18 September 2026 – Komarek Steam Railcar Returns to the Tracks

Following an extensive restoration, including the construction of a completely new boiler, the National Technical Museum is returning the 1903 M 124.001 “Komarek” steam railcar to its operational exhibits.

As the National Technical Museum was unable to reach an agreement with the organizers of the Steam Locomotive Festival regarding the operation of the Komarek, the railcar will not take part in the weekend event in Benešov.

We are delighted that the railcar will return to the tracks as early as Friday, 18 September, during a non-public run from Prague to Čerčany and back. Railway history enthusiasts will be able to follow it along the route of the picturesque railway line known as the Posázavský pacifik. The railcar will depart from Prague Main Station at 12:09 and arrive in Čerčany at 14:51. The public is invited to Týnec nad Sázavou, where the Komarek will take on water and coal between 13:57 and 14:34. The timetable can be found here: [Komarek non-public runs, 18 September 2026.docx]. Later on Friday, the Komarek will return from Čerčany via Říčany to Prague, arriving at Masarykovo nádraží.

The railcar had to be withdrawn from service in autumn 2021 due to a serious boiler defect. Its latest major restoration took place between 2024 and 2026 and included the construction of a completely new boiler with parameters identical to those of the original. Thanks to the restoration, the Komarek is once again becoming one of the greatest attractions for enthusiasts of railway history on our tracks.

Of the approximately one hundred steam railcars that once operated on the railways of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, only the M 124.001 has survived to the present day. It is therefore one of the rarest exhibits in the National Technical Museum’s railway collection, whose significance extends well beyond the borders of the Czech Republic.