| The Elizabethan | |
| Type: | Passenger train |
| Predecessor: | Capitals Limited |
| First: | 29 June 1953 |
| Last: | 1963 |
| Formeroperator: | BR |
| Frequency: | Daily |
The Elizabethan was a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom, which ran from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley station.[1]
In 1953, the summer only Capitals Limited train was renamed The Elizabethan, to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2] From 1954 the journey time was reduced from 6 hours 45 minutes to 6 hours 30 minutes, and it was promoted by a British Transport Film, Elizabethan Express. The journey time of 6 hours 30 minutes gave an end-to-end average speed of just over 60mph, regarded as a creditable achievement given the poor state of the infrastructure in the postwar era. At the time this was the longest scheduled non-stop railway journey in the world.[3]
The service ran until 1963 but steam haulage came to an end on 8 September 1961.[4] On that day the final northbound run was hauled by No 60022 Mallard, which was (and remains) the holder of the world speed record for steam.