The Railway Magazine of May 1928 (p410) has photo of the “Time-table of Royal Train in English and Persian” for the King of Afghanistan’s visit to Swindon works, G.W.R. On March 21.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
TIMETABLE
for
The Journey of Their Majesties the
King and Queen of Afghanistan
From Paddington to Swindon
On Wednesday, March 21st, 1928.
More details of King Amanullah’s tour of Europe, with some wonderfully fawning quotes from Railway Gazette. On his peregrinations he also visited Berlin in March 1928, where he went for short ride on – and was allegedly invited to drive – one if the then-new A2 small-profile U-bahn trains, leading to the type becoming known as the “Amanullah-Wagen”.
The March 2008 issue of Majesty magazine has an article: Roaring Twenties: A compelling account of the King and Queen of Afghanistan’s state visit to Britain, by Russell Harris
. When I get chance to pop into one of WH Smith’s public reading rooms I’ll see if there is any railway content.
“In his visits [to Britain] [the King of Afghanistan] will see something of the unexampled resourses and skill of this country in the design and manufacture of engineering and transport equipment. May the friendship between Afghanistan and our Indian Empire, which is such an important Britsh and Afghan interest, be cemented in the future with bonds of steel!” – The Railway Gazette & Railway News, March 23 1928.