NIGHT FERRY RESTARUANT CARS

[Czesziafan]

I have always had a curious fascination with the Night Ferry, that unique international express with through Wagons Lits sleepers between Victoria and Paris / Brussels. One feature in the post war era on the English side was that the restaurant cars were SR / BR owned but Pullman staffed from 1947 until the end of 1962, when the contract with Pullman ended and British Transport Catering (a division of British Transport Hotels) took over. The SR subcontracted all its catering on the Central and Eastern Sections to Pullman, which BR continued on nationalisation, either using railway owned vehicles or Pullman cars, depending on the service operated. I am hoping to find a piece of appropriate cutlery to add to my collection but not sure what pattern was used during the early BR days.Would it have been the SR flag pattern as used on the ferries, ordinary SR, Pullman, or BR? Would appreciate any help with this please.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Was the British Pullman / Restaurant Car taken off the train when it was shunted onto the ferry and a French/Belgian Restaurant car put on when the train came off the ship the other side of the Channel.?

Have you tried Ebay?

 

[Czesziafan]

The BR restaurant cars worked between Victoria and Dover Marine, and on the other side of the channel the train had a Wagons Lits restaurant car between Dunkerque and Paris Nord. The BR catering vehicles were withdrawn in 1977.

On the British side there were 2 restaurant cars - one for sleeping car passengers, and the other for the "walkers", because the sleeper passengers went through customs and immigration at Victoria with the others being processed at the ports. The gangway between the 2 diners was locked in order to keep the passengers segregated: just one of the many logistical problems caused by UK customs' refusal to examine baggage and passports on the train as the French authorities did. A customs officer and/or a British Transport Commission Police officer travelled down to Dover and back to ensure the rules were enforced!

SR restaurant twin-sets S7869 / S7846 and S7878 / S7847 had their couplings and gangways specially modified in order to be coupled next to the WL sleepers, and were used solely for the Ferry, but the vehicles used for the non-sleeping portion were ordinary SR stock.