The Queens starts her Christmas holiday

[FenMan]

Keeping to long tradition, the Queen travelled to King's Lynn by train this morning en route to Sandringham for the Christmas holidays.

She caught the 10:44 from King's Cross Platform 1 and arrived one minute late on Platform 2 at King's Lynn, the platform that is handy for exiting the station by a side gate historically popular with local fare dodgers. I am not implying the Queen dodged her fare.

Real time trains info:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G72726/2017/12/21/advanced

Video of her arrival in King's Lynn:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...nd-duke-of-edinburgh-in-norfolk-for-christmas

One question - did GN treat the Royal buttocks to the delight of their new first class offering on a Class 387 or was a 365 used? The train ID is 1T16.

 

[Domh245]

387 - the windows are a big give away

The Daily Mail are under the impression however that it is still a First Capital Connect service - only 3 years out of date!

 

[kevconnor]

Years ago there use to be a persistent rumour that Brenda had a home in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.

I can only imagine if it were true and she took the train there the response she would get from the Northern Rail Stasi.

 

[Ianno87]

Keeping to long tradition, the Queen travelled to King's Lynn by train this morning en route to Sandringham for the Christmas holidays.

She caught the 10:44 from King's Cross Platform 1 and arrived one minute late on Platform 2 at King's Lynn, the platform that is handy for exiting the station by a side gate historically popular with local fare dodgers. I am not implying the Queen dodged her fare.

Real time trains info:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G72726/2017/12/21/advanced

Video of her arrival in King's Lynn:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...nd-duke-of-edinburgh-in-norfolk-for-christmas

One question - did GN treat the Royal buttocks to the delight of their new first class offering on a Class 387 or was a 365 used? The train ID is 1T16.

I alighted from the Royal 387 this morning from its previous working 1T15. Was put in Platform 1 at Kings Cross with various police/GTR staff preparing for its return.

 

[DarloRich]

hope she used her rail card.......................

 

[malc-c]

What not using the royal train that, after it was reprieved from being scrapped as, according to the press she made it know it was a favourite mode of transport.

 

[Bishopstone]

Any minute now, new forum member CorgiGal (post 1) will be on here, with their strident and original opinion re. class 387 seating.

 

[johnnychips]

Any minute now, new forum member CorgiGal (post 1) will be on here, with their strident and original opinion re. class 387 seating.

Don't care about wasting forum space, where's the like button? Cheered me up no end!

Was PP with her?

 

[eastdyke]

One is on the 'Future Investment' thread politely enquiring of the re-opening to Wolferton.

 

[johnnychips]

One is on the 'Future Investment' thread politely enquiring of the re-opening to Wolferton.

And may one politely enquire, which one of our castles would Wolferton provide access to?

 

[Fuzzytop]

With HM alighting from the front doors, is it possible she in fact travelled in the end cluster of Standard Class seats?

 

[eastdyke]

And may one politely enquire, which one of our castles would Wolferton provide access to?

Not a Castle! Just a House. Sandringham.
http://www.wolfertonroyalstation.co.uk/
Only a small station. Royal Privilege actually is not as expensive as one might have thought. Those who acted on the Beeching report should be totally ashamed. (Note for trolls, Beeching was right but should never ever get the blame).

 

[Hadders]

i hope Her Majesty took a cushion with her.

 

[FenMan]

i hope Her Majesty took a cushion with her.

I reckon HM bought one of these before the journey:-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Travel-Memory-Seat-Cushion/dp/B00K7ZS26W

 

[Ianno87]

I do hope One was satisfied by One's anti-macassar.

 

[whoosh]

With HM alighting from the front doors, is it possible she in fact travelled in the end cluster of Standard Class seats?

I have heard a story about the standard class seats at that end of the coach being swapped with the first class seats so antimassacars could be fitted - I.e. done out like first class.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

What not using the royal train that, after it was reprieved from being scrapped as, according to the press she made it know it was a favourite mode of transport.

I think the reason is it's a bit difficult to path anything extra along the King's Lynn line?

 

[GodAtum]

I bet it felt safe on that train with all the police protection!

 

[DarloRich]

What not using the royal train that, after it was reprieved from being scrapped as, according to the press she made it know it was a favourite mode of transport.

I am not sure one can use ones Royal train for ones holidays...............................................

