Danger!
As the war went on, travelling by train became increasingly dangerous. NS had to take a variety of measures to protect its trains from increasing attacks by Allied aircraft. From the air, the pilots could not tell the difference between German Wehrmacht trains and civilian trains. In 1944 alone, 276 people died in these attacks, including dozens of NS employees. To avoid becoming potential targets at night, locomotives and carriages were darkened to minimise the light they produced. As soon as Allied fighters were detected, the railways stations concerned were immediately informed by telegraph. Next, a yellow-blue flag was raised to warn railway personnel of a possible air strike. NS was also increasingly confronted with sabotage by the Dutch resistance movement, prompting the Germans to demand a system of ‘rail guards’ in 1942. The task of the rail guard was to inspect the tracks for any abnormalities or irregularities so as to prevent accidents.
Allied air strikes
Train under attack
Train under attack
Watercolour by D. van Rijn of an attack on a train, made in 1994, Railway Museum Collection, donated by the Friends of the Railway Museum.
In 1994, D. van Rijn made this watercolour depicting an air strike by Allied fighters on a train in 1944. The depiction of the locomotive from the 6300 series with a yellow-blue flag to alert staff to a potential air strike is historically incorrect, as this type of flag was only used at railway stations, never on a locomotive. Nevertheless, the scene presents a vivid picture of the dangers to which engine drivers and train passengers were exposed in 1944.
'Lodewijk' signal
'Lodewijk' signal
Yellow-blue-yellow flag (the ‘Lodewijk signal’), Railway Museum Collection.
As soon as Allied aircraft were detected, a yellow-blue-yellow flag was raised on railway stations and signal boxes. To avoid panic among passengers, this flag was code-named the ‘Lodewijk signal’, with ‘L’ signifying luchtgevaar (danger from the air). In the dark, a blue light on stations and signal boxes warned train staff that Allied aircraft were approaching.
Flag
Flag
Photograph of yellow-blue-yellow flag being raised at Dordrecht railway station, 1943, Railway Museum Collection.
On the platform of Dordrecht railway station, a yellow-blue-yellow flag was raised to give the ‘Lodewijk signal’ (signifying danger from the air).
Bombs
Bombs
Poster by Joop Geesink, ‘Bombs will whizz towards the light’, c. 1943, Railway Museum Collection.
Continuing attacks on trains forced NS to take several blackout measures. For example, in the evening passengers were obliged to close the curtains of the windows in their carriage, to make the train invisible to Allied pilots. Thanks to the thick blackout curtains, the light inside the carriage could stay on. In carriages without lightproof curtains, the lamps were sprayed with black paint.
Fatal
Fatal
Poster by Joop Geesink, ‘If only a single beam of light escapes…’, ca 1943, Railway Museum Collection.
Blackout measures were imposed on all Dutch citizens, not just railway passengers. People were required to darken their windows with blackout paper at night to ensure it was pitch dark outside and Allied pilots would be unable to make out their targets. The blackout rules also applied to the NS buildings and workshops, in many of which the windows were darkened with blue paint.
Keeping curtains closed
Keeping curtains closed
Poster by Joop Geesink, ‘If only a single beam escapes…’, ca 1943, Railway Museum Collection.
The poster was intended to remind train passengers to close the curtains at night, as even a single beam of light could attract the attention of Allied fighters. Passengers also received leaflets with instructions not to leave the train during an attack, and in any event to follow the guard’s instructions.
Air-raid alert
Air-raid alert
Metal sign with instructions in the event of an air-raid alert, Railway Museum Collection.
This metal sign, which was probably used in a signal box, informed the reader that the signals could be emitted at half-strength in the event of an air-raid alert.
Lights switched off
Lights switched off
Blackout plates to cover the lights on a locomotive, ca 1944, Railway Museum Collection.
The pilots of Allied aircraft would also be able to see the lights on a locomotive, so these were covered with blackout plates that held back most of the light. To remain at least partly visible in the dark, the buffers on the locomotives were painted white.
Tender bunker
Tender bunker
Tender bunker near the signal box on the museum grounds, Railway Museum Collection.
A number of locomotives were equipped with a concrete shelter on the storage vehicle for water and coal (the ‘tender’), where the crew could take shelter in the event of an air raid. Tender bunkers were not popular among the crew members, as the engine driver and fireman would first have to crawl over a heap of coal and then squeeze themselves into a narrow space that barely offered enough room for two people. In the event of an air raid, crew members preferred to jump out of the driver’s cabin and seek shelter along the track.
Sheltering on the loc
Sheltering on the loc
Photograph of locomotive 3919 with tender bunker, Railway Museum Collection.
This picture of the concrete shelter on steam engine 3919 clearly shows that tender bunkers offered little comfort to the fireman and the engine driver seeking shelter inside. In the event of an air raid, they had to crawl over a heap of coal and squeeze themselves into a narrow little bunker.
Warning
Warning
Poster warning people for darkness, March 1944, Railway Museum Collection.
Lighting on trains and at railway stations was kept to a minimum so as to keep buildings and equipment from view. This meant it was really dark on the platforms. On the poster, NS warned passengers to be careful when getting off the train.
Emergency windows
Emergency windows
Pane board, or emergency window, ca 1942, Railway Museum Collection.
Many window panes on trains and in NS buildings were shattered during air raids. Due to the shortages of materials, damaged windows were fixed with softboard plates that had small glazed holes in them. These allowed little light to enter the carriage. Passengers who wanted to look outside had to keep one eye right in front of a hole in the board.
Anti-aircraft carriage
Anti-aircraft carriage
Three photographs of an anti-aircraft carriage for the Wehrmacht, 1941, Railway Museum Collection.
