The Queen celebrates the 175th Anniversary of the first Royal train journey

Published

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh boarded the train from Slough to London Paddington to mark the Anniversary.

Today The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated the 175th Anniversary of the first British Monarch to travel by train.  

On 13 June 1842, Queen Victoria made the pioneering journey from Slough in Berkshire to London Paddington and became the first British monarch to travel by train.

Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that the journey took only 30 minutes and that there was 'no dust or great heat,' revealing, 'in fact, it was delightful and so quick.'

The train that day was driven by Sir Daniel Gooch and assisted by renowned engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – who designed Great Western Railway.



The Queen took part in a naming ceremony as the train reaches its final destination of London Paddington – the two leading vehicles are to be called Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria.