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Boat Trains The English Channel and Ocean Liner Specials History, Development and Operation
Martyn
Pring
Barnsley
and Philadelphia: Pen and Sword Transport, 2020 Hardback,
384 pp. ISBN 978-1526761927. £35
Reviewed by Hugh Clout University College London
Just a year after the
publication of his Luxury Railway Travel : A Social and Business
History (2019), Martyn Pring has brought out a companion volume which draws
on ‘a wealth of unused material’ [7] assembled in preparation for his previous
book. He recalls a visit years ago that took him and his friends from primary
schools in Bristol by a special train that conveyed them right into the heart
of Southampton docks. This rather unusual schoolboy experience encapsulated the
fundamental idea of the ‘boat train’: a special service that does not terminate
at the main urban station but carries on right to the waterfront. Of course,
the trains that figure in Boat Trains are far grander affairs than the
Bristol-Southampton special, comprising ‘fast trains, often equipped with
dining facilities [running] directly to and from special harbours and quayside
stations so passengers could be transferred seamlessly to and from waiting
ships, unencumbered by their luggage’ [10]. Trunks and suitcases were handled
by waiting teams of porters. Such services initially involved short crossings
in sailing vessels and operated from several ports along the English Channel.
They were soon emulated for trans-Atlantic voyages. The received image of
such long journeys is one of ostentatious wealth and glamour, as sportsmen,
actors and assorted celebrities crossed the seas for purposes of business or
pleasure. Each of these trips involved a substantial number of support staff
not only to manage the vessel but also to cater to every whim of passengers. A
practical aside on the quantity of towels, table linen and other items having
to be laundered is instructive. Demands on washerwomen were especially great
when vessels encountered periods of rough water. Pring is careful to stress
that boat trains and trans-Atlantic liners also transported their share of impoverished
migrants who sought a new livelihood away from the hardships of Europe. In
cramped conditions aboard, their experience was far from glamorous. On some
boats their quarters had to be hosed down once the voyage was over. Unquestionably,
‘there was a relationship between money and the ability to travel calibrated by
social distinction’ [30]. From the 1870s, boat trains
served modern steamships which moved from paddle to twin-screw propulsion. By
the outbreak of the Great War, an extensive network of boat trains connected
cities and harbours throughout Europe and functioned in many other parts of the
world. For example, an integrated rail-liner-rail service linked Britain to
Japan via Canada in only 22 days. Wartime experience of moving vast armies
quickly by train and boat led to new efficiencies which complemented the growing
demand for civilian travel after peace was restored. During the 1940s and 1950s,
‘the integrated train and boat relationship continued to flourish but then,
with the rise of private car ownership and modern air travel, the boat-train
idea declined and slowly died. Its time had passed’ [11]. During the 1960s,
cross-Channel ferries became ‘no-frills set-ups adapted for the needs of
commercial vehicle freight transport operations and the private car. Boat
trains lost their travel grandeur’ [33] and trans-Atlantic liners failed to
compete with the speed and convenience of travel by air. Martin Pring recounts
this story in two main parts, with the first tracing the evolution of boat-train
services and associated harbour developments from Victorian times to the 1990s,
and the second exploring great cross-Channel boat-train expresses and famous
boat-train ocean liners. Efficient operation
of boat trains required close cooperation between railway companies, shipping
lines and port authorities since competition between such associations was remarkably
strong. During the Victorian era, Liverpool retained its status as Britain’s
main port for trans-Atlantic travel, but ‘its dominance was under threat as
Southampton afforded passengers easier and quicker access’ to the main source
of long-distance travellers in London [37]. In 1892, the Southampton Dock
Company was purchased by the London and South Western Railway and a range of
boat trains served sailings from the port to Le Havre, Cherbourg and the
Channel Islands, as well as several trans-Atlantic destinations. Until the
start of the twentieth century, the port of London was ill equipped to handle
ocean-going passenger vessels until out-port facilities were provided at
Tilbury, which was just 45 minutes by train from Saint Pancras station in
central London. Special boat trains serving long-distance passenger routes also
operated through Plymouth, Fishguard and the new Avonmouth docks at Bristol. In
addition to regional and long-distance routes, these ports handled cruise ships
carrying tourists to winter resorts in the West Indies, the Bahamas and Cuba, and
taking others into Norwegian waters to experience the ‘Northern Lights’. Several ports along
the Channel coast underwent substantial improvements to their harbour
facilities as the demand for sailings to France continued to grow. As early as
the 1840s, English railway companies and travel agencies were organising day
trips across the Channel and running cheap excursions to Paris and Brussels,
using connecting rail services from the French ports. In 1851, a Paris-bound
