The Military Train

The four-power agreement for Berlin contained unique arrangements for forces’ travel between the Soviet Zone and the US, British and French Zones. As well as the northern, central and southern air corridors and autobahns, each western power had its own military trains along the same routes. The French military train ran three times a week between Berlin and Strasbourg; the British version daily to and from Braunschweig (Brunswick); whilst American troops had two sleeper services every night, one south to Frankfurt and the other north to Bremerhaven. As I had no experience of the French Military Train, I can only comment on the UK and US counterparts.

Run by the Royal Corps of Transport, the British Military Train departed Berlin Charlottenburg station at 08.36 every day, arriving at destination Brunswick at 12.28. (This timing was convenient for connecting with the direct train from Brunswick to the Hook of Holland, to catch the overnight sleeper service to Harwich. From Harwich there was an allied service to Sheffield, as well as one on the main London line. These connections were available on return routing, making a rail journey from Yorkshire to Berlin a most relaxing one change, direct run).

Whilst “The Berliner” train was proceeding through East Germany its doors were locked, with armed guards on board. (Although it must be said that, in all my times as a passenger, I never saw a weapon in attendance). However, all passengers were on strict orders that no attempt must be made to open any doors or to take photographs from the start to the finish of the journey within East Germany. On the way out, the train stopped first on the border of West Berlin at Potsdam, where the engine pulling the coaches was exchanged from a West German to an East German Railways version. The train then moved through the GDR with a brief halt at Magdeburg, before completing a longer stay in Marienborn, where an examination of documentation was carried out by the Soviet authorities. During this time, a detailed external check was completed, including the use of dogs, by the East German Border Guards (ostensibly to prevent smuggling of goods or refugees). The train made a final stop in East Germany at Helmstedt, to change the engine back to a West German railways model, after which the border was crossed for the short journey to Brunswick.

A similar routine was followed during the return journey. The train, once more timed to connect with the incoming passengers from the previous night’s sleeper service from Harwich, left Brunswick at 16.00, eventually reaching Berlin Charlottenburg station at 19.45. It was on this journey that “The Berliner” really came into its own. The Restaurant Car was kitted out in the manner of the interior of the Orient Express. Dinner, which was included for every passenger, was timed to coincide with the halt at Magdeburg. Any locals waiting at the station would thus observe the capitalist occupation forces partaking of fine dining in this deliberate propaganda exercise.

As the food on the military train was included with the ticket, this proved on several occasions to be a lifesaver for me. After an enjoyable but costly stay at home, I would often board the train back skint. I had perhaps a few DM in my pockets to pay for drinks and a snack on the journey through Holland and West Germany, but by the time I got to Brunswick I was starving. The call to go to the Restaurant Car was eagerly awaited and the meal highly appreciated. Surprisingly, considering the splendour of the surroundings, the food was generally plain fare: soup, meat and two veg and pudding. However, I didn’t hear anyone complaining. I think that many passengers were in the same situation as me.

I also travelled once on the American Military Train, on the Berlin to Frankfurt route. As this 10-hour journey took place overnight (departing from the Berlin Lichterfelde station around 20.30), there was no dining car. After the positive experiences of the British Military Train, the US version was a disappointment. It had all the romance of a cattle truck. Nevertheless, British soldiers were allowed to apply for allocated places on this service, ferrying us well into central Germany at no cost. I had booked a place in advance on the Frankfurt to Salzburg express train, with the result that I was already in Austria in the early afternoon following my previous evening’s departure from Berlin.

The experiences of the military trains were, without doubt, uniquely memorable. In recent times recollections of personnel serving on the military trains have been published. All was not as stiffly formal as appeared at the time. The Soviet officers processing the documentation of travellers regularly took advantage of the opportunity to arrange for the purchase of desired items – reportedly ranging from pornography to children’s clothes – on their behalf by the British escort team in Brunswick, for delivery on the return journey that day. With or without purchases, seemingly it was also not unusual for a vodka bottle to be brought out for general consumption during the checking procedure. Now, after nearly thirty years of working closely with Russians, this bottle-opening revelation does not surprise me in the least.