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Stations, Junctions, etc
Engine Sheds
Other
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Miscellaneous
Birmingham Railway and Carriage Co Ltd:
misc_brc&wc142
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The world's purpose built first ambulance train was built by
the BRCWC in 1898 for use as a mobile field hospital in the Boer War conflict.
The train was named after Princess Christian (Queen Victoria's third daughter
Helena), who through her work with the Red Cross had sponsored the train and
visited the BRCWC Works at Smethwick on 22nd December 1898 to see it under
construction. The seven coach train was built and then completely dismantled
again, for shipping to Durban in South Africa, where it was rebuilt. This
ambulance train had the honour to be the first train into the relieved town of
Ladysmith. Red Cross records identified that a total of 7,548 badly injured
soldiers were transported on the train during the conflict. The carriages were
of wooden construction with a clerestory roof and later in the war the train
was deliberately torched by the Boers, who believed it was being used for
carrying arms and ammunition. At the start of the First World War, the BRCWC
were commissioned to build another ambulance train for service on the Western
Front. The BRCWC built an eight coach set, but this was subsequently extended
to twelve coaches. The photograph shows part of this train outside the BRCWC
works before it was shipped to France in April 1915. The train was officially
called Ambulance Train No 15 (AT15), but like the predecessor was
also known as the Princess Christian Ambulance Train. Each coach was 55 foot
long (58 foot, 6 inches over buffers), 8 foot, 9 inches wide and weighed 29
tons. The coaches were painted French grey with mouldings picked out in brown
and vermilion lines. A Red Cross on a white background was painted on each
side.
Robert Ferris
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