boat-train service was inaugurated for first-class passengers, with special
carriages provided with washbasins and chamber pots. Additional luxury
boat-train services between the two capital cities were provided to cater for
special occasions, such as the Paris International Exhibition of 1899. Travel
brochures promoted the distinctive advantages of each route. Thus, services
through Dover and Calais offered the advantage of short journey time, whilst
those using the Newhaven-Dieppe route introduced travellers to the pleasures of
the picturesque Normandy countryside. Advertisements for sailings from Plymouth
highlighted the distinctive cultural appeal of Brittany. The years between the
two world wars were indeed ‘the golden age of luxury train travel, whose power,
speed and glamour’ [103] were fully exploited in full colour posters and
elegant brochures. Despite numerous promotion exercises after 1945, the days of
the boat-train services between England and France were numbered, with ‘the
opening of the Channel Tunnel (in 1994) effectively signing their death
warrant’ (137). Having traced the
story of boat trains operating from Britain, Martin Pring adjusts his gaze in
the remaining two chapters of his book to focus more sharply on cross-Channel
boat-train expresses and on special trains that met ocean liners. He emphasises
that rival companies sought to out-do each other in terms of luxury and
efficiency. Following the creation of Wagons-Lits in 1876, the next couple of
decades witnessed a form of ‘love-hate relationship’ [141] between that
organisation and the operations of the Pullman Company, the crux of the matter
being the running of competing services across France and Italy, especially the
operation of trains from Calais to Rome. At the dawn of the twentieth century,
Wagons-Lits improved its connections with the ‘Calais-Meditérranée Express’
which provided a sleeper service in luxury carriages that whisked wealthy
travellers non-stop from the Channel coast, along the petite ceinture
line surrounding Paris, and on to the Mediterranean. Relaunched in 1904 as the ‘Côte
d’Azur Express’, After World War I,
this service was renamed ‘The Blue Train’ and became ‘synonymous with a unique
and sophisticated experience combining hope, anticipation and reward’ [163].
Winston Churchill figured among the elite who patronised the luxurious ‘Blue
Train’. His secretary, Mary Penman is quoted as recalling Churchill’s ability
to imbibe large quantities of strong liquor aboard the train and still be ready
to dictate a word-perfect article for a newspaper to appear in print on the
following day. Launched in 1929, the
’Golden Arrow’ service was especially favoured by high-spending Britons and by
Americans who were keen to discover their European family roots. Indeed, ‘the
Golden Arrow departure platform at Victoria was like a page from Who’s Who’
[182]. After a non-stop journey to Dover, passengers boarded a first-class
ferry to Calais and then joined the ‘Flèche d’Or’ train to take them direct to
Paris. Seven years later, a unique sleeper service was introduced between the
two capital cities via Dover and Dunkirk, with the train being driven directly
on to one of three specially built ferries. Enormous engineering problems associated
with the large tidal range at Dover were overcome by the construction of a
unique enclosed dock. Once the ferry was ‘inside the sealed dock, the level of
water was either raised or lowered depending on the state of the tide’, the
pump house being capable of moving nearly 750,000 gallons of sea water per hour
[211]. On occasions when Churchill used the night train, he ordered the
normally non-stop service to call at Sevenoaks station, which was conveniently close
to his residence at Chartwell. Surrounded by an aura of romance, the night
ferry continued to operate until 1980 when it finally fell victim to
competition from air travel. Complementing these
remarkable cross-Channel boat trains were special services linking London with either
Liverpool or Southampton, thereby enabling travellers to board trans-Atlantic
liners directly. Other passengers chose to spend a night or two in one of
several luxurious hotels built and managed in these ports by railway companies
and shipping lines, before continuing the next stage of their journey. Less
well known are the boat-train services that operated out of Glasgow en route
to India, Canada or the USA. And there Martyn Pring ends the story abruptly,
with no formal conclusion being offered. Like its companion
volume, Boat Trains is crammed with fascinating detail as well as a most
impressive array of full-colour illustrations reproducing posters and historic
photographs of trains, docks and stations. These will most certainly appeal to
enthusiasts and to some general readers. Less successful are the black and
white reproductions of whole pages taken from periodicals. Unfortunately, these
are so over-reduced that they are not easily legible. Critics will be surprised
at the very variable length of chapters, with chapter 6 covering 134 pages but
chapter 4 only four. The absence of a conclusion will be of concern to some,
who may also feel that the bibliography could be extended to advantage.
However, these are minor quibbles that should not detract from the overall
qualities of the book. Boat Trains is certainly packed with fascinating
information. Once again, Pen and Sword must be congratulated for producing an
attractive book that is a real feast to the eye.
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