ROYAL TRAIN

A 'Royal Train' is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the head of state of a monarchy or other members of that particular royal familiy.
Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.

Contents

British Royal Train

History

Current Operation

Locomotives Nominated for the Royal Train

Royal Train Carriages

Historic Carriages

Fleet from 1977

Japanese Royal Train

Norwegian Royal Train

See also

External links

References

British Royal Train

The 'Royal Train' is the name given to the set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the British Monarch, other members of the Royal Family, and their staff.

History

Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by train, ion the 13th June 1842, when she travelled on the Great Western Railway (GWR), which ran the line between London and Windsor (for the Castle). Pretty soon, all the major railway companies operating in the British Isles had their own carriage(s) dedicated for use by the Royal Family or other dignitaries.
In 1948, upon the formation of British Railways, the individual regions continued to maintain their own Royal Train carriages. A single "Royal Train" was only formed in 1977 as a response to the demands of the Silver Jubilee. This train has been maintained since privatisation of the UK's railways, although the Royal Family have travelled on ordinary service trains more frequently in recent years to minimize costs.

Current Operation

The train currently consists of nine carriages, though not all will be used to form a train, as different vehicles have specified purposes. Two locomotives are nominated for use on the train, but are used for other traffic too. The carriages may only be used for other Heads of State; they cannot be hired by private users.

Locomotives Nominated for the Royal Train

Although railways often had nominated locomotives for hauling the Royal Train (with special high maintenance regimes), no locomotive had ever been dedicated solely to the train until the 1980s when two Class 47 locomotives were painted in the claret livery of the royal household. During the 1990s these were dedicated solely to Royal Train duty until they were replaced in 2003 by two Class 67 locomotives, both owned by EWS. The new locomotives are used for normal freight duties when not on royal duty. Occasionally the Royal Train is attached to other engines, such as in March 2005 when Prince Charles was carried over the Settle-Carlisle Railway by the steam locomotive, ''Duchess of Sutherland''.
Locomotives nominated for working the Royal Train over the years have included:

★ 1990-2004: Class 47 locomotives 47834 ''Fire Fly'' and 47835 ''Windsor Castle'' (painted in InterCity livery) and later refurbished, renumbered and renamed as 47798 ''Prince William'' and 47799 ''Prince Henry'' (painted Royal Purple). Both are now withdrawn and the former is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.

★ Since 2004: Class 67 locomotives 67005 ''Queen's Messenger'' and 67006 ''Royal Sovereign'' (painted Royal Purple).

Royal Train Carriages

Historic Carriages

The table below lists Royal Train carriages in chronological order through to 1977. Where a separate date is shown for building, the vehicle was converted rather than built new.

Key:	In service	Withdrawn	Preserved	Returned to normal traffic	Departmental use	Scrapped

