US Car Number 1, the Ferdinand Magellan, sits in the Gold Coast Railway Museum in Miami. It's 120 tonnes of bulletproof, armoured railcar: a train carriage d...
The Danish railway museum they have four royal railcars, dating from the beginning of rail transport to 2001 when the latest piece in the collection was taken out of commission and donated to the museum as the queen was gifted the current royal car by the state railways. They are similar to the US car but also very different.
The similarities are obvious; they are luxurious, decorated lavishly for their time period and have similar facilities but there are also differences.
The most obvious difference is that they are not as paranoid as the American one. They are not armoured, they don't have escape hatches and no attempt was made to hide them among other cars, they are clearly identifiable, painted in a special maroon shade and with big coats of arms on the side.
The difference in ceremony around the American presidency and European monarchies are also reflected in the way to the rail cars are designed. The American president is expected to give the Big Important Speech and consequently his railcar is essentially a huge rolling podium for him to address the masses. The Danish royal cars have no such thing, as royal ceremony rarely have the monarch address the masses, instead they are supposed to disembark the train at a platform to be greeted by local dignitaries and maybe wave to the crowd.
Another difference I can't help notice is how the American car is full of branding for the Pullman company. I wouldn't expect many other countries putting up with their vehicles of state being covered in non-state symbolism like that.
The Danish railway museum they have four royal railcars, dating from the beginning of rail transport to 2001 when the latest piece in the collection was taken out of commission and donated to the museum as the queen was gifted the current royal car by the state railways. They are similar to the US car but also very different.
The similarities are obvious; they are luxurious, decorated lavishly for their time period and have similar facilities but there are also differences.
The most obvious difference is that they are not as paranoid as the American one. They are not armoured, they don't have escape hatches and no attempt was made to hide them among other cars, they are clearly identifiable, painted in a special maroon shade and with big coats of arms on the side.
The difference in ceremony around the American presidency and European monarchies are also reflected in the way to the rail cars are designed. The American president is expected to give the Big Important Speech and consequently his railcar is essentially a huge rolling podium for him to address the masses. The Danish royal cars have no such thing, as royal ceremony rarely have the monarch address the masses, instead they are supposed to disembark the train at a platform to be greeted by local dignitaries and maybe wave to the crowd.
Another difference I can't help notice is how the American car is full of branding for the Pullman company. I wouldn't expect many other countries putting up with their vehicles of state being covered in non-state symbolism like that.