The Hawk Is Dead

4

Monday 20 November 2023

Stan Briggs was a proud man, with much to be genuinely proud about. Balding and bespectacled, he looked like everyone’s favourite uncle, but he was sad today. After thirty-seven years as a train driver — the last twenty on the London — Brighton line — he had finally and reluctantly made the decision to retire at Christmas, in just over a month’s time.

His wife had repeatedly reminded him that he was already past normal retirement age. And he had repeatedly told her, choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. And he truly loved his job, the thrill of turning his boyhood dream into a reality.

The one consolation about retirement was it would give him more time for his hobby — his passion really — his racing pigeons. It was something he shared with the late Queen Elizabeth, a fellow pigeon fancier, whose train he’d twice had the privilege of travelling on for previous royal visits to Sussex, the last occasion being in 2013.

On the first, in 1988, he’d sat up front in the cab alongside the driver, learning the ropes of driving, or rather chauffeuring, this train. Unlike the express trains travelling at 90mph, for the comfort of the royal passengers the speed was generally restricted to 70mph.

The Royal Train was pulled by a Class 67 diesel locomotive, painted in Royal Claret livery, and there was a second locomotive behind, in case the train needed to reverse. There were three Royal Train locomotives in total, one being a spare. The regulars were the Royal Sovereign, No. 67006, the Queen’s Messenger, No. 67005 — and No. 67029, the newest, the Royal Diamond, named by Queen Elizabeth in celebration of her Diamond Wedding Anniversary in 2007. All three of them, at the instigation of King Charles, ran on environmentally friendly biofuel made from waste vegetable oil.

On this Monday morning, as Briggs had arrived to start what he thought would be a routine shift on the London — Brighton line, he was informed that he would be driving the Royal Train, containing Her Majesty Queen Camilla and her entourage, to Brighton. The front locomotive would be the Royal Diamond.

It was for security reasons that none of the pool of drivers who were qualified for the Royal Train ever knew in advance that they would be driving it that day. It was only when they turned up for their shift that they’d be told.

He smiled ruefully as he thought about security and how times had changed, due to financial cuts. Back on that very first trip in the cab, as a trainee driver for the Royal Train, there was a British Transport Police officer on every railway bridge on the entire route from London to Brighton but now there would not be any. But there were cordons both at Victoria Station and the destination, Brighton, as well as a Royal Protection team on the train itself.

A big fan of the new Queen, when Stan was told the news by his manager he was beyond thrilled, if a little nervous. What a great journey to end his career on! Such an honour and privilege. And hopefully, it would all go smoothly.