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Aroyal train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of theking or other members of a royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages. If the monarch is anemperor the proper term isimperial train.
The various government railway operators ofAustralia have operated a number of royal trains for members of theroyal family on their numeroustours of the country.
The imperial and royal court used thek.u.k. Hofsalonzug (Imperial and Royal Court Saloon Train). Various versions existed under the rule of EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austria. Many of the cars were built byRinghoffer in Bohemia. The cars were operated and maintained by theImperial Royal Austrian State Railways. Two cars have survived, one is the dining car kept at the Technical Museum in Prague, and the other is the car ofEmpress Elisabeth of Austria, which is kept at the Technical Museum in Vienna.[1]
Some of the historic royal coaches are still preserved, two of which are on display at theTrain World museum atSchaerbeek. From the royal coaches that served forKing Leopold II andKing Albert I are preserved the three most important royal coaches. From the royal coaches that served for KingLeopold III andKing Baudouin the following are preserved: the drawing room coach (with private rest compartment for the king), the dining coach (with big and private dining compartment and kitchen) and the sleeping coach for the king and queen (with small drawing room, sleeping compartments, bathing compartments with bathtub and compartments for the staff).
For rail transport during visits of heads of state to Belgium, there is a possibility of using a first-classSNCB I11 coach with seats partially removed and a set of armchairs put in the middle of the coach. This arrangement was used for the first time on 30 May 2002 during the state visit ofQueen Margrethe II of Denmark, for a trip fromBruges toBrussels-South, and a second time during the state visit ofQueen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 22 June 2006 for a trip fromSchaerbeek toLiège-Guillemins.
In October 2019 the royal family used a converted 1st class train to visitLuxembourg. They departed from theBrussels-Luxembourg railway station, to not hinder the busy train network around Brussels.[2]
Royal trains have been employed totransport members of the Canadian royal family on numerous tours prior to the 1960s, after which theCanadian Royal Flight was predominantly used.
Denmark’s oldest royal coach dates back to 1854 and known as JFJ S (I) (Jysk-Fynske Jernbaner) the S stands for Salonvogn which is the Danish classification for all the royal cars up to the modern day. It was gifted toKing Frederik VII by Peto, Brassey & Betts to the inauguration of the railway between Flensborg-Tønning. (Now in GermanSouthern Schleswig)and as a result of theSecond Schleswig War better known as the war of 1864, it was stranded on the Prussian side but returned to Denmark in 1865 in a barge. It was rebuilt several times first in 1883 where it was fitted with a vacuum brake, gaslighting and Mays heating system. It was rebuilt again in 1898 from a 3-axle to 2-axle car and classifiedDanish State Railways DSB SB 2, and 1903 reclassified for the last time as DSB S 2 and used as an inspection car until 1934 when it was withdrawn from service. In 1935 its wooden coach body was sold togreengrocer Møller and used as a summer house inHurup Thy until 1983 when it donated to the DJK (Dansk Jernbane-Kub) Danish railway club. In 1985 it was given to the Aalholm collection atAalholm Castle, and in 2011 it came to the Danish Railway Museum in Odense where it sits on display as an unrestored coach body to show what several other coaches looked like before restoration.
For her 60th birthday in 2000, QueenMargrethe II of Denmark received a new royal coach with a drawing room, sleeping compartments and kitchen. She used this coach for her state visit to Belgium, travelling the night of 27–28 May 2002 from Denmark to Brussels-South and returning from there to Denmark on the evening of 30 May 2002. The coach and the accompanying sleeping car for the staff were hooked to normal trains, except for the part from Aachen to Brussels, where it ran as a special train to allow for the arrival on a reserved platform where the press were waiting.
Emperor Menelik II was known to use a special first class saloon when travelling on theFranco-Ethiopian Railroad. In 1935 EmperorHaile Selassie ofEthiopia received two carriages from theSociété Franco-Belge inRaismes. Another two from theDecauville works were commissioned in 1954. As of its last use in 1973, prior to the Emperor's overthrow in acoup d'etat the following year, the imperial train consisted of two locomotives, a baggage car with a diesel generator, four imperial carriages for the emperor and his family (lounge, sleeping compartments, offices, kitchen and restaurant), two 1st class salon-sleeper cars for guests of the royal family and government officials, and two 2nd passenger cars.[3] Today the cars are held in storage in the obscure Railway Museum in the yards ofLegehar train station, but as of the early 2000s were kept in good condition and are occasionally open for public viewing.
