THE Queen and Prince Philip caught the train from Slough to Paddington on Tuesday - exactly like thousands of others every day.

But of course this was no ordinary journey. The royal couple were duplicating the train ride undertaken by the Queen’s great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria 175 years earlier.

The Queen and Prince Philip were cheered by schoolchildren from Slough’s IQRA, St Mary’s, Marish and James Elliman Schools, when they arrived at the station.

Muquddsia Munir, assistant headteacher at IQRA said: “This has really brought history alive for the children. They were so excited that they were going to see the Queen and to tell the truth so were all the teachers too.”

Before boarding Great Western Railway’s new Intercity express train at noon, the royal couple visited the original waiting room at Slough station which was used by Queen Victoria. The train they travelled on, which has a top speed of 125mph, is designed for use on new electric lines and is due to enter passenger service later this year.

But while Victoria travelled at 40mph arriving at Paddington in 25 minutes, her royal descendent arrived there in 19 minutes having travelled at 60mph.

Victoria also had to be persuaded by Prince Albert to go on a train, while the Queen clearly shares her husband’s love for them.

She spent the journey ‘talking trains’ with her travelling companions - Isambard Thomas and Gillian White, descendants of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Sir Daniel Gooch, the leading railway engineers who shared the earlier journey with Queen Victoria.

Mr Thomas said: “It was fascinating how much interest she has in trains and in train journeys.”

At Paddington the Queen unveiled one of the train’s engines, appropriately named Queen Elizabeth II. But her great, great grandmother was not forgotten. The rear engine is named Queen Victoria.