European Railroad Discussion > The Royal Train

Anyone out and about for photos? Is it possible.


Fascinating for many across the pond. A Royal Train almost inconceivable in the land of PSR, operating ratio etc etc.

Posted from Android

No pictures I'm afraid, wrong part of the country for me. The train lives at Wolverton and came down the West Coast Main Line into Euston yesterday (Sunday) evening. They visited Edinburgh this morning, made a short stop at Berwick-upon-Tweed on the English/Scottish border and then I lost sight of where they stopped but at one point they passed throgh Huddersfield three times. Last I saw (about 1830 UK time Monday) they had come to a stop in Manchester Victoria station.

Same here. It came withing about 5 miles of where I live in Yorkshire. However, due to security issues, and to avoid Covid crowds, there was hardly any publicty. I picked up its headcode, 1Z20, and found it a few times on Railcam track diagrams, but no gen on where it was going. chris uk.

It's currently on the Marches Line heading south from Shrewsbury. Assumption is that it will overnight in Cardiff.

At 11:00 it was heading along the South Wales Mainline towards Severn Tunnel Junction and the line through the Severn Tunnel into England. Passed me as I was arriving in Cardiff.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/20 03:04 by 86235.

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86235 Wrote:
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> It's currently on the Marches Line heading south
> from Shrewsbury. Assumption is that it will
> overnight in Cardiff.

Stopping for a leek!!    chris uk



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/20 04:27 by 55002.

55002 Wrote:
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> 86235 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It's currently on the Marches Line heading
> south
> > from Shrewsbury. Assumption is that it will
> > overnight in Cardiff.
>
> Stopping for a leek!!    chris uk

Weirdly they spent the night on the Machen Quarry branch, NW of Newport. I suppose its quiet, out of the way and relatively secure. Still bizarre the Royal Train spends the night on a branch which has only recently been restored to service and which normally sees a single train a week!

I was going to ask why the Bishton flyover was not removed and the Main lines lined directly into the Severn Tunnel and the Relief lines directly to the north during the recent resignalling / upgrading / electrification [ and I see from the internet that I'm not the only one amazed at this ] but then I remembered it's from the same DfT that has brought forth Crossrail and HS2.

What is the speed limit through the Severn Tunnel now ?

SZ

Steinzeit2 Wrote:
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> What is the speed limit through the Severn Tunnel
> now ?
>
> SZ

Before electrification it was 75 mph, but there is mention in ORR documentation of raising the speed limit following energisation of the F&F overhead conductor rail system and analysis of any feedback from, presumably, Network Rail and Great Western. Energisation was completed earlier this year, not sure whether any action has been taken to raise the limit since.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/20 08:54 by 86235.

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS)here in the US recently ran at least three one-hour programs on Royal Travel. One of the three featured the Royal Train, others included air travel, The Royal Yacht.

I don't know if they are available via the PBS web site, many programs are.

They were excellent.

DaleR

Hartington Wrote:
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> No pictures I'm afraid, wrong part of the country
> for me. The train lives at Wolverton and came down
> the West Coast Main Line into Euston yesterday
> (Sunday) evening. They visited Edinburgh this
> morning, made a short stop at Berwick-upon-Tweed
> on the English/Scottish border and then I lost
> sight of where they stopped but at one point they
> passed throgh Huddersfield three times. Last I saw
> (about 1830 UK time Monday) they had come to a
> stop in Manchester Victoria station.

By 'eck lad, 'Uddersfield three times?! Were they lost or summat?!

The Royal Train has hidden in a quarry on at least one previous occasion. The Queen cam west a few years ago and the overnight was spent in Quidhampton Quarry (between Salisbury and Wilton.

The Bishton flyover and layout mods were implemented as part of the Llanwern Steel Works introduction in the mid 60's. This also resulted in some alteration through Newport station in which all the freight traffic was routed through the station on the Relief lines. By doing this the requirement to cross trains on the level to serve Llanwern was significantly reduced. For the Bishton area traffic from Llanwern heading for the main yard at Severn Tunnel Jcn a few miles east didn't interfere with the passenger service on the main lines.

Posted from Android

Link to PBS show info. Secrets of Royal Travel. For whatever reason PBS won't let me copy the whole link.

https://www.pbs.org

Posted from Android

Corpach Wrote:
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> The Bishton flyover and layout mods were
> implemented as part of the Llanwern Steel Works
> introduction in the mid 60's.

Sure, I understand when and why the flyover was built.  But the Works aren't there anymore, other freight traffic is a shadow of the '60's, and a lot of money has been spent recently to upgrade passenger traffic.   Why perpetuate something that could be remedied relatively inexpensively, as things go, that would remove both conflicting movements and increase speeds [ by removing diverging movements through turnouts ] for Tunnel express trains ?

I haven't spent a lot of time looking at it in 'real time' [ more or less ], but watching those TfW Gloucester trains being delayed at STJ is discouraging.

SZ

Llanwern steelworks is still there. No blast furnaces but there are still galvanising lines. There are interplant services which operate too and from Llanwern multiple times a day.

86235 Wrote:
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> Llanwern steelworks is still there. No blast
> furnaces but there are still galvanising lines.
> There are interplant services which operate too
> and from Llanwern multiple times a day.

Point taken.  But aren't most of those shuttles to / from Port Talbot [ to the west ] ?  Are there any interplant services that go through the Tunnel ?  And there certainly is "other non-steel business" to be had at Llanwern, but how many of those trains use the tunnel ?  I'm sure you're much more familiar with using RTT than I am, but it seems that by far the bulk of ALL freight traffic is going to / from the Gloucester line, aren't they ?  So how are Gloucester-bound freight trains routed from the Relief lines:  Are they sent over the Main lines on the flyover, and then have to cross back on the level at STJ blocking both Mains -- or are they sent down 'wrong main' to STJ, and then crossed over, using the crossover that will block the Tunnel south track ?

Best regards, SZ

Yes, most workings are to and from the west end of Llanwern; Swindon, Middlesbrough, Corby and Round Oak services arrive and / or leave from the East. Only the Swindon runs through the tunnel, the others are routed via Chepstow. The other steel services through the tunnel are to Tilbury with tinplate from Trostre in West Wales and the recently re-started Margam to Charleroi, which traditionally did pick up at Llanwern.

All services heading east from Llanwern are routed over the flyover.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/20 23:54 by 86235.