Of course, the first ever Royal Train hauled by a brand-new diesel, in 1960, which had been inspected and admired before departure from Liverpool Street for Sandringham, broke down at Audley End when the lubricating oil pump failed.
Freight train reporting IDs are no longer scrambled.
There is certainly a saloon with double doors to provide a more ceremonial arrival.
was about to say, a micro order of class 80X combined with maybe a goverment train or two would be intresting,a portable SCIF for ministers would be useful
You're right that 2903 (The Queen's Saloon) has double doors but it's not the only vehicle in the fleet with them - 2922 (the Prince of Wales' Sleeping Car) also has double doors at one end.
The Japanese Imperial family has a dedicated six car Hitachi E655 EMU operated by JR East. It can also be chartered privately (at eye-watering cost) so the Imperial saloon is only inserted on Royal workings. The unit is dual voltage and can also be loco-hauled when necessary.
The Royal Train loco failure was on 11 January 1961 but it was not the first ever diesel hauled Royal Train. HM Queen Elizabeth II was travelling back to Sandringham on the down Fenman, after a day trip to London, and had also been diesel hauled on the up Fenman earlier in the day. Another trip up to London and back the previous week was also diesel hauled. Princess Margaret was diesel hauled on her way back from being awarded an honorary degree at Cambridge on 6 November 1958, and this is thought to be the first diesel hauled Royal Train on British Railways. In these instances ECJS saloons were attached to service trains.
True, but it's worth reading the Palace press releases... they do sometimes say in advance things like "H.M. will arrive at ( name ) station and be greeted by ( local dignitary ) blah blah blah" which would be enough to indicate it's running and often the arrival time as well - although not the exact route.
Some of us have been lucky to work with it (though sadly not on it!) - I've even touched it and kept all my fingers
I've worked with it many, many times over my career. I've never travelled on it but did once get a look round on board while it was stabled - though bits of the Principal's vehicles were out of bounds for obvious reasons. One thing that some might find surprising is that the staff are charged for all the food they consume on board during a trip!Some of us have been lucky to work with it (though sadly not on it!) - I've even touched it and kept all my fingers
Believe so.
Thanks.
You'll have to keep a good eye out - the schedules aren't meant to show in TRUST and therefore shouldn't pop up in RTT, and the stock can often move the day before to an alternative stabling location for a number of reasons.
In case of what?
Understood.
The light engine move schedules are suppressed in TRUST, yes.
In my experience that is very unusual. It normally runs empty straight from Wolverton to whichever terminus is being used for the departure of the trip (usually Euston, Victoria or Windsor & Eton Riverside, depending on where it's heading).
Yes, it's 21994001. But again you won't find it on any industry systems because the schedules are suppressed.
Unusual, but does happen. I saw it quite by chance in waiting in Wembley Yard one time on a Saturday night.
Slightly defeats the point to be posting it, but then it's listed on rail-record.co.uk so I guess the cat's out of the bag on that one.
It's not a secret. As said, searching on industry systems or rail enthusiast sites won't find anything because there's nothing to find. The TSC exists to allow the trips to be correctly paid for.
It has bot all value for us as tax players and most people wouldn't give a stuff it it rolled past them.
Not in theory - in reality.
The Queen did walkabouts until she became a very elderly lady. Women of the age of the Queen don't shake hands with randoms!
My mum insists she was on a train to Kings Lynn used by the Queen ( I think it was another Royal like the Duchess of Kent of some such) where they set aside the first class area behind the cab for "VIP use" guarded by a couple of obvious security men.
They will need a replacement ( personally I suspect removal) at some point but the RT vehicles are low mileage and superbly maintained.
Living in MK we see it quite often. Think i have only ever seen it ECS
Milton Keynes Central by MK Darlo, on Flickr
Milton Keynes Central by MK Darlo, on Flickr
Milton Keynes Central by MK Darlo, on FlickrYes - although the original royal train sheds are now houses
I used to work the summer festival at Glyndebourne as an Usher, and some of the security men were more obvious than most. One of my colleagues had a good story about how somebody had come up to her entrance, had a good look around and then turned around so she asked him 'who are you guarding then' and he'd just sunk a bit and asked sheepishly 'is it that obvious then?'. (It was a lesser royal, I think).
Off topic, but surely it's entirely correct that the Prime Minister, of whatever party, travels first class.
I once saw him alight from the footplate of Tornado at Manchester Victoria. He immediately boarded the train itself in order to remove his overalls before being officially greeted by the assembled dignitaries. I've heard it suggested that he's been known to take a brief turn with the shovel! The security on the station was quite thorough with a number of not quite incognito, and doubtless armed, officers patrolling the platforms and just prior to the arrival they closed off the eastern end of the station disrupting a few traincrew mealbreaks in the process.
In the early 1980s HM The Queen paid a visit to the north-west. She had an official engagement in Manchester one morning having been in Liverpool the day before. I assumed she would use the Royal Train from Liverpool and duly positioned myself on the car-park on the former platforms of Exchange station to see her arrival (and attracted the attention of an alert patrolling Constable - brief chat and check of my bag and all was good) In fact she had spent the night on board the train stabled in the sidings at Castleton Junction so I had to wait for the ecs to leave to get a proper look.
The curve between Parkside and Lowton Junctions has alongside it (eastern side) some very sturdy looking brick-built bothys: I was once told these were for the use of security details on occasions when the Royal Train stabled there overnight. There are doubtless similar situations elesewhere.
It has bot all value for us as tax players and most people wouldn't give a stuff it it rolled past them.
Personally, I would rather they used the train more than helicopters and planes but accept the later are more practical on many occasions. The trains is, of course, met by the usual Royal motorcade and security people and road closures and post boxes sealed up etc
The only issues the Royal train have ever caused me are making my chow main cold as an armed policeman stopped me using my usual street past a station - where the RT was stabled overnight. i think the DoE was on baord at the time ( there was also a story some burglars got a more serious reception then they expected from PC Plod when they unknowingly ran into the RT security cordon after a job!)
Not in theory - in reality.
I know someone who was given a roasting for asking a few banal questions about movements. I heard from another source he had a visit form the local constabulary but have never had this confirmed.
The Queen did walkabouts until she became a very elderly lady. Women of the age of the Queen don't shake hands with randoms!
My mum insists she was on a train to Kings Lynn used by the Queen ( I think it was another Royal like the Duchess of Kent of some such) where they set aside the first class area behind the cab for "VIP use" guarded by a couple of obvious security men.
I once saw David Cameron when PM get off a service train at Bedford. First class. ( typical tory) with only 2 obvious security men. Assume there were others there who less conspicuous but the 2 he was with were straight out of central casting!
The look he gave me when I booed him could have curdled milk!
They will need a replacement ( personally I suspect removal) at some point but the RT vehicles are low mileage and superbly maintained.
Living in MK we see it quite often. Think i have only ever seen it ECS
Yes - although the original royal train sheds are now houses
. Putting egalitarian concerns to one side, they generally end up cordoning off a coach or part of one for security reasons, and first lends itself better to this.