Germany consisted of more than 30 states – most of them monarchies – when railways came into existence. In the beginning, royalty used first class coaches or first class compartments within public coaches and trains. SoPrince Frederick of Prussia (later German Emperor) travelled in a first class compartment in 1851 when the train derailed in the vicinity ofGütersloh.[4]
But soon most of these kings, great dukes and princes possessed their own private coaches or trains. In other cases the railway companies provided such coaches and rented them to royalty. Complementary to those private coaches and trains were private reception rooms in the station buildings and in some cases evenprivate railway stations for the exclusive use of these privileged few. A well-preserved example isPotsdam Park Sanssouci railway station, a railway station for the use ofEmperor Wilhelm II near his summer palace, theNew Palace inPotsdam.
King Frederick William IV of Prussia purchased a set of royal coaches in 1857.[5] They ran on two and three axles and were painted in a chestnut brown. None of these have survived. After 30 years of use they became technically outdated, so in 1889 the new emperor,Wilhelm II, who was always very interested in engineering and technological developments started to order new coaches. Until the end of his reign in 1918 there were about 30 coaches.[6] These ran on bogies with either two or three axles and were painted in bright blue andecru which contrasted significantly with ordinary coaches of the day which usually were painted green, grey or brown; only duringWorld War I the imperial coaches were painted green. The private car of the emperor is on display in theGerman Museum of Technology,Berlin, the private car of the empress in the museum of formerLinke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH (today: Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH) who built the coach.
The kings ofSaxony,[7]Wurttemberg[8] andBavaria possessed their own trains. Two royal coaches of a most splendid design used byKing Ludwig II of Bavaria are preserved in theNuremberg Transport Museum, the king's personal coach as well as a terrace-coach, by half open-air.[9] TheWeimar Republic inherited about 100 of these royal cars, a number far larger than useful for the president and government. So no new cars were built but some of the old ones used. Others were used in luxury trains or in ordinary services, especially dining cars, or as sleepers. Many of them were also converted todepartmental vehicles.[10]
InJapan, trains for theemperor, theempress, or the empress dowager are calledOmeshi Ressha (お召し列車), literally meaning "trains that they use", albeit using an extremely polite word for "use". Trains for the other members of theimperial family are calledGojōyō Ressha (御乗用列車), meaning "trains to ride" in slightly more common language. However, bothOmeshi Ressha andGojōyō Ressha refer to a non-scheduled service solely operated for the imperial family. Dedicated imperial carriages were owned byJapanese National Railways (JNR), and these came under the control of theEast Japan Railway Company (JR East) following privatization. The dedicated locomotive-hauled set was retired in the 2000s and replaced by the specially builtE655 series EMU, which can also be used as a VIP charter trainset.
When the emperor must travel on theShinkansen or private railways, other trainsets may be used forOmeshi Ressha service, such as theKintetsu 50000 series EMU for visits toIse Grand Shrine. These trainsets are otherwise operated regularly for passenger service, but as is the case with the Kintetsu 50000 or theN700 Series Shinkansen, may have carriages retrofitted with bulletproof windows to accommodate the emperor.
Additionally, when travelling to Ise, an additional carriage is reserved solely for the transport of theThree Sacred Treasures as they must accompany the emperor.
Under EmperorAkihito, imperial trains were used less and less: the emperor generally travelled by air, or regular scheduled trains with a reserved carriage. In this case, bulletproof carriages were still be operated where available. Imperial trains were still operated occasionally, but they mainly functioned as a cordial reception for state guests, rather than transportation of the imperial family.
