All aboard for the The Gyermekvasút, a Communist-era seven-mile railway in Budapest, Hungary that's operated entirely by children except for the train conductor.
"Like any other railway, it has ticket offices, diesel locomotives, signals, switches and a timetable," the railway company explains. "Unlike other railways though, this one is run by children. The line stretches among the Buda hills from Széchenyihegy to Hűvösvölgy, crossing the Cogwheel Railway and serving Normafa as well as the highest point of Budapest: Jánoshegy."
According to Atlas Obscura, the railway dates back to the Communist era when in 1947, Hungary decided to follow the innovative tracks laid down by Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, conjuring up the concept of a railway run by children. No, it wasn't some dystopian child labor scheme but rather a prestigious initiative aimed at equipping young boys and girls with essential trade skills and a sense of honor and responsibility. The railway eventually fell into disrepair until 1990 when post-Communist Hungary began to focus on domestic tourism.
The tracks were polished, the train cars got a facelift, and the railway emerged anew as the Gyermekvasút, or "Children's Railway."
(via Kottke)
Previously:
• Taking a trip on a private train of restored vintage rail cars
• Dozens of drunken grizzly bears have been killed by trains in Montana
