Belmond Royal Scotsman

Just 40 guests aboard mahogany-panelled Pullmans that cross the Forth Bridge outbound and stable each night in Highland sidings.

Since 1985 this maroon rake of Edwardian-style Pullmans has been Scotland’s slowest luxury: a maximum of 40 guests, dining cars laid with white linen, and an open observation veranda scented with pine and peat smoke. The Classic Splendours circuit leaves Edinburgh over the Forth Bridge, rounds the coast to Aberdeen and Speyside, then crosses to the Kyle line before drifting home past Glamis and the Tay. The train stables in country sidings overnight so the Highlands pass by daylight.

Along the way

• Forth Bridge
• North Sea coast to Aberdeen
• Keith & Speyside distilleries
• Kyle line along Loch Carron
• Plockton & Kyle of Lochalsh
• Tay Bridge into Dundee

How this line was checked

• Checked against OpenStreetMap: 92.6% of this line lies within 250 m of real track (median 6 m); the longest stretch away from it is 13 km
• The operator publishes this line's timetable: Belmond — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
• Wikipedia has an article for this line

Questions and answers

How long is the Belmond Royal Scotsman?

The Belmond Royal Scotsman is a 1,000 km round trip from Edinburgh.

How long does the Belmond Royal Scotsman take?

The fastest scheduled journey is 5 days for the 1,000 km. The line's top service speed is 100 km/h.

Who runs the Belmond Royal Scotsman?

Belmond, with Edwardian-style Pullman rake.

How old is the Belmond Royal Scotsman?

The line has been in service since 1985. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the Belmond Royal Scotsman run?

2–7-night journeys, Apr–Oct.

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Read more on Wikipedia ↗