The Moroccan royal train was composed ofSPV-2000 railcars produced byBudd Company in the US and delivered in the early 1980s.[11] The royal train consists of two self-propelled cars. AfterKing Hassan II died, his successor,King Mohammed VI, stopped using the royal train.[12]
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TheDutch State Railways (NS) uses a single royal carriage to transport the king and his family. It was ordered by theDutch royal family in 1991, and construction was finished in 1993. It replaced a previous two-carriage royal train built in 1930, which is currently on display in theDutch Railway Museum.[13] In 2012 two more carriages were added to the royal train. These former first class passenger carriages were slightly modified and painted blue for use in the royal train. However, they are not available for international use, unlike the royal carriage itself, which is anInternational Coach Regulations carriage allowed in 16 different countries. When the king travels by train, a single (diesel) locomotive travels ahead to explore the tracks. The train itself is composed of two ordinary locomotives of the Dutch State Railways (head and tail of the train), the royal carriage itself, and, since 2012, the two slightly modified first class passenger carriages for staff, press and other guests. Before 2012, instead of the two extra carriages, two ordinary first class passenger carriages were added. Usually those carriages were the most luxurious type NS had available.
The Royal Trains were special train carriages used by theNew Zealand Railways during royal visits to New Zealand between 1901 and 1954.[14]
TheNorwegian Royal Train is a train carriage used by theNorwegian royal family and maintained by theNorwegian Railway Museum. The current carriage was introduced in 1994 in connection with theLillehammer Olympics and replaced a carriage from 1962. The current carriage 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.[15]
The carriage is pulled by ordinary railway locomotives and most often ordinary passenger carriages for press and other guests are added.
The Romanian Royal Train was ordered by KingFerdinand I of Romania in 1926 toErnesto Breda/Construzioni Meccaniche plants inMilan. It was delivered in 1928, one year after King Ferdinand's death. It was subsequently used byQueen Marie of Romania,King Michael I of Romania,Queen-Mother Elena of Romania andKing Carol II of Romania.
The train is composed of one steam-engine locomotive (under restoration, for the moment) and five railway cars: the Dining Car, the King's Car, the Queen's Car, the Guests Car and the Royal House Personnel's Car.
On 3 January 1948 King Michael I and his mother, Queen Elena, were forced into exile by the newly installedCommunist authorities. After a thorough luggage search for values, the King leftRomania (fromSinaia) forAustria, in the Royal Train, with tightly closed windows and under strict supervision. The royal family was in exile until 1997, when thepost-1989 government ofVictor Ciorbea revoked their loss of citizenship.
During the communist era, the train was used occasionally by the communist rulers of Romania, especially byGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.
In recent years, the Royal Train was gradually renovated byan NGO (the oldsteam locomotive is still under renovation and cannot be used).
On 15 October 2012, ownership of the train line reverted from the state to the ownership ofKing Michael I. Starting in 2012, the Royal Train is annually used by the Romanian royal family (Crown Princess Margareta, the eldest daughter and heir of King Michael) for public events, mainly trips with political and symbolic significance as well as travelling between the Balkan countries. For example, since 2013, the train has made regular trips. The first one was on 1 December (celebration of National Union of Romania) one the routeSinaia,Bușteni,Predeal,Brașov,Codlea,Făgăraş,Avrig andSibiu and it was met with huge public appreciation and participation at stops; another trip was in remembrance of the royal family, Parliament and Government retreat fromBucharest toIași inWorld War I, during theGerman occupation of Bucharest. The trips are met with great political and public enthusiasm as well as anticipation.
King Michael I of Romania was given a state funeral on 16 December 2017. At the conclusion of the ceremonies in Bucharest, the coffin was taken fromBăneasa Railway Station toCurtea de Argeş Railway Station on board the Royal Train for burial in Curtea de Argeş.[16][17]
The lateRomanov Tsars traveled by rail extensively over the expanse oftheir empire.
