Already at the beginning of Luitpold's reign, the Bavarian railway network was relatively well developed, so the regent only had to use a horse-drawn carriage in very rural areas. Ludwig II's royal blue and gold trains were at his disposal, initially mostly for private travels, later more in the line of duty.
To meet the more modern expectations of the times and to overcome the unsatisfactory swaying and bumpy handling of the old 1892 saloon coach, a new state saloon coach was ordered from the respected Munich factory, J. Rathgeber, who delivered within a year.
Compared to how "normal" people travelled in those days, this coach was unbelievably luxurious.
The 3rd class coaches of the time, for example, had wooden benches, a coke stove for heating, simple petroleum lamps for lighting, and, more often than not, no brakes or toilets. Even today's 1st class coaches seem like abject poverty in comparison.
The "Saloon Coach No. 8" was built according to the most modern technical concepts of the times. The coach had automatic Westinghouse pneumatic brakes and a vacuum brake (the outer two axles of the two three-axle bogies were braked), bellows carriage connection corridors, steam heating, and electric lighting, to name but a few examples.
