Travelling in royal style

After the first railway line opened in 1839, the rail network grew quickly. The Dutch royal family discovered the advantages of train travel as well. They used the train to go on state visits, holidays or to interact with their subjects. Initially in the ‘regular’ first-class coaches, but soon in their very own trains. While most of these ‘palaces on wheels’ have been lost to time, the royal collection that has been preserved offers a unique look at royal travel in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Anna Pauwlona was Czar Paul I’s youngest daughter. She was married to King William II of the Netherlands. She got her own saloon coach in 1864, built in Haarlem by the HSM. Anna died a year later without ever having travelled on the coach. Anna’s brother-in-law Prince Frederik, however, used it quite often. The coach was scrapped in 1905. With support from the BankGiro Loterij, this replica was built by the Kloosterboer Decor firm in 2010. It shows how the original looked after it was remodelled in 1884. The toilet and the sink are original elements!