Soldier's Train Ticket?

[Good Pwny]

And it was quite a train journey our soldier had to make...

The entries state that the ticket was valid for a journey from Dünaburg to Wien via Wilna-Wirballen. The train to be used was passenger train no. 508 departing from Wilna on 1145 hrs. on 24 July 1943 and going to Eydtkau. Let's have a look at those places:

• Dünaburg is the German name for the city of Daugavpils in south-eastern Latvia.
• Wilna is the German name for the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
• Wirballen (or Wyrballen) is the German name for Virbalis (Lithuanian name) or Wierzbołów (Polish name) a Lithuanian town formerly part of Northern East Prussia.
• Eydtkau (or Eydtkuhnen) is the German name for Chernyshevskoye/Чернышевское (Russian name) or Eitkūnai (Lithuanian name) a settlement in the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, near the Lithuanian border; it neighbors Wirballen. Up until 1945, Eydtkau was the final destination operated by the Prussian Eastern Railway.
• Wien, of course, is Vienna, the Austrian capital.

By road, that is a trip of more than 1,400 kilometers. Now imagine this, sitting on Third-Class Coach wooden benches while riding steamtrains operating under wartime conditions. Sure, it beats being in combat and no doubt the man was grateful for his R&R time, but still...

Thank you so much, HPL! You are quite an asset to this forum!

[Paul D]

Here is a link to a similar train ticket issued to SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Ain-Erwin Mere by the SS Ersatz Kommando Estland !!

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photo...t-posen-14588/

[Good Pwny]

Here is a link to a similar train ticket issued to SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Ain-Erwin Mere by the SS Ersatz Kommando Estland !!

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photo...t-posen-14588/

Cool! Thanks Paul!

[Syrinx]

Great stuff guys. I am never disappointed by the knowledge you guys have!

[Rudolf Karl]

Man did you get lucky and not only by getting it unknowingly, also the amount of information you now have to go with it.
Thanks for bringing that thread back.

Rudy