The LNER Encyclopedia

The book 'Steam in Europe' by P. B. Whitehouse (published by Ian Allan Ltd in 1966) in the section on the Netherlands has on page 147 a photo taken at the Hook of Holland in January 1949 showing on the left what is described as a troop train bound for Austria comprised of Gresley coaches.

I also have recollections of seeing a photo in one of the platform underpasses at Aachen Hbf (main station, in Germany) in the 1970s of more Gresley stock there, possibly an ambulance train, taken about 1945.

I assume that all these vehicles must have been converted to the Westinghouse air brake system prior to being transferred to continental Europe, but have yet to come across any information of the vehicles concerned and their workings in Europe. Does anyone know?

One thought, had all the GER and Scottish dual braked gangwayed Gresley stock been converted to vacuum only by WWII, or could suitable Westinghouse air braked coaches still have been available, to be deployed into Europe? Even if the stock was all vacuum braked by that period, it would have speeded the work to find previously airbraked stock to refit, since there would be drawings to refer to and mounting points for the gear: if there was one thing the LNER wasn't short of it was engineers smart enough to realise this, skills honed by the budget constraint the LNER had long operated with.

And whatever the case, since the GER section suburban stock was always airbraked, air brake expertise was in place within the LNER.

The photos you have seen may have been of vehicles used in MEDLOC trains at the end of the war. I have attached a link to a brief mention of the services, one reference showing LNER vehicles.

http://trains-worldexpresses.com/200/206.htm

Medloc A:
From June 1945 Toulon - Toulouse - Vierzon - Pontoise - Dieppe, from 1946 Toulon - Beaune - Calais, then stopped. Ex-Prussian, ex-DR and LNER cars.

I met a chap at the October 2016, Peterborough Warner's Show and he commented that he had been researching these trains and services although there was very little known, his interest was in the LNER vehicles being used. The services used vehicles from different countries railways to ferry ex prisoners of war and medical cases across Europe to their countries of origin.

I hope this is of interest,
Steve White

www.gnrsociety.com