The Queen and her modest approach loved to travel on the Royal Train. The train provided a relaxed way for her to comfortably travel, whilst enjoying the scenery and removing the hassle of flying. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch to ride the train in 1841, after which she said she was “quite charmed.” Two decades later Victoria commissioned her own set of train cars, all painted in 23 carat gold.
The current seventies vinyl panelled styled version of the Royal Train was inaugurated in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth II on her Silver Jubilee. The train is decked out with nine carriages that include a tub, sleeping cars, a dining car that looks like an upscale conference room, and a room of green chairs in the Duke of Edinburgh’s carriage. The train also has a special carriage which has been specifically adapted to take a coffin. A fact mostly unknow is that the train is not owned by the Queen but by DB Cargo.
The Royal Train was really suited the queen with her understated taste and was very accessible for her whilst at Windsor Castle. In the Queen’s original funeral plan, it was agreed that if she passed away in Scotland then the Royal Train would be used to take her body back down to London. The origins of her funeral plan date back to Queen Victoria’s time for whom the Great Western Railway provided a special carriage in 1840 with lavish Louis XIV furnishings. Queen Victoria used the train to go to and from Balmoral showing herself to her British subjects. Indeed, her popularity grew as no previous monarch had been seen by so many people.
The change in the Queen’s funeral plan which had initially been set out in the 2017 in Operation London Bridge occurred around the start of Covid. A decision was taken to fly the Queens body home from Scotland if she passed away there, was taken by the Palace and the police due to fears that the passing of a train down the East Coast Line would cause major security problems. It was feared that security breaches would have included rail enthusiasts and the general public impeding the train’s progress by trespassing onto the tracks trying to take photos. Other security concerns where that station platforms would become overcrowded, and stupidly that people could wave Union Jacks which may become entangled on overhead electric wires?
It’s such a shame that the Queen could not take the Royal Train home from Scotland as these journeys have been part of a very long tradition for Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, King George V and Winston Churchill. The Queen’s body coming back to London via the Royal Train would have also allowed people to respectfully and quietly make their farewells, show unity as a Country and would have been an unforgettable historical sight.
God Save The King