Number(s)	Introduced	Original Owner	Withdrawn	Notes on Use	Current Location
2	1842	London and Birmingham Railway	1850	Queen Adelaide's saloon	National Railway Museum, York
- (LMS 802)	1869	London and North Western Railway	1902	Queen Victoria's saloon. Originally two vehicles until combined on one underframe in 1895.	National Railway Museum, York
229 / 9001	1874	Great Western Railway	1912	Queen Victoria's saloon	Small section at National Railway Museum, York
10	1877	London and South Western Railway	1925	Prince of Wales' Saloon	Stoborough
8	1881 (Built 1877)	Great Eastern Railway	1897 (To passenger stock)	Prince of Wales' Saloon	Embsay
17	1887 (Built 1885)	London and South Western Railway	1913 (To passenger stock)	Saloon	Unknown
153	1897	Belfast and County Down Railway	?	Saloon	Downpatrick
233 / 9002	1897	Great Western Railway	1930	Diamond Jubilee train saloon	Swindon
234 / 9003	1897	Great Western Railway	1930	Diamond Jubilee train saloon	Barry
5	1898	Great Eastern Railway	1925 (To departmental stock)	Princess of Wales' Saloon	Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway
1	1901 (Built 1898)	Great North of Scotland Railway	1910 (To passenger stock)	Saloon	Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway
- (LMS 800)	1902	London and North Western Railway	1947	King Edward VII's saloon	National Railway Museum, York
- (LMS 801)	1902	London and North Western Railway	1947	Queen Alexandra's saloon	National Railway Museum, York
72 / 5072 / 10504 / 804	1903	London and North Western Railway	1948	Semi-Royal saloon, used by Winston Churchill during World War II	Scrapped 1998
74 / 5074 / 10506 / 806	1903	London and North Western Railway	1971	Semi-Royal saloon	Bluebell Railway
82 / 109	1908	East Coast Joint Stock	1977	Royal Train brake van	National Railway Museum, York
395	1908	East Coast Joint Stock	1977	King Edward VII's saloon	National Railway Museum, York
396	1908	East Coast Joint Stock	1977	Queen Alexandra's saloon	National Railway Museum, York
1910 / 809	1912	Midland Railway	1951 (To passenger stock)	King George V's saloon. In passenger stock 1923-33, numbered 2795	Midland Railway, Butterley
10070 / 5154	1924 (Built 1905)	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1977	Staff car with generators in brake van	National Railway Museum, Shildon
10071 / 5155	1924 (Built 1905)	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1977	Staff couchette	National Railway Museum, Shildon
798	1941	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1977	King George VI's armoured saloon	Museum of Transport, Glasgow
799	1941	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1977	Queen Elizabeth's (later the Queen Mother) armoured saloon	National Railway Museum, York
31209 / 2910	1941	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1989	Staff sleeper with generator, retained for post-1977 train	Scrapped 1991
9006	1945	Great Western Railway	1984	Queen Elizabeth's (later the Queen Mother) Saloon	Midland Railway-Butterley
9007	1945	Great Western Railway	1984	Queen Elizabeth's (later the Queen Mother) Saloon	National Railway Museum, York
45000 / 2911	1948 (Built 1920)	British Railways	1990	Saloon, retained for post-1977 train	Midland Railway, Butterley
45005	1948 (Built 1942)	British Railways	1977	Saloon	Fawley Hill
45006 / 2912	1948 (Built 1942)	British Railways	1989	Saloon, retained for post-1977 train	Scrapped 1991
2900	1955	British Railways	1994	Royal Family lounge, bedrooms and bathroom, retained for post-1977 train	Preserved, Fawley Hill Railway
499 / 2902	1956	British Railways	1994	Royal Family dining car with kitchen, retained for post-1977 train	Preserved, Midland Railway Centre
2901	1957	British Railways	1994	Royal Household office, bedrooms and bathrooms, retained for post-1977 train	Preserved, Bressingham Steam Museum
2013 / 2908	? (Built 1958)	British Railways	1984	Staff sleeper, retained for post-1977 train	Preserved, Southall Railway Museum
325 / 2907	? (Built 1961)	British Railways	1993 (To passenger stock)	Staff dining car with kitchen, retained for post-1977 train	In passenger stock as number 325

Fleet from 1977

In 1977, the Royal Train was considerably changed in order to update it for use during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee celebrations. A number of new carriages were added to the train, and old ones either refurbished or withdrawn. Since this time all Royal Train vehicles have been painted Royal Purple and numbered in a dedicated series commencing at 2900.
Further changes took place during the mid-1980s, when more new carriages were added to the formation. These new vehicles were of Mark 3 design, and were converted prototype Mark 3 carriages originally built for the development of the High Speed Train (HST) in the early 1970s. This new Mark 3 formation for the Royal Train has a maximum speed of 125mph—important if paths are to be found for the train among the crowded main line.
The table below lists all the vehicles used in the fleet since 1977 in numerical order.

