If
you watched the first season of Victoria on PBS, you saw the first
Royal train journey in 1840...here is a photo from the PBS Victoria
first season of Prince Albert on the train from Pinterest...couldn't
find one of Victoria who rode the train later in the day...
But
on June 13, 1842, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made the first Royal
train journey on the Great Western Railway in a specially built
carriage...this is a drawing from a newspaper before the event...
The
journey took 25 minutes from Slough to London Paddington and was
considered very shocking or forward thinking of the queen, depending on
your temperament...
Of her experience, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal "it was delightful and so quick".
"It
took us exactly 30 minutes going to Paddington, & the motion was
very slight, & much easier than a carriage, also no dust or great
heat."
Today,
Queen Elizabeth recreated that journey for the 175th anniversary...and
engine 800003 was renamed the Queen Elizabeth II was renamed in her
honour....the journey from Slough to London Paddington took 19 minutes
today...an improvement!
On
the train, the Queen sat next to Isambard Thomas, great great grandson
of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the man who had built the train Queen
Victoria travelled in in 1842.
This thimble was made in 2006 for the 300th anniversary of his birth... at Time Was Antiques...
Below is an artist's impression of the first journey...
The
Queen used the railroad often, but stipulated that the train would go
no faster during the day than 40mph and 30mph at night, and must stop
for meals... Below is a newspaper illustration of her journey with King
Louis-Philippe of France...
The
following photos are from Getty Images and show the Royal carriage in
1901 just after Queen Victoria's death, and an historical recreation of
the carriage...
And a photo of the Royal private sitting room from 1901...
We
have used the trains often in England, from one end of the country to
the other and all points in between, and have enjoyed them and found
them pretty convenient and dependable...and quite fun!
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