 

[30907]

Years ago there use to be a persistent rumour that Brenda had a home in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.

I can only imagine if it were true and she took the train there the response she would get from the Northern Rail Stasi.

One imagines the Duke of Lancaster would alight at a suitable VTWC station.

What not using the royal train that, after it was reprieved from being scrapped as, according to the press she made it know it was a favourite mode of transport.

I don't think HM has used the Royal Train for Sandringham for years. Tends to come out when it's handy for an overnight stop.

 

[Alfie1014]

The 'Fenland Bugle' reported that she said; "It wasn't bad not as good as a 700 but one would have preferred a Duff and a rake of MkIIs. Except that one occasion when some oik locked the connecting door at Lynn and one didn't get one's breakfast until after Ely!"

 

[Bishopstone]

I do hope One was satisfied by One's anti-macassar.

Going back a few years, I wonder if the Queen ever travelled from Liverpool Street and was overwhelmed to find the whole train dedicated to One?

 

[Taunton]

Few will recall nowadays that it must have been 60 years ago the same journey was done from Liverpool Street with the full Royal Train, for the first time hauled by a Brush Type 2 (Class 31) instead of the traditional steam power. It made it as far as Audley End, where the Brush failed. It was rescued by a completely unpolished B1 from Cambridge shed, driven down there flat out tender first to assist.

National newspapers the following morning had a field day.

 

[matt_world2004]

I hope she used her freedom pass until the boundary of zone 6.

 

[Mikey C]

I imagine the Queen was upset that a Desiro wasn't used, seeing that the Royals are German after all

 

[mpthomson]

Years ago there use to be a persistent rumour that Brenda had a home in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.

I can only imagine if it were true and she took the train there the response she would get from the Northern Rail Stasi.

The rumour is incorrect but she did spend a lot of time in the Forest of Bowland, as did Prince Charles and a number of the other royals, especially if they had engagements in the area.

The late Duke of Westminster owned (and his successor still does) Abbeystead House in the Trough and she regularly stayed up there as it’s very quiet and out of the way. I grew up in that area and most of my friends and I had seen one of the Royals pottering about in one of the green estate Land Rovers at one point or another. Plenty of room for a helicopter to land in the grounds and I don’t recall trains ever being used, she would have been noticed.

 

[Taunton]

In pre-grouping days the journey, typically from Liverpool Street over the GER to various stations near Sandringham, was often done from St Pancras, initially over the Midland Railway and what is now the Goblin onto the main GER at Tottenham. This is because there is all sorts of hoopla associated with the Sovereign entering the City of London, where they have to be "invited in" at the entrance gates by the Lord Mayor of London, who would have to come in specially and put on his fancy hat to do so. To avoid all this, the Royal Train often went from a station outside. After the 1923 Grouping it was more straightforward to go from Kings Cross and Hitchin on the LNER. It is only in quite recent times that regular services from Kings Cross have gone north of Cambridge, it was always traditionally Liverpool Street territory.

There was long a special link of four crews at Cambridge shed which handled all these workings, their regular work was turns over all the various routes in the territory that might be required. The drivers were typically the most senior, in their last couple of years before retirement.

 

[coppercapped]

Few will recall nowadays that it must have been 60 years ago the same journey was done from Liverpool Street with the full Royal Train, for the first time hauled by a Brush Type 2 (Class 31) instead of the traditional steam power. It made it as far as Audley End, where the Brush failed. It was rescued by a completely unpolished B1 from Cambridge shed, driven down there flat out tender first to assist.

National newspapers the following morning had a field day.

I remember it well! Reportedly the MLOP[1] had failed...

[1]Main Lubricating Oil Pump.

 

[CardiffKid]

The Daily Mail are under the impression however that it is still a First Capital Connect service - only 3 years out of date!

Do you really expect anything else/better from that paper?

The Queen does this journey every year it wouldn't surprise me if the copy was lifted from a five year old story.

 

[6Gman]

What not using the royal train that, after it was reprieved from being scrapped as, according to the press she made it know it was a favourite mode of transport.

To be fair, the Queen tends only to use the RT when it's the only practical option, rather than as an indulgence.

Her eldest son, on the other hand ...

(Back in the early 70s I can recall return journeys from Sandringham post-Christmas involved a Royal saloon tacked onto the rear of the K Lynn - Liverpool Street loco-hauled.)