Belmond British Pullman is a private luxury train that operates day and weekend journeys around Britain. Until 2023, it also served as the British leg of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) service between London and Venice.
The train service was founded by James Sherwood of Kentucky, USA, in 1982. It is currently owned by Belmond Ltd. Belmond operates 45 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruises in 24 countries.
Belmond British Pullman journeys operate mainly out of London Victoria station with visits to places of interest in southern Britain such as castles, country houses, cities, sporting occasions and events including the Grand National and Goodwood Revival. There are also weekend journeys to Cornwall, with overnight accommodation in hotels, and non-stop round trips with lunch, afternoon tea and dinner served on board. Elaborate dining is included in every journey.
Motive power
The service is regularly hauled by DB Cargo UK's British Rail Class 67 locomotives, numbers 67021 and 67024, painted in brown and cream to match the carriages. Some excursions have the added attraction of being steam-hauled.
Carriages
Belmond British Pullman consists of Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s. They were bought and restored between 1977 and 1982 and modern facilities such as electric heating and toughened glass installed. Original fittings such brass luggage racks were restored and furnishings sympathetic to the period, such as Art deco-style table lamps and armchairs, added. The carriage interiors are lined with wooden panels decorated with marquetry, which were restored by A Dunn and Son, a family firm that dates from 1895 and which created some of the originals. The eleven Pullman carriages can accommodate up to 226 passengers across tables for one, two or three. There are also private compartments for four.
Some of the carriages were part of the former Brighton Belle and were often used to convey royalty. Although the records of the Pullman Car Company were destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, it has been possible to trace the history of the carriages, as detailed on plaques in each one.
There are currently eleven Pullman carriages, which are restored and operational.
A further seven unrestored carriages are stored for the train: four First (Phyllis, Agatha, Mona and Ruth) and three former Brighton Belle 5BEL Third carriages (No. 86, 92 and 93). An eighth vehicle, Car 83 is also owned by the company, but runs as Mary on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
The train is completed by some luggage vans - particularly Mark 1's - used for staff and storage.
See also
- Folkestone Harbour railway station
- Belmond Royal Scotsman
References
Bibliography
- Sherwood, Shirley (1990). Venice Simplon Orient-Express, The world's most celebrated train (Third ed.). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-83035-X.
External links
- Official site of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Luxury Train
- Official site of British Pullman
- Northern Belle journeys in the United Kingdom Archived 30 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
