János is 13, and his favourites are locomotives and the railway.
He’d like to become an engine-driver one day. János wishes to see locomotives, to visit railway stations where engines come and go, to see lots of rails, but the real dream, his “big-biggest dream” of all, as he puts it, is to drive a locomotive.

And a dream came true again.

We arranged a meeting with Janesz’s mother at the Tiszai Railway Station, in Miskolc. Little did he know about the reason why he was travelling to Budapest. It was Budapest indeed, as we had been planning Janesz’s wish with Csodalámpa for weeks, which was to get him to the Museum of Railway History to see engines and to be able to actually drive one.

“Uncle Steve,” a Csodalámpa volunteer, was waiting for us at the Keleti Railway Station, and took us to the Ferencváros shunting yard, where Janesz had the chance to admire all of the passenger and cargo trains and the many rails crossing each other at the station. Seeing all these miracles, he looked down from the overpass staring at the endless fields of rails. That’s why he was shocked when an engine which was passing below the overpass blew its whistle!

He fell upon Uncle Steve’s neck in fear.
It was then when he confessed his long-held dream of blowing a locomotive whistle!

Leaving the wonder of the overpass behind us, we then went into a workshop where trains are repaired.
The boy was welcomed warmly, and he was clearly amazed at the sight. He liked the workshop itself and the workers as well.

We went to another place, where, according to Janesz, the trams “sleep”. It was the Ferencváros Tram Shed.
By this time, he was very happy and was thanking us for bringing him to such magnificent places.

The real surprise was yet to come!
We took a taxi and went to the Museum of the Railway History with him and his mother.

The little boy just stood there with his mouth open at the sight of those locomotives and almost cried when he was put into one of the engines, which he could actually drive. Finally, a long-held dream came true: the young engine-driver managed to sound a train’s whistle.

They allowed him to do it despite it being prohibited because of the people living nearby!
But seriously, with Csodalámpa... ! Even us adults stood there tearfully when Janesz got down from the engine.
The day’s schedule was not over yet though.

After lunch, in the Museum of Scale Models, Janesz looked at the books on locomotives with interest and desire.
And Csodalámpa couldn’t let him leave with empty hands; he happily cuddled the gift books and DVD.
We did some rail biking later on. Janos couldn’t take part in pushing the railcar, which operates through man power, but wanted to give a hand to Uncle Steve, who was struggling with the connecting-rod.

After this, we climbed up onto each and every locomotive and travelled on the museum’s small train as well, which was quite fun.
It was good to see this little boy gathering all of his strength, defeating his inhibitions, and climbing into the locomotives, not paying any attention whatsoever to the fact that his hands and clothes had become covered with black oil.
He was scared, he later admitted! He was scared of heights, and scared of falling off. But at the sight of every single locomotive, he managed to get up from his wheelchair, ready for a new adventure.

We said good bye to the Museum, with time left over, before going home. Uncle Steve had one more surprise for Janesz.
He showed the little boy the House of Parliament, and took the metro underneath the Danube to the Buda side.
The boy enjoyed taking the escalator very much, and could not resist trying to look cool while getting on and off.
Nothing was forbidden for him, yet we adults had to watch him even more closely. This was true for the whole day.

At the end of the day, Janesz couldn’t stop thanking us for making his “biggest dream” a reality, and in addition, for giving him so many experiences.

Dear János, We hope that by making your “big-biggest dream” come true, Csodalámpa was able to give you many lovely hours and nice memories. We who carried out your wish thank you for the time we were able to spend with you and that we were able to be a part of your joy, your smile and your happiness.

We thank the management of the Museum of Railway History for letting us use the facility for free, turning Janos’s dream into reality.

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