[Tom Fernley]

QUOTE (Purley Oaks @ 14 Jan 2009, 16:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Driving up the A702 early this afternoon just north of Abington and saw what I think was the royal train, heading south, but with a yellow Mk1 engineer's coach with a pantograph on the wires as second vehicle. The formation was pantograph coach, 3 purple Mk3 coaches, the whole thing topped and tailed with purple Class 67s. That converted Mk 1 coach with the pantograph needed a double take. No camera.
mal

That is weird! That said, the royal train stock is owned by Network Rail, so I guess if they've got some of the 'lesser' royal vehicles lying around (like the staff sleeping cars or offices), it'd be their call -- perhaps they just avoid using the Queen's and Prince Philip's saloons. EDIT: Wouldn't do to have one's bed linen crumpled by railway personages...

Thinking about it, why would you want to test ECML overhead at anything less than 125mph? How much spare rolling stock is there twiddling its thumbs, 'free' for NR's use, and certified for the main line? I suppose there's the New Measurement Train, but I realise I don't know if it has a pantograph vehicle and even if it does it may have been elsewhere or out of commission.

Hmm...

Tom

 

[Tom Fernley]

*** Edwin - that all seems like sound deduction to me, thanks for the information. Using some bits of the royal train more than others would seem place the vehicles on something of an inefficient maintenance cycle, whereas the EWS exec train coaches often appear to run in their same rake of three.

Dave Coxon's traintesting.com (as per Edwin's link) is a fascinating site on an all-too forgotten aspect of railways. If this picture isn't an inspiration to modelmakers then I don't know what is!

Cheers,

Tom