An honorary enthusiast!
IT is probably a stretch of the imagination to describe Queen Elizabeth II as a rail enthusiast – or at least, not officially. But taking into account all her interactions with trains and railways during her record-breaking 70-year reign, both at home and abroad, and often with much obvious enjoyment, then she must surely count as an honorary one at the very minimum! As a tribute to the monarch who passed away on September 8, this month we look back through The Railway Magazine archives to uncover some of her railway highlights since she acceded to the throne in February 1952. Over the 70 years since then there have been almost countless journeys on the Royal Train, featuring a wide range of traction that any haulage fan would be envious of – from ‘Kings’, ‘A4s’, ‘Merchant Navys’ and ‘Coronations’ in the steam era, to almost every type of diesel from Class 20 upwards in the modern age – with some electrics too. Granted, the variety was reduced when Class 47s Nos. 47798/47799 became the dedicated ‘Royal’ traction in the 1990s, followed by Nos. 67005/67006 since the mid-2000s – but just imagine the mileage she must have clocked up behind these! Beyond the Royal Train travel, there were also visits to metro and Underground networks, narrow gauge and miniature lines – even having a go at driving on some occasions. Stations, bridges, and new services were also launched by the Queen – perhaps two of the most memorable being the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 and then the rebirth of St Pancras as the gateway to Europe in 2007. One of Her Majesty’s first duties as Queen in 1952 was to meet her father George VI’s coffin at King’s Cross and then later escort it from Paddington to Windsor. Starting with Queen Victoria in 1901, George VI was the fourth monarch to be taken by train for burial at Windsor – but Queen Elizabeth II was denied becoming the fifth as her coffin was taken by road instead. Earlier plans had included using the Royal Train to at least bring her coffin back to London, but these are understood to have been overruled due to the extra time it would have taken and the potential for trespass incidents on the route.