Winston Churchill's funeral train carriages return to UK
11th November 2000

Press Release a& Photo Report from Andrew P.M. Wright
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway. dated 11th November 2000
- updated with further photos 28th February 2007
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M.Wright unless otherwise acknowledged

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Pullman carriages that formed part of Winston Churchill's world famous funeral train being craned onto the transport ship Stellanova in Montreal, Canada.
These photographs copyright Willie Bath

Two historic and luxurious Pullman carriages that formed part of Winston Churchill's world famous funeral train have returned home to Britain - and a new operating base on the Swanage Railway's relaid Purbeck Line in Dorset - on Saturday, November 11, 2000, after 28 years out in the United States.

The two 1920s-built coaches named Lydia and Isle of Thanet were craned off the transatlantic cargo vessel Stellanova at Newport Docks, South Wales, on Saturday, November 11, 2000 after the unloading was delayed by a day because the Stellanova suffered an engine problem while being piloted into the docks and had to be piloted out again to wait for the next tide.

Pullman carriages that formed part of Winston Churchill's world famous funeral train on Newport dockside after being craned off the transport ship Stellanova.

The two Pullman coaches are returning to Britain from a railway museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, and are bound for the Swanage Railway's Purbeck Line in Dorset and its prestigious Wessex Belle luxury dining train.

After the 800-mile journey from Green Bay to Montreal in Canada, the two rare coaches had been loaded on to the Stellanova - belonging to the Dutch Jumbo shipping line - for the 3,500-mile journey to Newport, South Wales.

Rain-soaked, but spirits undampened, the Swanage Railway team poses at Newport Docks with the tarpaulin-covered Pullman carriages after transferring them onto the waiting low-loaders. In the background is one of the eight new green liveried Class 66 railway locomotives bound for the Freightliner rail operator in Britain which shared the transatlantic journey with Lydia & Thanet.
First photo: Bill Trite (centre) and Steve Doughty (left) Chairman and Deputy Chairman, Swanage Railway Trust. Second photo: The team, including Bill Trite (left), Steve Doughty (centre) and Pete Catt (right)

Thirty-five years ago, watched by millions of mournful viewers across the country and around the world, the two coaches were part of the historic train that carried one of Britain's greatest leaders - Winston Churchill - to his final resting place in January, 1965.

Luxurious Pullman carriages Lydia and Isle of Thanet also formed part of not just Winston Churchill's Second World War command train but also that of Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces on D-Day.

After eventful and historic working lives - and 28 years in an American railway museum - the two Pullman carriages have been transported 4,000 miles back to Britain for a new working life in Dorset.

Built in 1925, the plush pair of Lydia and Thanet carried the rich and famous in the height of luxury before, in January, 1965, being part of the most famous and saddest Pullman train of all time - that carrying Winston Churchill to his final resting place in Bladon, Oxfordshire.

The first glimpse under the tarpaulin of the luxury interior of the Pullman carriage Lydia

For , her journey to Dorset will be a homecoming because after the Second World War the luxury carriage formed part of the prestigious Bournemouth Belle train service from London Waterloo.

It was on January 30th, 1965, that millions of television viewers watched Winston Churchill's state funeral in London after his death at the age of 91. But, hundreds of thousands of ordinary people also watched the funeral train from the lineside as the great leader took his final journey - from London Waterloo to Handborough and Bladon Church in Oxfordshire.

Men doffed off their caps and hats before bowing their heads in respect as the rake of Pullman carriages flashed by in a cloud of smoke and steam. It was apt the great leader's funeral train should be hauled by a pristine Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific steam locomotive named Winston Churchill.

The two Pullman coaches Lydia and Isle of Thanet have been bought for an undisclosed six-figure sum by a Swanage Railway supporter after secret trans-atlantic negotiations according to Swanage Railway chairman Bill Trite.

"This is a tremendous step forward for the Swanage Railway. We've been looking for the perfect dining train set for many years and this is it. There will be no more prestigious on any independent railway. It will take the Wessex Belle into the premier league and be second to none," said Mr Trite.

"It has taken a great deal of effort to get the coaches back to this country. Lydia and Isle of Thanet are in surprisingly good condition considering they've been in America for 28 years," added Mr Trite.

After being off-loaded at Newport Docks, the two Pullmans wereloaded onto road transporters and taken to West Coast Railways Ltd at Carnforth, Lancashire, where they will be stored under cover, inspected, and work carried out to their running and brake gear.

The two coaches will also be completely repainted and lined out in their Pullman colours while repair work will also be carried out to their roofs. It's hoped to have the two coaches down at their new working home on the Swanage Railway in Dorset during the summer of 2001.

"Lydia and Isle of Thanet have been kept under cover in the museum at Green Bay for 28 years and are in good condition. Although it was tempting, it would not be sensible to bring them straight to the Swanage Railway where there is no covered accommodation and primitive facilities," explained Swanage Railway chairman Bill Trite.

"To subject the coaches to a Dorset winter and the sea air at Swanage would not be in the best interests of the Pullmans - that could damage the coaches and cause their wooden bodies and roofs to swell and crack," added Mr Trite.

Part of a consignment of eight brand new Class 66 diesel-electric locomotives at Newport Docks, bound for the Freightliner rail operator in Britain and built by General Motors in Canada and which shared the journey across the Atlantic with Lydia and Isle of Thanet.

After being transported from Green Bay to London in the Canadian province of Ontario, the two Pullman coaches Lydia and Isle of Thanet joined a consignment of eight brand new Class 66 diesel-electric locomotives bound for Britain and built by General Motors in their London, Canada, factory.

The eight new green liveried Class 66 railway locomotives bound for the Freightliner rail operator in Britain - together with the two Pullmans - were taken by rail to Montreal, Canada, where they were loaded on to the Stella Nova on Monday, October 23rd.

The Stellanova finally sailed for Britain at the start of its journey across the Atlantic on Saturday, October 28th. But a snowstorm in the St Lawrence River meant that the Stellanova had to take shelter before continuing on its journey bound for Britain.

The following photos are copyright Andrew P.M.Wright, and show a consignment of eight brand new Class 66 diesel-electric locomotives at Newport Docks, bound for the Freightliner rail operator in Britain and built by General Motors.

All photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright.
Photos on these pages are low resolution versions.
Full resolution photos are available for media use

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Last Updated 28th Feb 2007 by Keith Morgan.
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