More than 60 years ago, thousands of European war brides followed their hearts across the ocean in what was one of the most romantic stories to come out of the Second World War.

This week, they're re-living that journey in a trip to Halifax's Pier 21, where thousands of the women first came ashore to Canada.

More than 200 women boarded a special train Monday, which made stops from Ontario to Nova Scotia, to retrace their original journey to Halifax, where they will celebrate the Year of the War Bride beginning on Tuesday.

For many, Pier 21 marked the start of a new life in a faraway place.

Some 43,000 war brides, originally from Britain and from many parts of Europe, first set foot in Canada between 1942 and 1948, with 21,000 toddlers and children in tow.

They were young European women who fell in love with Canadians soldiers, and left their families, friends and countries to follow their hearts to Pier 21 before shipping off to different points across the country.

Memories came flooding back

The train ride jogged memories as some began re-living emotions from decades ago.
"First of all, it was sadness. When you see England disappear, and you think, 'will I ever get back to see the family again?' And when you get to Halifax, it's sheer terror," one woman reminisced.

To recreate the historic trek, organizers and a chaplain donned period costumes and a ladies' barbershop quartet was on board to serenade passengers on the train. It was a chance for widows to reunite and catch up with fellow war brides — women who were often their emotional support systems.

The pinnacle of the journey, though, will be a ceremony at Halifax's Heritage Hall, where 18 couples will renew their vows Tuesday in front of a crowd expected to number in the hundreds.

The idea for the war brides' train came from the same Via Rail employees who organized a trip to take a trainload of veterans from Halifax to Ottawa last year to mark the Year of the Veteran.