Dutch saloon coaches used by 746th R.O.B. during WW2

[MartijnH]

Hi all,

As this is my first posting let me introduce myself. My name is Martijn Haman and railway enthusiast from The Netherlands with a special interest for steel passenger coaches of Dutch railway companies. My website http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is dedicated to this topic (written in Dutch only).

During investigations to a saloon car A 7001, used during WW2 by Seyss-Inquart Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete, I found out this coach returned to The Netherlands after WW2 with markings of the 746th Railway Operating Battalion.
Markings of the 746th Railway Operating Battalion were also found at saloon car A 6001. The assumed inscriptions on the side of the coaches:
- coach A 6001: HEADQUARTERS 746 RV.OPN.BN.
- coach A 7001: COMMANDING OFFICER 746 RV.OPN.BN.

Pictures of both cars with these inscriptions in normal size can only be seen by NVBS members. For non-members here the links to the thumbnails:
A 6001: http://www.nvbs.com/greenstone/cgi/libr ... c178114245" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A 7001: http://www.nvbs.com/greenstone/cgi/libr ... 17efea9ccb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Searching for more information I found two publications about the 746th R.O.B. that mentions the use of coaches at some time:

746th Railway Operating Battalion 1944-1946 page 24:
On the 19th, of May the Kassel-Bielefeld line was taken over by the battalion and the 746th, now had "387" Miles of track to operate. Battalion headquarters was moved from Marburg to Kassel on the same day. The city of Kassel had been so damaged by Aerial bombardment and Artillery fire that it was necessary to establish headquarters in railroad cars.
Link to a scan of this page: https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/3nnpck ... ad90b5.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Never to forget An informal History of Company D 746 R.O.B. page 71:
On the afternoon of September 11, 1945 [...] Outside of Roth and still within its ancient charm, is the Railway station. Over its rail line ran the prewar "Mitropa", "Europa" and the Hollywood famous "Orient Express" and here was the cars of Company "D's" headquarters.
Link to a scan of this page: https://html1-f.scribdassets.com/6m5ar7 ... 6a391f.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
On the opposite page 52 of this publication a picture is show of a headquarters train in the city of Roth (https://html1-f.scribdassets.com/6m5ar7 ... e543b2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Unfortunately, the quality of the scan is not good enough to recognize the type of rolling stock shown used.

This is where the information ends.

Could some of you help me out with the following questions:
- Is the notation RV.OPN.BN. correct or should it be RY.OPN.BN. ?
- Does anyone can provide a better scan or photo of the headquarters train that is shown in the publication 'Never to forget An informal History of Company D 746 R.O.B. ?
- Does anyone have more information about the use of (Dutch) coaches by the 746th R.O.B. ?

Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MartijnH]

Hi all,

As pictures say much more than words, find below the two photo's I referred to in the previous posting.
Hopes this helps someone to help me with my questions.

Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A 6001:


A 7001:

[RailVet]

Martijn:

To answer your question ("Is the notation RV.OPN.BN. correct or should it be RY.OPN.BN.?") it should be RY OPN BN.

I'll try to find answers to your other questions. The National Archives in College Park, MD, probably has a file on the 746th ROB and I'll see if it has the answers you seek. I won't be able to go there for about a month but I will look for the information when I have the opportunity to visit the NA.

[MartijnH]

Dear RailVet,

Thank you for reacting and answering the question about the correct notation.

It would be very helpful if you could check the National Archives for the remaining questions.
There is no reason to rush so take your time.

Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RailVet]

MartijnH:

Finally on 2 August I visited the National Archives and looked in the file for the 746th ROB. While some unit files are thick with documents, this one was very thin and had no more than a dozen pieces of paper, and all of them had information of little importance. Unfortunately there was no mention of any rolling stock. Sorry I could not find any information for you there!

[MartijnH]

Dear RailVet,

Thank you very much for searching the archives.
Although the result may disappoint a bit I really appreciate your effort.
Thanks!

Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MartijnH]

As photobucket stopped free 3rd party hosting find below the pictures of the both saloon cars for any future informations:

A 7001:


A6001:


Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RailVet]

Martijn:

There is also something called the Veterans Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and it is full of personal accounts by soldiers of many wars. I checked the database and there is this one from a veteran of the 746th ROB:

https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/l ... 1001.49411" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will try to get to the LoC in the near future to check it out and see what I can find for you. It's not very likely there's anything in the file about the railway cars, but it's worth a look!

[MartijnH]

Dear RailVet,

Thank you for all the effort you put in this!

Best regards,
Martijn
http://www.martijnhaman.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;