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the Golden Arrow, leaving Calais, bound for Paris

     Service between the capitals of Britain and France in 1932.

     First class fares London-Paris will vary slightly by route, but essentially

• 1st class £4 ($23 or 587 fr) for non-sleeper fare -- add £1 10s ($7.30 or 186 fr) supplement for a sleeping car berth, thus £5 10s total;

• 1st class on the Night Ferry service £3 7s for non-sleeper fare -- add £1 12s 6d supplement for a sleeping car berth, thus £5 total;

• 2nd class £3 for coach --  add £1 4s 6d supplement for a sleeping car berth;

• 2nd class on the Night Ferry service £2 11s for non-sleeper fare -- add £1 5s 6d supplement for a sleeping car berth, thus £3 16s 6d total

• 3rd class £2 for coach -- no sleeping accommodations available.

• 3rd class on the Night Ferry service £1 18s.

   

     Round trip tickets are sold at a 12% discount; the 'return' ticket must be used within 30 days.

     There are only 1st class sleeping accommodations on the de-luxe Golden Arrow/Flèche d’Or before 1934, operated by Southern Railway and Chemin de Fer du Nord - a single fare on that Paris to London train is £6 10s. One or two coaches to be attached to Le Train Bleu, one for the Rome Express, and one for the Simplon-Orient Express are usually part of the Arrow (and sometimes the 2:00 p.m. train).

     The passenger, baggage and mail cars of the Night Ferry service are carried on train-ferry steamers (the Twickenham Ferry, Hampton Ferry, and Shepperton Ferry, which can each carry 500 non-rail passengers, 20 motorcars, plus 12 passenger coaches, or 40 goods wagons); customs and passport examination takes place on the train while aboard the ferry vessels. The Southern Railway has just put the three rail ferries in service [a slight anachronism, amounting to a few months on some routes].

the Dover to Dunkerque train ferry

     11:00 a.m. has been the departure time for the fast "boat train" from London for many years; the Golden Arrow service dates from 1910 (gaining its current name in 1929). Until 1933, first class passengers crossed the Channel on the steamer Canterbury. 

     Regular cross-Channel trains consist of a "brake" or "guard" van, two luggage/mail (aka fourgon) vans, dining car, some first-class coaches, three second class compartment coaches, and three third-class parlour coaches. The ferry can also carry 25 motor-cars on the upper deck. Express trains have a brake van, three luggage/mail vans, two dining cars, three first-class coaches, and three second-class coaches. Sleeper trains have a brake van, three luggage/mail vans, a buffet/lounge car, a dining car, and six sleeping cars -- a mix of first and second class compartment coaches (10 compartments per coach).

     The Golden Arrow would have a luggage van, two first-class sleeping cars (to connect with other trains in Paris), a first-class coach, a first-class dining car, another first-class coach, a lounge or dining car, two second-class coaches, and a flatcar (fourgon truck), to carry odd-sized luggage (such as two automobiles each up to 5 meters long). The Golden Arrow will normally detach or attach a coach or two from the Rome Express -- these coaches take about an hour to move around Paris.

     The 2:00 p.m. departure from London, and the 8:10 am departure from Gare du Nord, will sometimes have cars attached for transfer to or from the Simplon-Orient Express; it takes about an hour for the Wagons-Lits cars to be moved from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord.

     There's a very good account of the Golden Arrow/Fléche d'Or at this website.