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Former Royal train manager says it has a future with new King

PA Media Queen Elizabeth II at work aboard the Royal train near Darlington on 7 May 2002PA Media
The Queen was able to work on the Royal train

A man who worked on the Royal train for 33 years said he was confident of its future under King Charles III.

Chris Hillyard, from Northamptonshire, was manager of the train - which is kept at Wolverton railway works in Buckinghamshire - until 2010.

The man who once bumped into the Queen in her curlers said greener travel was important to the new King.

"I think there is a future role for the Royal train," he said.

"I do know that His Majesty, the King has a great love of the train and finds it fits in with the way he and his household work," he said.

"I'd like to think that His Majesty and the new Prince of Wales possibly will use its facilities around the realm to visit the populace."

Stuart Ratcliffe/BBC Chris HIllyardStuart Ratcliffe/BBC
Chris Hillyard, from Northamptonshire, was manager of the train from the Silver Jubilee in 1977 to 2010

Wolverton Works houses the Royal train's carriages, which are pulled by a pool of locomotives that work across the rail network.

The train is currently made up of nine carriages which date from the 1970s and 1980s and include areas for sleeping, eating and working.

Milton Keynes Museum The Royal train at Wolverton WorksMilton Keynes Museum
Wolverton Works has been the home of the Royal train since 1842 but the current carriages date from the 1970s and 1980s
PA Media The Royal Train crosses the viaduct at Ribbleshead on 22 March 2005, pulled by the Duchess of Sutherland steam locomotivePA Media
The Royal train's carriages are pulled by locomotives - including the Duchess of Sutherland - that work across the rail network

"The whole thing is very functional," Mr Hillyard said, "[with] bedrooms, lounges, bathrooms, offices, dining areas and various areas for the household to do their job because it is an extension of the household.

"It's the Royal household on the move."

Inside the Royal Train
Former Royal train manager, Chris Hillyard, said the it is "very functional" inside

Mr Hillyard recalled his memorable first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II when, while trying to deal with a technical fault, he accidentally disturbed her Corgis.

"I walked across the lounge easing these little soft balls of fur out of the way and just as I got to the corridor the door opened and Her Majesty stood there in her curlers and her nightdress," he said.

"I apologised profusely and explained my presence and Her Majesty was most understanding.

"[She was] a charming lady, [with] a wicked sense of humour, [a] very inquisitive, warm, welcoming person."

Wolverton Works has been the home of the Royal train since 1842, when Queen Victoria was a regular visitor, and the then Princess Elizabeth visited it in 1948.

Milton Keynes Museum In March1948, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth visited Wolverton,Milton Keynes Museum
In March 1948, the then Princess Elizabeth visited Wolverton Works

Bill Griffiths, from Milton Keynes Museum, which has a room dedicated to the works and records of the Queen's visits, said the location of the carriages used to be a secret - albeit a poorly kept one.

"We didn't know about Bletchley Park and that was a big secret, but the other secret [in the area] was that the Royal train was kept at Wolverton and the guys weren't supposed to talk about it," he said.

"But of course we all saw the carriages going out onto the mainline so everybody knew it was there."

Stuart Ratcliffe/BBC Bill Griffiths, from Milton Keynes MuseumStuart Ratcliffe/BBC
Bill Griffiths, from Milton Keynes Museum, said the location of the carriages used to be a secret
HM Queen Elizabeth II 640x55
HM Queen Elizabeth II black line

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