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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Passenger carrying artillery shell evacuates Gare du Nord


Hedley Malloch

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To be fair, if someone got on the 0708 at Parkway, carrying a piece of ordnance, I'd evacuate too.

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Based on the report that the shell was defused, I am guessing that it was not a viable explosive.

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To be fair, if someone got on the 0708 at Parkway, carrying a piece of ordnance, I'd evacuate too.

I've heard of sh*tting a brick, but evacuating a whole Gare . . . . . .

Then again, he'd probably had a good lunch.

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If SNCF are on the ball, they will blame the shell carrier for the building site fire and the passenger on the line incidents mentioned for causing delays as well.

TR

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If SNCF are on the ball, they will blame the shell carrier for the building site fire and the passenger on the line incidents mentioned for causing delays as well.

TR

Please don't tell SWT.

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What the story actually amount to from what I have heard is, "Officials stop man carrying scrap iron on to train".

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I think that's exactly what happened.

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Yes but to be fair, how were they to know it was just scrap iron? Evacuating the whole station may seem a bit extreme but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

Cheers Martin B

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A "passenger carrying artillery shell" must be pretty big. I wonder what fired it?

Can somebody point me to the door please.

Nigel

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Hi,

the bomb disposal squad has always been busy in the train stations or in the metro in Paris. I have seen them on several occasion "blowing up" forgotten or lost bags or suitcase. There is usually a safety perimeter around but I suspect a bit of exaggeration in the article and I doubt that the whole station or the main hall was totally evacuated. For those who know the Gare du Nord is huge!

Sly

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I'd espect the shell to be either a 13 pdr or 18pdr or a 75. Maybe a 37mm from a French cannon they used as portable arty with the infty. A famous action picture of US soldiers in action it says in Argonne firing one such 37mm gun. No matter what in this day & age to carry a shell onto a train is not the smartest thing to do! Even if defused, most would not take time to look & see if it had nose cap or whatever. Just isn't done to carry ordnance like that.

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Hi,

the bomb disposal squad has always been busy in the train stations or in the metro in Paris. I have seen them on several occasion "blowing up" forgotten or lost bags or suitcase. There is usually a safety perimeter around but I suspect a bit of exaggeration in the article and I doubt that the whole station or the main hall was totally evacuated. For those who know the Gare du Nord is huge!

Sly

Once saw a suitcase reduced to pieces no larger than a postage stamp at Charles De Gaulle while we all waited outside terminal doors, god help us if it had been a bomb. However, I'm sure not one of those waiting will ever leave their bag unattended in the future. What was even more impressive was the deliberate leaving of the remains of the bag for all to witness, no attempt made to clean up, just a nonchalant group of bomb disposal guys waiting for poor owner to turn up!!

Doug.

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Do they x-ray luggage at the Gare du Nord ...?

On the Eurostar, yes. The story said only the international and inter-city bit of the station was evacuated, not the suburban platforms.

Cheers Martin B

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Hi,

coincidentally a similar thing has happened at the Lille Europe train station the other day, someone who was taking the Eurostar had a shell fuse in his bag.

post-20268-0-49640400-1431450449_thumb.j

(thanks to the French Forum 14-18)

Sly

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I was just wondering myself how many people who have sufficient interest to walk the battlefields don't pick up the odd souvenir. The journal reporting the incident at Lille ( on the battlefield) seemed pretty laid back about it. It must be quite common. Perhaps one should take into account the acceptability or otherwise in this day of using public transport, as well as the changes in attitude because of terrorism. Once some years ago a police officer chatting in a bar gave me a small bag of WW1 german cartridges, when he found I was a collector, thereby saving himself a return to the police station! - SW

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... Once some years ago a police officer chatting in a bar gave me a small bag of WW1 german cartridges, when he found I was a collector, thereby saving himself a return to the police station! - SW

Reminds me of the time when I was at a conference in Germany in the 1980's and got chatting in the hotel stube to an off-duty policeman. We got to talking about UK police not having (then) weapons, and he joked about his plastic pistol - and then proceeded to strip it in front of me (yes, in the bar!) and gave me the parts (but not the cartridges!) to hold and handle...

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have noticed over the last few years that there used to be a good few dealers at larger Militaria shows with buckets / boxes of fuzes which had been ploughed up which were on sale for a few quid each but this no longer seems to be the case. I assume that the law abroad has changed in relation to these items being transported across to the UK ? Can anyone clarify this out of curiosty ?

Cheers

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I was able to buy a nice strippable No.101 fuze from a Belgian? dealer at the last Militaria Fair at Stoneleigh. He had around a dozen or so assorted British fuzes for sale. Also someone had a box of rusty French 22/31 Mod. 1897's for sale, these were recent 'dug ups' at £5 each, so also had to have one of those!

Mike.

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Hi Mike

Yes I know exactly who you mean and I saw the box of 22/31's too ! I just remember seeing a lot more at the open air down south summer fairs which don't seem to be around anymore, maybe its a reflection of todays world.

Cheers

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Smoke Eater,

Have never been to any of the Southern summer fairs. A chum went to one a couple of years ago at I think the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard? He recalls a lot of fuzes on sale there.

Mike.

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Thanks Mike, thats a show I've not been to so maybe I'll try that one. War &Peace is always a great show & thats the one I was referring to mainly. Mind you, depending on where you are in the UK I went to the Brecon show last w/end, thats well worth a visit ! Cheers

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