Imperial Train

[dmitri]

The matter was asked and answered. As for the imperial train it must have been indeed splendid although the cost of running two, the real and the decoy must have been horrific. No wonder the Standart was seen as a more viable alternative for many trips. Although sea mines are indeed possible, they are a touch more difficult to organise than interfering with such a huge amount of railtrack as existed between St.Petersburg and the Crimea. Any journey must have been a logistical nightmare.

[anna11]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but when Alexandra and the girls visited Starvka did they sleep in the train?

[Sarushka]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but when Alexandra and the girls visited Starvka did they sleep in the train?

Yes, I believe they did.

[Joanna]

Photograph of Imperial train showing method of loading one of the Imperial cars:

http://www.politika-magazine.ru/%B983/i/garaj5.jpg

Joanna

[nena]

Thanks! I read in Nicholas' 1916 diary Alix and girls slept in train...Wonder why? How long their trips to Mogilev were?

[Robert_Hall]

Thanks, Joanna. Your latest pictiures  shows just how narrow those rail cars actually are.  The imperial apartments may have looked lavish, but they were really narrow and cramped. Much more so than modern rail travel and even that is hardly spacious.

[Sarushka]

Thanks! I read in Nicholas' 1916 diary Alix and girls slept in train...Wonder why? How long their trips to Mogilev were?

Women were not permitted at headquarters. I believe it was even an exception when Alexandra and the girls visited the tsar during the day.

[nena]

Thanks...I read guards were in fear of Alexandra, and relationship between Tsar and Empress. What about days spent on a River? Then were girls permitted to be with Tsar and Tsarevich?

Also, Imperial Train- does it still exsist? Sorry for spelling.

[EmmyLee]

I vaguely remember someone asking if there was a photo that showed the length of the train. This one shows a fair portion of it:

[nena]

Thanks, EmmyLee -- I think there is somewhere thread about requesting of whole train pictures.
Photos of the Imperial Train - Exterior?

I have one picture of NII's cabinete in Imperial train, in book S Tsarem i bez Tsara by V.N. Voeikov. But I have not scanner. : (

[Joanna]

Another view of Nicholas II's study c1917:

http://visualrian.ru/storage/PreviewWM/0275/48/027548.jpg

Joanna

[EmmyLee]

Oh, thank you Joanna! I wish there were more available photos of the train's interior.

[EmmyLee]

While glancing through Nicholas & Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia, I found a photo of one of the carriages in the train. I'm not sure which one it is, though:



The book gives this information about the train itself: "After the derailment of the imperial train on 17 October 1888, a new train was needed that met the requirements of contemporary railway technology. There were ten carriages, of which seven provided living quarters for the imperial family: four private cars, a dining-car, a carriage for the children and a sleeping-car for the grand duchesses. Of the remaining three cars, one contained the imperial kitchen, and two were occupied by luggage and servants. The carriages were designed to provide maximum comfort and space for the passengers. The decoration was highly luxurious, but harmonious, making much use of mahogany, walnut, beech, maple, leather, velvet, silk, and ormolu."

This passage also brings me to a question about the train. Because the derailment happened in 1888 and Nicholas' train wasn't built until 1896-97, why did it take 10 years before another imperial train was built?

[Sarushka]

Cool! I had a crummy version of that image from a Russian website. It was labeled гостиная, which is literally "living room" in English. I suspect "salon" is a more appropriate word for a train carriage, though.

[Robert_Hall]

There were always at least 2 Imperial Trains. So, when one was lost in the derailment, there was still another available.