Railway General Knowledge.

[DerekC]

One of those would have been going faster than the speed at which she ordered the Royal Train should not exceed with herself on board.

That's one of the two (not sure about head first/feet first - is there a preferred orientation?) What else might have been different about her trip?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

That's one of the two (not sure about head first/feet first - is there a preferred orientation?) What else might have been different about her trip?

Feet first is traditional when moving a loaded coffin.

I can't think offhand what else it might be I'm afraid. The obvious difference is that she was deceased, but I don't think that's what you are looking for! ( If anyone else gets the second answer, they can have the floor... )

 

[krus_aragon]

Victoria reputedly disliked railway tunnels, did they send her through one of those?

 

[DerekC]

Victoria reputedly disliked railway tunnels, did they send her through one of those?

I think she would have had to overcome fear of tunnels somehow - unless there is a route from Euston to Balmoral without one - so not that. It was associated with her dislike of a certain south coast resort.

 

[krus_aragon]

I think she would have had to overcome fear of tunnels somehow - unless there is a route from Euston to Balmoral without one - so not that. It was associated with her dislike of a certain south coast resort.

Ah well, I can't complain about that: I've never visited any of them myself!

(Perhaps the railway tunnels tunnels were a dislike of her youth which, would probably have been quite reasonable back in the 1830s/1840s.)

 

[xotGD]

Assuming it is railway-related, was she carried in a guard's van or freight van or similar, rather than a plush Royal Train carriage?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

It was associated with her dislike of a certain south coast resort.

Which means that, as she died at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, she would have to have gone from either Ryde or Cowes to Southampton or Portsmouth (assuming that she wouldn't have gone the long way round from Freshwater to Yarmouth!). So, given the popularity of Cowes with the Royal Family, I think that it may have been that she went from Ryde … am I close, or miles away?

 

[DerekC]

Which means that, as she died at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, she would have to have gone from either Ryde or Cowes to Southampton or Portsmouth (assuming that she wouldn't have gone the long way round from Freshwater to Yarmouth!). So, given the popularity of Cowes with the Royal Family, I think that it may have been that she went from Ryde … am I close, or miles away?

Not the ports used. Let me tell you the route and then you might be able to work out why she would have disapproved.

Gun carriage from Osborne to East Cowes
Steamer from Cowes to the Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport (this was in effect her private station)
LBSCR royal train with GWR royal saloon to carry the coffin
Gosport to Fareham by LSWR (reverse)
Fareham to Victoria by LBSCR - via the Arun Valley, Horsham, Dorking & Carshalton (according to some reports reaching 80mph on the way)
Gun carriage Victoria to Paddington
GWR royal train Paddington to Windsor for the funeral

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Was it the journey through Dorking, by any chance?

I seem to remember that there was a disagreement between Victoria and Edward, Prince of Wales about the town, but I can't think what it was!

 

[DerekC]

Not Dorking but you have put your finger on the source of the problem. Edward wasn't very fond of his mother and seems to have set out deliberately to do things which would have upset her now he was in charge. Think less about the places passed through and more about the route. Why did they adopt a slow route with a reversal and change of engine when they could have run direct from Gosport to Eastleigh via Botley, then straight up the LSWR main line. If Victoria (station) was desirable for processional reasons they could have got there via Wimbledon, East Putney and Longhedge Junction. There was a reason why Edward wanted the train to go the other way.

 

[Calthrop]

To "put off the scent" many would-be reverent lineside spectators and commemorators; who would imagine, wrongly, that the train would take the sensible direct route which you describe -- and go there, and be disappointed. With the strange, obscure route being taken; fewer people, overall, who would thus bid the late Queen farewell?

 

[DerekC]

That's not the motive that is ascribed to Edward although it might have played a part, I guess. Think railway companies and places they were associated with.

 

[Calthrop]

Was Vicky a big non-fan of Brighton -- in her eyes a place rife with sexual misbehaviour (including on the part of some of her royal forebears), and vulgar amusement for the proles? -- hence extensive use of the London, Brighton & South Coast Ry. for the funeral train?

 

[DerekC]

Was Vicky a big non-fan of Brighton -- in her eyes a place rife with sexual misbehaviour (including on the part of some of her royal forebears), and vulgar amusement for the proles? -- hence extensive use of the London, Brighton & South Coast Ry. for the funeral train?

