Royal Coach

A very special coach resides in The Engine House Visitor Centre at Highley with impeccable royal connections!

It’s the Royal Saloon carriage, LMS 798, built for King George VI 1941, to enable him to travel safely around the country during World War 2.  A companion carriage, LMS 799, was built for his wife, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), which is at the National Railway Museum in York.

Entry to this coach is restricted to guided tours only, but you’re always welcome to peek through the windows! When you visit, please ask whether a guided tour is possible.

What might not be immediately obvious but is of huge importance, is that the coach (and its companion) were designed to withstand enemy attack. They have armour-plated roofs and side paneling, mounted on a steel welded framework. Originally, the windows had armour-plated shutters but these were removed after the war. All the extra reinforcement meant that at 56 tons each, these were the heaviest carriages ever to run in Britain!

The pair of coaches were used by the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, until their replacement by new vehicles in 1977, as part of the commemoration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.