as: B = Breakfast - L = Lunch - D = Dinner

May 2023

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Andrew Thompson Georg Trueb

Continental Steam Safari

Friday 26th May to Sunday 4th June 2023

For a unique steam tour full of RTC firsts and diverse continental attractions, join us on this one-off holiday to Germany, Switzerland and France. Based initially in Stuttgart, then Brunnen on Lake Lucerne and Yverdon-les-Bain on the banks of Lake Neuchatel, you’ll enjoy unique steam attractions on and off the beaten path. Highlights include: • Steaming to the summit of Mount Rigi with one of the world’s oldest operational steam locomotives, the vertical-boiler, vintage 1873 rack tank No.7 at the Rigi Railway. • A steam charter on an 1890 locomotive to the summit of Monte Generoso in Ticino, Switzerland. • Private steam charters at the remote Vallee de Joux, Coni-Fer heritage railways in the French and Swiss Jura Mountains, including traction with the large German ‘Kriegslok’ 52 8163 in France. • An afternoon paddle steamer cruise on Lake Lucerne. • Visits to the 15-inch Killesberg steam railway in Stuttgart and the recently extended Härtsfeldbahn narrow gauge heritage railway in Neresheim.

Friday 26th May London to Stuttgart by rail You travel from London by Eurostar and ICE/ TGV high speed rail via Paris to arrive in Stuttgart in the evening. You book into your centrally located hotel where dinner will be served. (D)

Saturday 27th May Steam at the Killesbergbahn in Stuttgart; Local network discovery Today you visit the miniature Killesberg Railway, one of only three 15-inch park railways in Germany. Set on a hilltop park reached on a local tramway, this scenic 2.1 km long route originally opened in the late 1930s. One of three locomotives will be in steam today for your enjoyment, including for riding and line siding. After your visit you’ll receive a complimentary Stuttgart public transport rover ticket, for discovery of the expansive light and heavy rail network and Stuttgart’s rack railway, only one of four such mountain-climbing railways in Germany. In the evening you re-join your fellow travellers for dinner at your hotel. (B D)

Sunday 28th May Steam at the Härtsfeldbahn heritage railway Another narrow-gauge highlight awaits today on the Härtsfeldbahn heritage railway. Six kilometres of this once 55 km-long metre gauge railway have been rebuilt by dedicated volunteers. Travel by private charter from Neresheim to Katzenstein, pausing for run pasts at select locations. Engine 12 dates from 1913 and its type is typical of that era and region. You’ll be served an al-fresco lunch at the railway before returning in late afternoon to Stuttgart by coach and service train. (B L)

Monday 29th May Transfer to Brunnen; Paddle steamer cruise on Lake Lucerne Using your complimentary Interrail Pass, you transfer from Stuttgart with DB and SBB service trains via Singen and Zurich to Brunnen, situated on Lake Lucerne and book into your hotel. Afterwards you take the afternoon paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne to Lucerne itself, before returning by train to Brunnen. Dinner tonight is served at your hotel. (B D)

Tuesday 30th May Steam Engine No. 7 at Mount Rigi; Visit to the Stoos funicular railway You’ll enjoy a tour highlight today, as you steam