Abandoned RAF airfields in Germany
 

Oh, cheer us up for the weekend! Why not?

<sniffle>

Anyone know what happened to the British Military Train - the train which went from Helmstedt to W Berlin ?
I kept in touch with three German families whom I'd befriended whilst at Brüggen and after the Army had taken over the PMC allowed me to stay in the Mess on two of my visits to Elmpt On one of those occasions the train was actually parked at Brüggen. I wondered if any of it had been preserved.

I wouldn't like to go back there. Was at Laarbruch '76 -'79. DM5.5 to the £1 meant a half litre of Heini or Amstel was around 18p. Even my homebrew costs me double that these days. :{

Funny how we all judge the past by the price of booze :)

Just happy memories...............

Not much is left of the train itself; the only part I know of, is one of the old dining cars, parked up at Fort Paul (just outside Hull).

I recall there may have been three trains, Red, Blue and Green (maybe) which took different routes from the Hook to Berlin each docking of the military ferry

The fact that they are "abandoned" is a tribute to the many thousands who served in RAFG [and indeed BAOR] through difficult times and won the Cold War.

I don't think one can argue that!

Indeed, some of us in UK also contributed to that, albeit without cheap booze and LOA. ;)

Still a shame to see once-pristine front-line bases a shadow of their former selves. Following that link by ricardian led to to many of other works by "Urban Ghost" ... that consumed an hour or two this morning! Worth a browse - his links are at the bottom of the page [of which there may be several].

Skol or Harp? Wasn't there any paint thinners to drink instead? Lol

Vodka was the screen wash of choice in winter in BFG ............... it was cheaper than gin and didn't stink like a brothel.
And cheaper than screen wash.

Good down to minus 25C.

Thoze were the daze.

Ahhhh when it cost more to put the coke in your Bacardi than it did the Bacardi, so you would drink it by the pint, with 8 shots in it.... Happy days I think :)

Always thought the Bruggen HAS would make different houses, glaze the end, put a mezzanine in it and cut huge Windows through the sides.

airpolice, it sounds like Becks, which we only drank that when there was no Grolsh or Wobbly. A crate of Grolsh always used to reside under ones bed.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+becks/videos

Becks was introduced to the uk as an expensive premium beer later on, much to my disgust.

RheinD 72 hour discos for charity with a 72 hour bar, one would go for the weekend enmasse arriving back ready for work Monday morning.


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One carriage of the British Military Train is at the Museum of Allied Occupation (or what ever it is called) at the old US Support Site in Berlin. Along with a Hastings. Great museum to visit, but last time I went there there was talk of it closing...

That's a piece of the French Military Train; photo here.

ricardian

Never mind - Geilenkirchen still up and running (or was when I last looked).
Was there '60-'62. Dm 11.90 to £ for first couple of weeks. Staple was "DAB" (Dortmunder Aktien Bier - well named !) Only a few pfennig for a "point two" (of a litre).

Lived in a "flat" in Heerlen, then in Cologne 'Volkspark'.

Happy Days ! Danny.

Hi Danny,
What an astonishing memory you have....
What's your secret?!

Cheers
Octane

For real paint stripper, there was Sam Smiths' 'Alpine Lager' - a bit like I imagine a blend of Harp and pine lavatory cleaner might taste? Although I think the real problem was that it simply didn't keep; when the brewery rep turned up with a keg at one OM Happy Hour (I think it was either Leeming or Scampton?), it tasted much better than the noxious brew we had on tap.

There was even an 'Alpine Lodge' on the old A1 near Wetherby (once the Old Fox Inn) dedicated to the stuff - but rather a daft location. When the new A1 was constructed in the '90s, it closed as it was now on the A168 and even less likely to attract passing trade. It finally burned down in 2005.

I'm sure a lot of people remember seeing the artificial blue and white decorated German pub seemingly in the middle of nowhere whilst driving to/from Leeming for a Refresher Flying Squadron course?

ISTR a shot of vodka in the mess bar at Laarparts cost about 5 pfg in about 1997... my brother came out to stay and almost fell over himself when his round came to the equivalent of about £1.20!
Happy days indeed :-)

I also seem to remember the S. Met. O ETUR also took full advantage of the BFG bar prices... regularly... ;-)

I was at Laarbruch 72 -75 and I recall the Stauder man going door to door in quarters. His product certainly kept the vigilant front line forces regular.
The airfield there isn't totally abandoned because Mr O'Leary's aircraft fly there as a destination known as "Dusseldorf Weeze". As we all know, it's a good hour on the autobahn to reach Dusseldorf but then Mr. O'Leary's command of geography has always been rather whimsical.