Thecatastrophic derailment of the Russian Royal Train on 17 October 1888 killed 21 people, howeverAlexander III, along with his wife and children, survived. After this accident, a so-called Temporary Imperial Train was composed of several surviving cars of the wrecked train, with the addition of several converted passenger cars of theNikolayevskaya Railway.[18] The emperor also had at his disposal astandard gauge Imperial Train, used for traveling to Europe; this train set was purchased by the RussianRailway Ministry fromChemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée in the 1870s, and was deemed to be technologicallyobsolescent.[18]
Accordingly, new standard-gauge and broad-gauge trains for the use of the Imperial Court were constructed. The new broad-gauge Imperial Train for domestic travel became ready in time for thecoronation ofNicholas II in 1896. Initially the train consisted of 7 cars, purpose-built at the Aleksandrovsky Railway Factory in St Petersburg. Later, the size of the train was increased to 10 cars. When the Royal family moved from one palace to another, as much as twenty cars were required just for their luggage. One of the best known aspects of the refurbished train was the Tsar's personal bathroom which boasted a bathtub that would not spill water no matter which direction the train was turning. The old "temporary" train in the meantime was transferred for use of Empress DowagerMaria Feodorovna.[19]
The Russian Empire itself came to an end withNicholas II's abdication in 1917 while aboard his Imperial Train atDno.[20] The train itself was later moved to Alexandria Park in the 1930s and used as a museum exhibition. It was later captured by the Nazis, who stripped it of much of its piping, plumbing and wiring and looted any items of value during the Second World War. In 1954, the Politburo ordered all remnants of the Imperial Train to be dismantled.[21]
From 5 February to 10 April 1934,Prince George, Duke of Kent, touredSouth Africa in a special train known as The White Train.[22]
The three-month-longBritish royal family tour of South Africa in 1947 saw the ordering of eight ivory-painted air-conditioned saloons fromBritain, three of which were built toBlue Train sleeping car standards, while the remaining five were special saloons for use by the royal family and Field MarshalJan Smuts, the South African prime minister.[23]
After the tour the Blue Train type saloons were painted in matching livery to serve on the Blue Train, while the remaining special saloons became part of the White Train used exclusively by the governor-general and later the president of South Africa. Part of the Royal Train is preserved in the Outeniqua Transport Museum, George, South Africa, with a SAR Class "GL" 2351 "Princess Alice" Garrett steam locomotive that actually was used to haul the White Train in 1947.[23]
Sweden's first royal train was put into service in 1874 for the use ofKing Oscar II. It consisted of five cars: an audience (meeting) car, a dining car, a saloon car, a sleeping car for the King and another sleeping car forQueen consortSophia. In 1891 the cars were converted to bogie-cars and put together two and two: The King's sleeping car was joined with the saloon car; the Queen's sleeping car was joined with the dining car. The audience car was not converted. The different cars were rebuilt, refurbished and replaced continuously over the years, and some of them are now on display at theSwedish Railway Museum inGävle. The last royal train car to be built was in 1931 forKing Gustav V. It was used on the King's many trips from Sweden toNice in southernFrance as a through coach connected to regular trains. The King's royal car remained in use for several of his successors and was also used by the presentKing Carl XVI Gustaf and his family on their trips to the mountains in northern Sweden, as a through coach connected to regular trains. In the year 2001 the last royal car was taken out of regular service and is now on display at the Swedish Railway Museum, however it has been put back into service for special occasions since; the museum is connected by rail to the regular network and some of the cars on display can rather easily be brought back to service.
Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by train, on 13 June 1842, when she travelled on theGreat Western Railway (GWR), which ran the line betweenLondon Paddington andWindsor (forWindsor Castle). She famously quoted, when the train was recording 30 mph (48 km/h), "This is too fast for a person to travel". Soon, other major British railway companies had their own carriage(s) dedicated for use by the royal family or other dignitaries.
In 1948, upon the formation ofBritish 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 theSilver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. This train has been maintained since theprivatisation of British Rail byDB Cargo UK atWolverton Works, although the royal family has travelled on ordinary service trains more frequently in recent years to minimise costs.[24]
Rail transport, in the form of specialpresidential trains, have been widely used by the leaders of countries that are/were not monarchies, whileprivate rail cars, whether attached to regular passenger trains or not, were once used by the very rich in many countries. Presidents of the United States often traveled inpresidential railcars and Soviet leaders had special trains. (One ofLeonid Brezhnev's rail cars is preserved at the Pokrovsk Station inEngels City andVolodymyr Shcherbytsky's car inKyiv.[25]) Leaders ofNorth Korea, starting fromKim Il-Sung, had their ownfleet of private trains. InYugoslavia,Josip Broz Tito had theBlue Train. In thePhilippines,Ferdinand Marcos had the Presidential Carriage (PC) 286. This unit was decommissioned in 1986, but in 2020 this carriage was planned for refurbishment.[26]