Getting To Know The 123 Years Old Cannon Train For Queen Elizabeth II Cemetery: Guarded By Major, Stored In Special Temperatures And Moistures

British Royal Navy soldiers held a funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II using a gun train. (Source: royalnavy.mod.uk)

JAKARTA - Unlike her late husband Prince Philip Duke ofsifat, who used a specially ordered Land Rover long before his funeral to carry his body, Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was brought by Meriam Train in accordance with the British Royal state funeral tradition.

Built on Royal Gun Factory on Royal Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, southeast of London in the late 1890s, originally this train was intended to carry Army standard field cannons at that time.

However, this particular train was converted into a ceremonial gun train by installing a catafalque, a platform that is elevated with horizontal rollers to move coffins, reported The National News September 16.

The gun train is stored at HMS Dai in Whale Island, Portsmouth where its maintenance is the responsibility of Lieutenant Commander Paul 'Ronnie' Barker. In Indonesia, his rank is on par with Major.

"We try to keep it at constant temperatures. Every week I enter and rotate the wheels of a quarter-round, to stop it from being egg-shaped with gravity and lots of bulging," he told the PA News Agency.

This 3 tonne gun train is stored under controlled environmental conditions at temperatures between 16°C to 20°C, with humidity between 40 percent to 70 percent, to prevent it from becoming dry, fragile and to stop the growth of the fungus.

"In preparation for this event, we have increased the germination 10 times. If you look at the arms carriage, the barrel itself has not been chrome, it's been around for years and a lot of elbow oil," he said.

"I tend to be annoyed if I see new scratches, so I may have crawled in every part of it in the last four or five years," saidter.

Citing Inews.co.uk, this train was last fully overhauled and updated in 1985. The next major reshuffle is expected to occur as soon as the next funeral.

"I would feel very proud on that day, something that has been prepared over the years for this opportunity and it is a great honor to be part of the behind the scenes, knowing the gun train will appear with the highest standards, along with the sailors who will attract the Queen on her final journey," Barker said.

To note, Prince Philip's body was taken to its final resting place using a Land Rover specifically ordered since 2003. In fact, he participated in the design process into the smallest details, such as the dark bronze green selection and the rubber handle to hold the coffin.

Launching Sky News, the Land Rover that will carry Prince Philip's coffin is a modification of the Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cabin. Built with the chassis Defender TD5 at the Land Rover factory in Solihull, northwest London, the rear of the vehicle is modified to make it more like a pickup truck capable of carrying coffins.

Queen Elizabeth II will be buried side by side with her husband, Prince Philip Duke ofsifat at Kapel Memorial King George VI, Kapel St George, Windsor Castle, on Monday 19 September.