Allied air raids were intended first and foremost to disrupt German military transports. Starting in 1941, the Germans decreed that each and every transport carried out for the Wehrmacht was to be accompanied by two anti-aircraft carriages. Those carriages contained a range of protective emergency equipment, such as bandaging, fire extinguishers and all manner of tools to keep the track open.
Flak carriage
Flak carriage
Photograph of German flak carriage, found at the Utrecht Maliebaan station (which today houses the Railway Museum) after the liberation, Railway Museum Collection.
From 1942 omwards, some transports for the Wehrmacht were protected by so-called flak carriages carrying anti-aircraft guns. NS employees feared these carriages, as retaliatory fire by the Germans would intensify the fighting with the Allied pilots, causing more casualties.
Glass splinters
Glass splinters
Tin container with glass splinters gathered by Jopie Buursema, June 1944, Railway Museum Collection, donated by Marianne Plijnaar.
Jopie Buursema (1921-2018) travelled in June 1944 from Rotterdam to Assen. Unfortunately her train was attacked by Allied airplanes, and all window panes were shattered. ‘The pockets of my coat were filled with the splinters’, she later said. She kept some of them in a tin container.
Holes
Holes
Photograph of a train after an air raid, Railway Museum Collection.
This photograph of an attacked train shows how devastating the effects of an air raid could be.
Train after attack
Train after attack
Photograph of a train damaged by fire in an air raid, Railway Museum Collection.
‘Once the pride of NS, now charred and riddled with bullets.’ This is the caption of a photograph of a severely damaged electric train, type Mat ’36.
Number plate
Number plate
Number plate of a Belgian train damaged in an air raid, November 1944, Railway Museum Collection.
Attacks by Allied aircraft continued after NS personnel had gone on strike on 17 September 1944. In November 1944 the Belgian locomotive 8478, which had been requisitioned by the Germans, was damaged in an air raid by Allied fighters near the town of Baarn. The goods carriages it was pulling when it was attacked contained horses, most of which were killed in the shooting. The Germans killed the wounded horses, so the people of Baarn had horse meat on their menus for the next couple of days.
Punishment
Punishment
Sign in German, ‘Alle Reisenden’ [all travellers], of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, Railway Museum Collection.
Under German railway regulations, rail passengers were themselves responsible for observing the blackout rules on trains. Anyone who did not comply with the rules was punished. This sign probably originates from a German train that was deployed in the Netherlands during the railway strike.
Railway Guard Unit
Official instruction
Official instruction
Official instruction No. 569, 4 September 1942, Railway Museum Collection.
On 4 September 1942, the NS management board announced the deployment of railway guards on several major railway lines. They operated under the supervision of the NS Roads and Public Works Department. The railway lines concerned were divided into sections of around four kilometres each, assigned to individual railway guards. If the guard discovered any abnormality on the rails, train traffic had to be brought to a standstill as soon as possible until the matter had been investigated by the German police.
Protective clothing
Protective clothing
Letter dated 15 October 1942, correspondence between NS and the German Bahnbevollmächtigte, HUA 1867, File 73.
The Railway Guard Corps, established by order of the Germans, faced shortages of all sorts of equipment. This emerges from the letter written by Chief Engineer A. Plomp of the Sixth Unit of the Roads and Public Works Department to Chief Liaison Inspector Giesberger. Plomp warned him that, due to the lack of protective clothing and overcoats, railway guards were regularly ‘soaked’ while on duty.
Armband
Armband
A railway guard’s armband, 1942, Railway Museum Collection.
Railway guards were required to wear a white armband on their left upper arm with ‘Nederlandsche Spoorwegen’, an NS stamp and the winged wheel printed on it.
Tin plaque
Tin plaque
Strap with a tin railway guard plaque, 1942, Railway Museum Collection.
Not long after the introduction of the white textile armband for railway guards, it appeared that the text printed on it soon faded. For this reason, after November 1942 the armbands were replaced by straps holding a light tin plaque embossed with the letters ‘NS’.
Report
Report
Report dated 25 June 1943, correspondence between NS and the German Bahnbevollmächtigte, HUA 1867, Box 73.
The railway guards were expected to notify the inspectors about any potential cases of sabotage they came across on their rounds. Those cases were registered in a report sent to the NS Head of Operations, Gustav Giesberger. In most cases the sabotage consisted of bolts that had been loosened, overhead wires that had been cut or broken rails. The report was then followed up by further investigation. In this particular case, two projectiles had been placed under a rail near the signal box at Meppel.
Incident
Incident
Letter dated 16 March 1943, correspondence between NS and the German Bahnbevollmächtigte, HUA 1867, Box 73.
There were regular incidents between rail guards and German soldiers, resulting in complaints which found their way to Giesberger and his department. Sometimes a railway guard himself was suspected of sabotage. In this particular case, however, the complaint concerned the actions of German soldiers who had misbehaved under the influence of alcohol and threatened to shoot two railway guards.
Red flag
Red flag
Red flag, 1940s, Railway Museum Collection.
There were strict rules for the equipment that railway guards needed to carry with them to investigate abnormalities on the rails. One of the most important items was a red flag, which the railway guard (like signalmen and level-crossing keepers) used make the engine driver stop immediately.
Acoustic signal
Acoustic signal
Tin container with acoustic signals, 1940s, Railway Museum Collection.
In fog or snowy weather, there was little point in the railway guard waving a red light or flag. That is why he always had to carry a container with acoustic signals. These light explosives were not dangerous but did produce a loud bang when placed on a rail and run over by a train. The bang warned the engine driver that he should stop immediately.