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. Its itineraries include 2-, 3-, 4-, 5- or 7-night journeys around the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

, visiting castles, distilleries and historic sites. Once each year, it also makes a 7-night journey around the whole of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Train's history

The Royal Scotsman crossing the Tay on the rail bridge at Perth - geograph

The first train was composed of Mark 1

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s 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 monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

'' 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. The comp ...

for the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

. 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 (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

''.'' 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. On 9 August 2011, the train hosted the very first wedding on an Orient Express train. Two former

Mark 3 Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with the Jerusalem scribes and a meeting of ...

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. Following an announcement in March 2023, a new accommodation category, ''Grand Suite,'' was launched in May 2024. Similar to their namesakes on the

Venice-Simplon Orient Express The ''Venice Simplon-Orient-Express'' (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond. These VSOE services are not to be confused with a regularly scheduled train cal ...

, the two compartments feature double beds and a drawing saloon with a sofa. For this a new State Car 1 was converted from another Pullman car, Kitchen First 316 ''Magpie''. It replaced the previous State Car 1 (ex Pullman Parlour First 324 ''Amber'') in late April 2024. In 2025, State Car 4 (ex Pullman Parlour First 313 ''Finch'') was also replaced by the refitted Pullman Kitchen First 315 ''Heron'', which has also meant the introduction of two more ''Grand Suites'' and the abandoning of the Single cabins.

Current train fleet

The train length is without locos.

Haulage

Until 2015, the Royal Scotsman motive power was provided 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 Carnforth MPD#Steamtown Carnforth, Steamtown Carnforth visito ...

, 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, itself a subsidiary of M&G plc, a UK investment group. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 ...

. Two of their Class 66 locomotives, 66743 and 66746, 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 Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire in England. History LSWR The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a carriage and wagon works at Eas ...

in Hampshire. 66746 appeared first, being released on 11 April with 66743 following on 30 May.

Related trains

The train was a definite inspiration for Belmond's other luxury service '' Grand Hibernian'' which entered in service in August 2016 for trips in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

but ceased in February 2021. The train was made of Irish Mark 3 carriages, including five

s, two

restaurant car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

s and an

, featuring a very similar composition and carriage layouts to the Royal Scotsman. The carriages left Ireland in 2022, and Belmond planned to relocate the train to a new place inside Europe. It has been realized in shape of the new service ''Britannic Explorer'', which will have its first ride in July 2025, featuring round trips from London to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and The Lake District. Like the latest improvements of Royal Scotsman, the train will have Grand Suite compartments and a room for wellness treatments.

References

External links

* * http://www.assentarail.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Scotsman Named passenger trains of British Rail Night trains of the United Kingdom