The Royal Train
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The UK Royal Train is the stuff of legend and myth and was a palace on wheels from Victorian times to 1941 when the Edwardian train was replaced by a more austere armour-plated train to protect senior royals.
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Why is the train so often misrepresented in the media? Because it is a very secretive operation and the timings when it operates are confidential. But when Wolvertonians see the train leaving or arriving back at Wolverton where it has been based since 1842, it barely generates any interest given almost everybody in the town knows someone who has worked on it.
Queen Victoria and European heads of state often stopped over in Wolverton when using the Royal Train as it was a convenient place to change locomotives and resupply the train.
Phil Marsh has got to know some of these Royal train people going back to the 1930s who have shared memories and private memorabilia with him which explode the myths and misconceptions about the train. He was also interviewed for the national press in September after The Queens passing.
He has also been privileged to have spent a day on the train after being tasked with selling it in November 1997 by the Railtrack Board. This project, and how it was stymied plus his Royal train collection is discussed in his many Royal Train talks, along with many items of tittle tattle (that you wouldn’t print!) from those that worked on the train and those who built the train dating back to the 1941 build.
Queen Victoria and European heads of state often stopped over in Wolverton when using the Royal Train as it was a convenient place to change locomotives and resupply the train.
Phil Marsh has got to know some of these Royal train people going back to the 1930s who have shared memories and private memorabilia with him which explode the myths and misconceptions about the train. He was also interviewed for the national press in September after The Queens passing.
He has also been privileged to have spent a day on the train after being tasked with selling it in November 1997 by the Railtrack Board. This project, and how it was stymied plus his Royal train collection is discussed in his many Royal Train talks, along with many items of tittle tattle (that you wouldn’t print!) from those that worked on the train and those who built the train dating back to the 1941 build.
The Wolverton connection
Wolverton Works has been home of the Royal Train since 1842 and Queen Victoria was a regular visitor to her refreshment and reading rooms there on her train journeys. Find out about the Royal Train History here>>. There's also a Gallery of images and you can book a talk by Phil Marsh - or buy his book "The Full Works" - a history of Wolverton Works. If you're interested in Wolverton, we have a sister website - Wolverton Works Online where you can find more details about its history.