Well done - Brighton and the LBSCR it is. Alexandrina Victoria (I am sure she would not have been amused by "Vicky" - dear me!) was reportedly "mobbed" by crowds on Brighton Chain Pier on her last visit to Brighton in 1845. She never went there again and in 1850 sold the Brighton Pavilion (built as a royal seaside retreat) to the corporation for £56000, having flogged off the contents first.

It surprises me that the LBSCR bothered to have a royal train, but perhaps Edward used it as Prince of Wales. He was (predictably) very fond of Brighton. It's a pity he didn't live longer - he was a good diplomat and might even have prevented WWI from happening.

Your floor.

 

[Cowley]

Chaps - I didn’t know the answer to the question, but that was very interesting to learn about. Thanks for that.

 

[Calthrop]

@DerekC -- thanks; but I had no idea about the un-amused lady's likes and dislikes re mainland seaside resorts, and was totally led by the ongoing process of elimination / broad hints from you. Open floor, please.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Which railway station was used for the location of the 1984 BBC comedy "Lame Ducks" which starred Lorraine Chase and John Duttine?

Hello this was lost amongst other things earlier,anyone fancy a crack at this,or move on if you wish!

 

[DerekC]

To "put off the scent" many would-be reverent lineside spectators and commemorators; who would imagine, wrongly, that the train would take the sensible direct route which you describe -- and go there, and be disappointed. With the strange, obscure route being taken; fewer people, overall, who would thus bid the late Queen farewell?

Thinking about it, the route would not have seemed so strange in 1901. There were through trains from Waterloo and Victoria to Portsmouth by this route until (I think) the 1980s.

 

[Cowley]

Hello this was lost amongst other things earlier,anyone fancy a crack at this,or move on if you wish!

Staverton on the South Devon Railway? I’d stake my reputation on it...
(We’ll have to stick with what’s being answered now but I’ll enjoy the momentary glory if I’m correct)

 

[Ashley Hill]

Staverton on the South Devon Railway? I’d stake my reputation on it...
(We’ll have to stick with what’s being answered now but I’ll enjoy the momentary glory if I’m correct)

You're reputation is safe. The duck pond is yours

 

[Cowley]

Thanks. I think I’d better say open floor at the moment guys.

 

[Calthrop]

There is a rail-border-crossing location between two European countries, which features a huge and magnificent railway station -- seemingly incongruous in its remote rural surroundings. This station has always had a "white elephant" quality: it, and the route on which it lies, opened definitely late in the railway age; the cross-border route had a chequered working history of only a few decades, and as at the present time, has been out of use for longer than it was open (the station concerned, is still the terminus of a rail service from one end of the route). This venue was the subject of a recent television documentary.

Please name the station, and the two countries involved.

 

[AndrewE]

Too easy! I will let someone else answer...

 

[krus_aragon]

Too easy! I will let someone else answer...

So easy, I don't have a clue.

 

[AndrewE]

So easy, I don't have a clue.

Maybe it sticks in my mind because I first visited it on a rail-replacement bus which still runs from the railhead on one side, and nearly went there by train from the other side last autumn - but found that our trip was after it had shut for the winter. I believe that a lot of the UK's rolling stock has recently been built in a factory off the line...

 

[hexagon789]

There is a rail-border-crossing location between two European countries, which features a huge and magnificent railway station -- seemingly incongruous in its remote rural surroundings. This station has always had a "white elephant" quality: it, and the route on which it lies, opened definitely late in the railway age; the cross-border route had a chequered working history of only a few decades, and as at the present time, has been out of use for longer than it was open (the station concerned, is still the terminus of a rail service from one end of the route). This venue was the subject of a recent television documentary.

Please name the station, and the two countries involved.

Canfranc and Spain and France presumably?

 

[Calthrop]

Canfranc and Spain and France presumably?

Correct. Your ambitious but disappointing rail project to undertake !

 

[hexagon789]

Correct. Your ambitious but disappointing rail project to undertake !

Thank you.

What and when was the "Supertrain" introduced in Ireland?

(To clarify I'm looking for when the Supertrains first started running in traffic rather than the launch of the timetable.)

To the nearest month if possible.

 

[DerekC]

I imagine the that would be the Listowell and Ballybunion, which opened in March 1888.

 

[hexagon789]

I imagine the that would be the Listowell and Ballybunion, which opened in March 1888.

Certainly a super railway, but this is something which was officially marketed as The Supertrain