The San Francisco call., 1897-08-22
QUEEN VICToRIA's ENGINEER
Precautions Taken to Safeguard Her
Railway Journeys.

Precautions Taken to Safeguard Her
Railway Journeys.
Every body knows that extra care is ex-
ercised whenever her Majesty travels by
rail-" remarked George Lasham, famil-
larry known among railway men as the
Qdeen's driver" to the writer one day
recently, "but few people realize how
thorough and complete are the precau-
tions taken to guard against any and
every possible danger
Mr.. Lasham, it may be explained, has
driven the "royal special' over the Lon
don and Southwest system for nearly
forty years, and is therefore an authority
on the subject. Quite recently, on his re-
tire ement from acLIve service, he was pre-
sented by her Majesty with beautiful
silver salver, elaborately chased and en-
graved with the royal arms.
Before every journey" he explained,
no matter how short the distance ma ay
be, The engine and tender attached to the
special are carefully examined by the
chief locomotive uperintendent. A pho;
engine precedes the train, all ordinary
traffic is suspended, and the line for the
whoie distance is watched by relays of
plate-layers. To the driver are given the
most explicit instructions as 10 speed,
stoppages, ETC., to disregard any one OF
which would be to court instant dismis-
sal. Printed instructions are given TO
every official accompanying the train,
who is strictly forbidden to give any in
form alton respecting the arrangements.
1t is wrong to suppose, as many do,
that the Queens special slips along any
faster than any other train. AS matter
OF fact it is standing order than the
speed of the Queens train is never to ex-
ceed forty miles an hour, and it is gener-
ally kept well within even that moderate
limit. The latter regulation, however,
applies only TO her Ma jesty's special The
Prince OF Wales likes TO travel as rapidly
as possible and he generally has his oeslre
gratihed. If not he invariably wants to
know the reason why.
when any special danger is appre-
hended the ordinary precautions are re-
doubled. For instance, during the dyna-
mite scare in the jubilee year every piece
OF coal used in the furnace was broken
into little bits in the presence of an Off
cial 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 CT ex-
plosives."
1t is not unusual, it appears, for mem
bers OF our own royal family to bestow ex-
u q dliOl upOu tAO uiA'S4o "a
their trains. Foreign potentates, how
ever, are more free-handed. Thus Mr..
Lasham recounts with a good deal of sat
isfaction that he invariably received from
the Shah f20 trip. Next to that much
bejeweled autocrat in generosity was the
Emperor Napoleon, whom the Queens
driver" often took from Chiselhurs to
Windsor, and who was invariably good"
for f5 pound note. 1t was always de-
Iivered, incIosed in sealed envelope, by
his Maiesty's private secretary. This Gus
tom his widow, the Empress Eugene,
kept up until the death of the Prince I'm
perial, when she ceased to charter ''spe-
Gals"
The mum Der of cigars presented to the
Queens driver" by disting uished travel
ers is legion. Most of them have long ere
now become dust and ashes, but some OF
of them have been preserved as souvenirs.
Notable among these latter is gigantic
specimen, nearly 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
Answers.