Description
Royal trains have always been a consideration of railway operators, and this included in the early days of the railways. One of the first royal coaches dates back to 1842, and still exists to this day. In 1840, the widow of King William IV became the first member of the British Royal Family to travel by train, and with the decision that this may become a regular occurrence, a special coach was built for her travel two years later.
Queen Adelaide, the aunt of Queen Victoria, would receive this coach in the same year that Queen Victoria would take her first journey by rail, becoming the first British monarch to do so. Queen Adelaide's Saloon, coach number 2, was constructed at Euston works who built the underframe and then combined it with a body built by a coach builder, also based in London. The coach built nature of this saloon led to it resembling a horse drawn carriage of the time. The coach was built by the London and Birmingham Railway.
The Queen Adelaide saloon survives in preservation as part of the National Collection housed at the National Railway Museum, the oldest royal carriage in existence. In this pack, Queen Adelaide's saloon is paired with the two named L&MR first class coaches 'Wellington' and 'Globe'.
