A Tatra train

In August 1982 we made an epic trip from Ripley to Constanza on the Black Coast and back in a Ford Cortina, RTV604X. We left Ripley immediatly after work on a Friday evening and caught the overnight boat to Holland and then drove to Linz arriving at about 6:00 pm. On Sunday we travelled on the Postlingbergbahn and the 900mm gauge Linz trams. On Monday we crossed into still communist Hungary in record time - 10 mins to cross from Austria to Hungary and found a hotel that accepted credit cards in Budapest with no difficulties. Tuesday was spent in Budapest visiting the Pioneer Railway and the connecting tramways and funiculars and eating ice creams and street snacks, drinking wine and beer and enjoying good food at very reasonable prices. On Wednesday we spent a few hours in Debrecin before driving to the Romanian border. We had a few Florints left so I filled the petrol tank to the brim and then bought some soft drinks and snacks. Later this proved to be a very wise decision. It took at least an hour to cross into Romania and the difference between the standard of living in Hungary and Romania was immediately apparent.........to be continued

A taster of Romania - a tram train of 3 Tatras in Galati which make Halle 902 look immaculate.