More Famous Trains

The Golden Arrow was a luxury train introduced in 1929 as an all-Pullman service between London and Dover, to connect, via the cross-Channel ferry, with the Flèche d'Or, a similar, all-Pullman train which began operating three years earlier between Paris and Calais. The UK train, from Victoria, left at 11 am and arrived in Paris (Gare du Nord) at 5.35 pm – a pretty fast service, especially as it included a 90 minute sea-crossing from Dover. From Paris the train left at midday, arriving in Victoria at 6.35 pm. From Victoria to Dover the train, hauled by a Lord Nelson class locomotive in Southern colours (later locomotives were Battle of Britain class) made it to the Kent coast in 98 minutes. Passengers then changed onto the all-first class ferry, "Canterbury" for the trip to Calais and an onward train on, initially, the Chemin de Fer du Nord, later SNCF.

By 1931 the service had become so popular that ordinary first and second-class carriages were added and the boat had to be modified to allow passengers in non-Pullman class to travel. The start of World War II saw the service suspended and it did not resume until April 1946. In the mid 1950s the timings were changed, the train leaving London at 2 pm, running to Folkestone rather than Dover as the boat departed from Folkestone, though sailed back into Dover – hence the return journey began at Dover Marine. In May 1960 it reverted to Dover. By 1961 electric locos had replaced the magnificent Battle of Britain class, speeding the service a little but, with increased road and airline traffic and increased car ferry and hovercraft services across the Channel, the service came to an end in September 1972.

With the success of the Golden Arrow by day, a Night Ferry service was introduced in 1936, linking London to Paris (a service was started to Brussels in 1956) with the sleeping cars themselves being loaded aboard ship so there was no necessity for passengers to disembark as they had to during the day. The train was Britain's first international service. Hauled by steam locomotives from its inception until the mid-50s it was then handed over to Class 71 electric locos and, later, to either a Class 33 (diesel) or 73 loco (third-rail electric). There were normally five SNCF sleepers and a baggage van, but there was also a BR Mk 1 Brake Composite coach, primarily for the English guard (who did not travel on to France or Belgium). From Victoria the train went to Dover, thence by boat to Dunkirk and on to Paris. A similar service left Paris each evening and the two boats crossed in mid-Channel, though timekeeping was a huge problem at both ends and the service was often late. The service came to an end in 1980 as cross-Channel car ferries and hovercraft (plus the airlines) took more and more traffic.

See our page on "Long Distance Trains" for details of this service which is still operating today.