Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1897-07-09
QUEEN vlcToRlA,s ENGINEER.


clgn Travels by Rail.
Everybody knows that extra caro-
Is exercised whenever Her Majesty
travels by rail, remarked George
Lasham, Familiarity known among rail
way men as the Queens driver, to
the writer one day recently, "but few
people realize how thorough and COM
plete are the precautions taken to
guard against any and every possible
danger
Mr.. Lasham, it may be cap aimed,
has driven the Royal Special over
the London and Southwestern system
for nearly forty years, and is there
fore an authority on the subject.
Quite recently, on his retirement from
active service, he was presented by
Her Macs with beautiful silver
salyer, deliberately chased and en-
grayed with the royal arms.
Before every journey" he ex-
planned, mo matter how short the dis
lance may be, the engine and tender
attached to the special are carefully
examined by the chief locomotive
superintendent. A pilot engine pre-
cedes the train, all ordinary traffic is
suspended, and the line for the whole
distance is watched by relays of plate
layees. To the driver are given the
most explicit instructions Us to speed,
stoppages, etc, to disregard any one
OF which would be to court instant
dismissal. Printed instructions are
given to every official accompanying
the train, who is strictly forbidden to
give any information respecting the
arrangements.
at is wrong to suppose, as many
do, that the Queens Special slips
along faster than any other train. As
a matter of fact, it is a standing order
that the speed of the Queens train is
never to exceed forty miles an hour,
aud it is generally kept well within
even that moderate limit. This latter
regulation, however, applies only to
Her Maiesty's special. The Prince of
Wales likes to travel as rapidly rs pos
sible, and he generally has his desire
gratified. If not, he invariably wants
to know the reason why
"When any special danger is appre-
hended the ordinary precautions are
redoubled. For instance, during the
dynamite scare in the jubilee year
every piece of coal used in the furnace
was broken into LITTLE bits in the pres
ence 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 instances-to guard
against the introduction of explosives. "
1t is not usual, it appears, for mem
bers of our own royal family to be-
stow extra remuneration upon the
drivers of their trains. Foreign poten
tates, however, are more free handed.
Thus, Mr.. Lasham recounts with q
good deal Of satisfaction that Lie inva-
riably received from the Shah 800 a
trip. Next to that much beieweled
autocrat in generosity was the late
Emperor Napoleon, whom the Queens
driver often took from Chislehurst
to Windsor, and who was invariably
good for S25. 1t was always de-
livered, inclosed in a sealed envelope,
by His Majesty's private secretary.
This custom his widow, the Empress
Eugene, kept up until the death of
the prince imperial, when she ceased
to charter specials"
The number Of cigars presented to
the Queen driver" by distinguished
travellers is legion. Most of them
have long ere now become dast and
ashes, but some have been preserved
as souvenirs. Notable among these
latter is gigantic specimen, nearly a
foot long, presented to Mr. Lasham
by the late Gar, and tiny one, not
much bigger than a cigarette, given
him by the Empress of Austria, An
swers.