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The ''Belmond Royal Scotsman'' is a Scottish overnight luxury train, started in 1985 by GS&WR (Great Scottish and Western Railway Co.), and run since 2005 by
The first train was composed of
Until 2015, the Royal Scotsman was hauled by
The ''Belmond Royal Scotsman'' is a Scottish overnight luxury train, started in 1985 by GS&WR (Great Scottish and Western Railway Co.), and run since 2005 by Belmond Ltd.
Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide. In 2015, the company had 35 deluxe hotels, 7 tourist trains, 3 river cruises and rest ...
Its itineraries include 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7-night journeys around the Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
, visiting castles, distilleries and historic sites. Once each year, it also makes a 7-night journey around the whole of Great Britain.
Train's history
The first train was composed of Mark 1
Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts conta ...
sleeping cars and three vintage dining and lounge carriages. After the inauguration of the current train set in 1989, the vintage coaches have kept on running as the ''Queen of Scots
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
'' charter train.
For the second train batch the train's former owner acquired Pullman cars, which were built in 1960 by Metropolitan Cammell
Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchase ...
for the East Coast Main Line. This train consisted of four sleeping cars, two dining cars, and one observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...
''.''
The train's two dining cars have been replaced over the years. Dining Car 1, which used to be a Gresley kitchen car, was damaged in a shunting incident on depot and, as a wooden (Teak) bodied vehicle was deemed unsafe to continue passenger operations, it was withdrawn from mainline service. It was followed in 1992 by Pullman car ''Raven'', acquired at the same time as the others in the train. Dining Car 2 used to be 99131, an ex-LNER SC1999 coach named ''Victory''. It was replaced by the Pullman car ''Swift'', which was acquired in 2011 and converted by Assenta Rail in Scotland.
Two former Mark 3 sleeping cars were added to the train in 1997 as service carriages, replacing two Mk1 coaches (99987 & 99966). One of them has also got double sleeping cabins.
Belmond acquired another Pullman coach in 2015 from CRRES (West Coast Railway Co Ltd) and again employed Assenta Rail to undertake outfitting and project management in order to create "State car - SPA". After provisional mechanical and body works at CRRES the coach was shipped to Mivan Marine in Antrim, where it was outfitted with two Bamford SPA rooms and 2 additional bedrooms (1 PRM Twin and 1 Double) with inter-connection. Upon completion the carriage was taken back to CRRES for final mechanical works and entry into the rolling stock library as 99337. The carriage entered service in September 2016.
Current train fleet
The train length is without locos.Haulage
Until 2015, the Royal Scotsman was hauled by West Coast Railways
West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the com ...
, usually using Class 37, Class 47 or Class 57 diesel locomotives.
For the 2016 season, the haulage contract was taken over by GB Railfreight
GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital.
GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...
. Two of their class 66 locomotives - 66743 and 66746 - are being dedicated to the train. These were repainted into Belmond Royal Scotsman maroon livery with appropriate decals in April/May 2016, the work being carried out by Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh Works in Hampshire. 66746 appeared first, being released on 11 April with 66743 following on 30 May.
See also
* The JacobiteReferences
External links
* * http://www.assentarail.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Scotsman Named passenger trains of British Rail Night trains of the United Kingdom