Bride trains

In 1945 and 1946 several "bride trains" were run in Australia to transport war brides to or from ships.

These trains included:

• September 1945: A train from Perth to Brisbane, where the women and their children were to embark on a ship bound for the United States. The war brides endured cramped and uncomfortable conditions during the first leg of this trip.^[1]
• September 1945: A train travelling directly from Melbourne to Brisbane carrying 230 women and 70 children (including those who had embarked at Perth) bound for the United States.^[2]
• September 1945: A special train from Sydney to Brisbane carrying more than 254 women and 85 children bound for the United States.^[3]
• October 1945: A train carrying Canadian war brides departed Brisbane for the southern states.^[4][5]
• February 1946: A train carrying 495 women and children from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria to Sydney where they boarded a ship bound for the United States.^[6]
• April 1946: A train carrying British war brides from Melbourne to Sydney^[7]
• April: A train carrying 41 women and 17 children to Brisbane where they boarded a ship bound for the United States.^[8]
• May 1946: A train carrying women and children from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne to Sydney where they boarded a ship bound for the United States.^[9]
• June 1946: A train carrying 80 women and 46 children bound for the United States.^[10]

The 2004 single Bridal Train by The Waifs is about the experiences of women who travelled on the Bride Trains.^[11]