Railway mates (2004-2006)

The plan of the „summer city of young pioneers” started being outlined by the end of the 1940s. Along with the children’s camp of Csillebérc, the Children’s Railway of the Széchenyi mountain was built as well, where young mates were active from the beginning. The pioneer railway was the establishment of the sunnier side of Socialism, and it is interesting to see that many years after the change of regime it is still active, only it’s name has changed to Children’s Railway. Even today children can only get in if they have good school reports, they are required to pass many exams, do not receive a salary – still, the majority of them loves the railway, they know the stops between Szeged and Budapest by heart and almost all of them want to become a raliwayman once they grow up.

The children working on the Children’s Railway model the adult world, those in service here are being prepared for the „real life”. Discipline, unity, order, hierarchy, configuration, uniform are what define the „working days” of the 10-14-year-olds. They are in a trustful position, still they carry out assignments that are stupefied and controlled from above (by adults). Under no circumstances is this child labour: the children come to serve the Hungarian Railway, which is also a spectacle of the Buda Hills much liked by tourists.

(Shot in digital.)