Medveczki Ágnes: A millenniumi földalatti vasút (A Közlekedési Múzeum Közleményei 4. Budapest, 1975)
Idegen nyelvű ismertetések
SUMMARY This treatise on the history of the first underground railway of the European continent has been written on the basis of researches in archives. The author gives information on many little or not at all published data. By way of introduction the author makes us acquainted with the construction of the most imposing road of Budapest and the frustration of planning tramways on the same road, which finally led to the idea of an underground railway. The essay follows the negotiations for the concession and on business and the modification of the original plans, as well. It gives a detailed account of the works of building starting on 7th August 1894 and completed in under 21 months. In this connection the author makes us acquainted with the applied construction and technical methods, eg. the well-proved asphalt-felt isolation. In relation to the establishment of the line, the superstructures, the automatic signalling and the vehicles the author makes mention of the dissymmetrical rails with special joints, the automatic semaphores. The carriages have special curved underframe girders necessitated by the small inner height of the tunnel caused by the crossing of the Great-Boulevard collecting main. The author gives account of the railway's opening on 2nd May, 1896, its successes in Hungary and abroad and she writes about the gold medal won by the underground at the international exhibition in Paris in 1900. We get acquainted with the planning of the Berlin underground modelled on the Budapest one and the plans elaborated for further development of the underground. The author treats the most important events of operation, labour problems, changes of traffic regulations and ticket systems. The author publicates less known data about trailers planned at the time of the opening, about the experiment on coupling motor cars and on the plans of purchasing new vehicles in 1917. Besides making us acquainted with operating and business results she deals with the events due to the World War I, which, among others made necessary the employment of woman conductors. In 1923 the underground was taken over by the capital. The essay reports on the modernization of tracks, vehicles and signalling in the thirties. It gives a summary of the development following the 2nd World War, as well, mentioning the driving trailers operated since 1960, its connection with the Metro opened in 1970. The essay offers a brief survey of the complete reconstruction of 1972/73, in the course of wich the line was elongated, the surface section in Városliget (Town Park) was discontinued, the rolling stock, the overhead wire and the signalling was replaced. Finally the author acquaints us with the Underground Railway Museum, disposed in an original tunnel stage not used since the correction of the underground line necessitated by building the Metro.