Key:	In service	Withdrawn	Preserved	Returned to normal traffic	Departmental use	Scrapped

Number	Previous Number(s)	Converted	Intended Use	Current Location
2900	-	New (1955)	Royal Family lounge, bedrooms and bathroom	Preserved, Fawley Hill Railway
2901	-	New (1957)	Royal Household office, bedrooms and bathrooms	Preserved, Bressingham Steam Museum
2902	499	New (1956)	Royal Family dining car with kitchen; renumbered 1977	Preserved, Midland Railway Centre
2903	11001	1977	HM Queen's lounge, bedroom and bathroom	In service
2904	12001	1977	HRH Duke of Edinburgh's lounge, bedroom and bathroom	In service
2905	14105	1977	Royal Household couchette, diesel generator & brake van	Returned to ordinary passenger stock, 17105
2906	14112	1977	Royal Household couchette	To departmental service, 977969
2907	325	1977	Royal Household dining car with kitchen	Returned to ordinary passenger stock, 325
2908	2013	1977	Royal Household sleeper	Preserved, Southall Railway Museum
2909	2500	1981	Royal Household sleeper	Withdrawn, West Coast Railway Company, Carnforth
2910	M31209M	New (1941)	Royal Household sleeper, generator & brake van; renumbered 1983	Scrapped (1991)
2911	LNWR 5000, M45000M	New (1920)	Special saloon; renumbered 1983	Preserved, Midland Railway Centre
2912	M45006M	New (1942)	Special saloon; renumbered 1983	Scrapped (1991)
2914	10734	1985	Royal Household sleeping car	Returned to ordinary passenger stock, 10734
2915	10735	1985	Royal Household sleeping car	In service
2916	40512	1986	Royal Family dining car with kitchen	In service
2917	40514	1986	Royal Household dining car with kitchen	In service
2918	40515	1986	Royal Household car	Stored
2919	40518	1986	Royal Household car	Stored
2920	14109, 17109	1986	Royal Household couchette, diesel generator & brake van	In service
2921	14107, 17107	1986	Royal Household couchette, kitchen & brake van	In service
2922	-	New (1987)	HRH Prince of Wales's sleeping car	In service
2923	-	New (1987)	HRH Prince of Wales's saloon	In service

Japanese Royal Train

, one of the dedicated train cars for the Imperial Family.]]
In Japan, trains for the Emperor, the Empress, or the Empress Dowager are called '''Omeshi Ressha''' , literally meaning "trains that they use", albeit with extremely polite word for "use" (お召し). Trains for the other members of the Imperial Family are called '''Gojōyō Ressha''' , meaning "trains to ride" in slightly more common language. There are train cars dedicated for the service . However, both ''Omeshi Ressha'' and ''Gojōyō Ressha'' refer to a non-scheduled service solely operated for the Family. In other words, normal train cars can also be called by the either term, when they are operated for such a service. These royal trains are operated not only by JR, but also by other private operators as well. Dedicated cars, however, have been only used by JNR. After JNR was disorganized, all the cars were succeeded by JR East. Consequently, now, the cars are almost always used within JR East lines.
In the modern period, royal trains are used less and less, as the current Emperor Akihito does not want his country's people to be troubled by non-scheduled trains. When he moves inside Japan, he generally uses an airplane, or a scheduled normal train with a reserved carriage. Royal trains are still operated for a few times per year, but they mainly function as a cordial reception for state guests, rather than a mere transportation of the Family.

Norwegian Royal Train

Main articles: Norwegian Royal Train

The Norwegian State Railways maintains a set of royal train carriages. The current set was introduced in 1994 in connection with the Lillehammer Olympics and replaced a set from 1962. The set contains a main sleeping compartment with dressing room and adjoining bathroom, two guest compartments, guest bathroom, kitchen, guard compartments and a combined dining and conference room.^[1]
The set is pulled by ordinary railway locomotives and most often ordinary passenger carriages for press and other guests are added.

See also

★ Royal Yacht

★ Official state car

★ Air transports of Heads of State

★
★ Air transport of the Royal Family and executive of the United Kingdom

External links

★ About the British Royal Train from HM Website

★ Video of British Royal Train

★ ''Royal Express is more Pizza than Orient '', a description of the fixtures and fittings from The Scotsman, 2002

References

1. Dagbladet article on the new Royal Train (Norwegian)