Evening star., 1897-06-05
QUEEN VICTORIA's ENGINEER.
Precautions Taken TO Safeguard Hes
Majesty on Her Railway Journeys.

From Answers.
Everybody knows that extra care Is
exercised whenever her majesty travels by
rail-, remarked George Lasham, Familiarity
known among railway men as the queens :
driver to the writer one day recently,
but few people realize how thorough and
complete are the precautions taken to
guard against any and every possible
danger"
Mr.. Lasham, IL may be explained has
driven the Royal Special over the Lon
don and Southwestern system for nearly
forty years, and is therefore an authority
on the subject. Quite recently, on his re e.
tirenIent from active service, he was pre-
sented by her majesty with a beautiful
silver salver. ella borately chased and en-
graved with the royal arms.
Before every journey" he explained,
nc matter how short the distance may
be, the engine and tender attached To the
special are carefully examined by the chief
locomotive superintendent. A pilot engin.
precedes the train, all ordinary traffic is
suspended. and the line for the whole dis
tanoe Is watched by relays of platelayers
To the driver are given the most explicit in
structions as TO speed. stoppages. etc TO
disregard any one of which would he 10
court instant dismissal. Printed insiruc-
tions are given to every official accom-
panying the train, who is strictly forbid
den to give any information respecting The
arrangements.
1T is wrong to suppose. many do that
the queens special slips along faster than
any other train. As a matter Of fact. IL is
a standing order that the speed OF the
queens train is never to exceed forty miles
an hour, and IL Is generally kept well with
In even that moderate limit. This latter
regulation, however. applies only to her
majesty's special. The Prince of Wales
likes to travel as rapidly as possible and
he generally has his desire gratified. IL
not, he invariably wants TO know the rea-
son why.
when an special danger is apprehended
the ordinary precautions are redoubled.
For instance. during the dynamite $, are in
the jubilee year every piece of coal used
In the furnace was broken into little bits
in the presence OF an official before being
loaded on the tender. and the interior OF
the boiler was carefully examined and
scraped. The object was. of course. the
same in both insjances-to guard against
the Introduction of explosives"
1t Is not usual il appears, for members
OF our own royal family to bestow extra
remuneration upon the drivers OF their
trains. Foreign potentates. however. are
more free-handed. Thus, Mr. Lasham re-
counts with good deal of saiisfac ;iOn
that he invariably received from the shah
f2o trip. Next to that much-bejewclcd
autocrat in generosity was the late Eaps-
ror Napoleon. whom the queens driver
often took from Chislehurst TO Windsor
and who was invaria bly, good for f5
note. 1t was always delivered. inclosed in
a sealed envelope, by his majesty's private
secretery. This custom his widow. the
Empress Eugene. Kept up until the death
of the prince imperial, when she ceased 10
charter specials
The number of cigars presented to the
queens driver by distinguished travellers
is legion. Mos of them have long ere now
become dust and ashes. but some have
been preserved as souvenirs. Notable
among these latter is a gigantic specimen,
nearly foot long. presented TO Mr.. La
sham by the late czar. and a tiny one. not
much bigger than a cigarette, given him by
the Empress of Austria.