The Puzzles of “Blue Train”

While the author of “Blue Train in Europe,” the commemorative book that launched this project, can be painstakingly detailed about the numbers of photographs developed during several periods of 1944-45, he’s also maddeningly vague about the unit’s itinerary, place names, and so forth. For example, the “history” section notes when the group left Belgium. But he forgot to mention going to Belgium in the first place. (Also, are there really two men with the name “Willian” — with an N at the end — as are listed? Seems unlikely. What else in the book is marred by small mistakes?)

Here’s a terrific photo from the book:

What exactly were the  “early days,” as mentioned in the hand-written caption? Where was this photo taken? The book’s author chooses some facts as important (the output worthy of a finely honed assembly line) and others as unnecessary.