Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe

Flickering gaslights painted the cobblestones with an eerie glow. It was February 3, 1908, a pivotal moment for the Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút (BVVV) and the city of Budapest. The newly constructed power plant on Révész utca hummed with anticipation. The Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe, as it would later be known, was ready. This wasn’t just another power plant. This was a symbol of progress, a testament to the burgeoning electric age. The BVVV had invested heavily in this state-of-the-art facility, designed to generate the modern 10,000V, 50-cycle alternating current needed to power its expanding network of overhead-wire tram lines. The plant even included a connected substation to manage the flow of electricity. The Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe was a marvel of engineering, its powerful generators poised to electrify the city’s future. One crucial element for the power plant’s operation was coal. A dedicated industrial track was built in 1909 to transport the fuel from the MÁV railway line near Lipótváros station. This track stretched for 338 meters, crossing Kötár and connecting to the BVVV’s existing tram line on Pozsonyi utca. This line had been operational since 1903, predating the Dráva utca line, which wouldn’t open until 1911. Interestingly, it wasn’t MÁV, but the BVVV itself that managed this coal transport. They even built their own electric locomotive, designated BVVV No. 1, specifically for this purpose. The locomotive would collect coal shipments from Lipótváros (later Vizafogó) station and haul them along the electrified industrial track into the power plant’s coal receiving area within the Révész utca facility. This ensured a steady supply of fuel for the hungry generators of the Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe. The plant played a vital role in powering Budapest’s trams, but its reign wouldn’t last forever. In 1923, the newly formed Budapest Székesfőváros Közlekedési Rt. (BSZKRT) took over many of the city’s transportation companies. This led to the gradual closure of some power plants, including the one on Pálffy utca, as the city began purchasing most of its electricity from the Elektromos Művek. The Révész utca power plant continued to supply power to several substations, but its importance diminished with the rise of a national power grid. By 1930, the Bánhida Power Plant came online and began supplying Budapest with electricity via two 100 kV transmission lines. To accommodate this, the Magyar Dunántúli Villamossági Rt. built a 100/10 kV transformer station at Kötár. The BSZKRT joined this interconnected system, receiving power from Bánhida through its Kárpát utca substation. This marked the beginning of the end for the Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe’s primary function. The plant was relegated to a backup role, providing a safety net for the city’s power supply. This proved crucial during incidents like the Christmas 1932 power outage, when a severe ice storm caused the Bánhida transmission lines to fail, leaving Budapest’s trams stranded in the winter cold. The Budapesti Villamos Városi Vasút egykori Révész utcai áramfejlesztő telepe stepped in, keeping the city’s essential services running. The industrial track that once served the power plant continued to operate, and in 1935 it was recorded as being 271 meters long with four turnouts. Eventually, the site transitioned to become the Budapesti Erőmű Zrt. Révész Fűtőmű, its original power plant building still standing as a reminder of its electrifying past.