Railway Royalty among the Royalty

[leslie10646]

During the coverage of King Charles's visit to The Province today, as the royal party was awaited at Hillsborough Castle, the commentator listed some of those attending the official declaration of sympathy on the passing of the Queen.

"Train driver Noel Playfair and fireman Anto Dargan".

Noel and Anto are the only Irishmen to have crewed a steam locomotive hauling a Royal Train - when the Queen travelled from Coleraine to Bellarena to open the new station there. The Royal Train engine was, of course, No.85 Merlin.

I couldn't see them in the room, but the camera position only covered about half the attendees.

A well-deserved honour.

[hurricanemk1c]

How did King George V travel from Dublin to Cork and Limerick in 1911? Genuinely don't know, there's a postcard with a photo of a GS&WR 4-4-0 dressed for a Royal Train but whether it actually worked no idea.

[Galteemore]

Can’t see how else it could have happened. Possibly sea travel from Dublin to Cork but unlikely. Could probably check in local newspaper archives of the time. 

[Ironroad]

Some research needed but they probably used the Royal Yacht to get around in 1911 as Edward V11 did in 1903.  The political climate of the time may have had a bearing. 

So far as I'm aware the earliest travel by a British royal on Irish rails was by Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra in 1885 from Dublin to Cork, they were not well received. And the earliest i know of by a reigning monarch was again by Albert as Edward V11 and Alexandra in the course of a private visit in 1904. They arrived in Dun Laoghaire on April 26 and travelled by train to Naas for the Punchestown races. From there they travelled to Kilkenny again by train and stayed at Kilkenny Castle for two nights. They then travelled on to Waterford again by train and left by sea on May 4th.

 

[Galteemore]

Intriguingly George V’s visit seems to have gone down a storm, with cheering crowds, as you can see below ….This was actually quite a hopeful time for Irish Nationalists as Westminster was just about to pass the Parliament Act, which meant that Irish Home Rule was achievable without being blocked by the House of Lords.