Belmont British Pullman: Richly Apportioned Rail Cars

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit a luxury train decorated to make passengers feel like royalty.

The Belmond British Pullman cars are pulled either by a historic diesel engine or by an actual historic steam engine. Often, a brown and cream-colored engine is chosen, since it coordinates with the train cars. But this particular photograph features a shiny black diesel engine with the service’s name, British Pullman, displayed prominently on the cab’s front. 1000 Words/Shutterstock

What happens when historic, retired train cars are repurposed and restored? In the case of the Belmond British Pullman, the result is a luxury-level experience so great as to garner the attention of extravagance-seeking passengers far and wide.

The American-born businessman James Blair Sherwood (1933–2020) came up with the idea to give new life to old train cars, some of which once accommodated members of the British royal family. He established a London-based train service that would take passengers to destination sites around England.