| Direct to Windsor? Posted by CyclingSid at 13:39, 6th October 2025 |     |
I was looking at a YouTube video on the Portsmouth dockyard railway. It talks about the Royal Train leaving South Railway Jetty and going direct to Windsor. Assuming this is before WWII, what is the "direct route" to Windsor from Portsmouth, or Gosport (another Royal multimodal transport hub!).
| Re: Direct to Windsor? Posted by Oxonhutch at 14:38, 6th October 2025 | |
Via the now-removed south to west curve at Staines?
| Re: Direct to Windsor? Posted by stuving at 18:19, 6th October 2025 | |
I was looking at a YouTube video on the Portsmouth dockyard railway. It talks about the Royal Train leaving South Railway Jetty and going direct to Windsor. Assuming this is before WWII, what is the "direct route" to Windsor from Portsmouth, or Gosport (another Royal multimodal transport hub!).
I found a lot of examples of the wording "direct to Windsor" from Portsmouth in the press, mostly for a few years around 1900. Only rarely it was said explicitly that this was by train (which might only mean that it was obvious) and just once have I found the Great Western station was specified as the place of arrival. A few of the reports refer to Windsor Castle as the destination, though it's hard to say if that implies no reception at the station or even travel by road.
The same wording is used, though less often, much earlier - even before railways - and later, and for royal travel from other places than Portsmouth. It also gets used for military formations, which would at the earlier dates be marching. So I think that the phrase really just means, for royal travel, with no engagements anywhere on the way.
| Re: Direct to Windsor? Posted by stuving at 18:22, 6th October 2025 | |
Via the now-removed south to west curve at Staines?
I also found a report of plans for the West Drayton and Staines Railway in 1864 (long before it as built under an altered name). This noted "It would enable the court, too, to travel direct from Windsor to Portsmouth via Guildford". That does imply, if weakly, that "direct" travel was not possible at the time. However, if "direct" implies "without reversals", it's hard to see how that was ever possible.
| Re: Direct to Windsor? Posted by CyclingSid at 06:37, 7th October 2025 | |
The section of the video shows the royal train leaving South Railway Jetty. Thanks for reminding about the "the now-removed south to west curve at Staines". Presumably it would also have been possible via the now-removed west to south curve at Slough.
Presumably either could have been used by royal trains leaving Gosport, which Queen Victoria used when they were at Osborne. The route would have had to be via Winchester.
The link from Gosport station to the "royal pier" is not shown on Rail Map online but is shown on the 1919 OS 1" map on SABRE. Haven't checked NLS.
