Night Ferry - Rolling Stock

Rolling Stock

Introduced on the night of 5 October 1936, it featured newly constructed sleeping coaches from the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits built to an adapted design to fit the British loading gauge, of the so-called type F (for Ferry). 12 carriages (3788-3799) were built by ANF at Blanc-Misseron (near Valenciennes) in France in 1935-36, of which 1936-built Sleeping Car No. 3792 has now been preserved in the National Railway Museum in York. A further 6 were built in 1939 by the Compagnie Générale de Construction at St. Denis (3800-3805), but only entered service in 1946. A final 7 (3983-3989) came in 1952, also built at St. Denis, to replace wartime losses. Thus, a total of 25 F-sleepers were built, all of the same design. In addition to sleeping cars, the train normally included two SNCF "Fourgon" baggage vans. Only one of those seems to be extant, and is currently stored in French rail sidings along with an unrestored F Class Sleeper Car (see also links to the irps-site below). Each overnight train carried up to five (very occasionally six) sleeping cars. When loaded onto the train ferry the train was split into sections and loaded equally on tracks on the port and starboard sides of the ship, to maintain its balance.

The Night Ferry normally departed from and arrived at platform 2 at London Victoria station. Customs checks were carried out at the station.

The (First Class) sleeping cars and the baggage vans travelled the entire journey. The British train from Victoria to Dover, and the French train from Dunkirk to Paris, conveyed normal second class coaches of their own railway. The passengers travelling by these walked on and off the ship in the standard way. In addition the British train conveyed one of a pair of standard Mk 1 Brake Composite carriages, which had been modified with a French-style gangway connection at one end. This provided the guard's compartment in Britain and enabled the guard to walk through the train.

Until the Eurostar service began on 14 November 1994, the Night Ferry had been the only through passenger train between Great Britain and Continental Europe. The carriages of the daytime Golden Arrow train did not cross the Channel.