Under Alexander III reign, traveling abroad, Alexis, Vladimir and other grand dukes tended to intensify their flamboyant and sybaritic behavior. Emperors always had their own trains; grand dukes usually -but not always- had to satisfy themselves with a private car attached to a train (the Nord Express, for exemple, a favorite that ran twice a weekly between Saint-Petersburg and Paris). A private railway car, rich with embossed leather on its walls, thick carpets, polished panels, insert mirrors and tulip-shaped reading lamps, usually included a bedroom with fine linen sheets and silk eiderdowns, lavatory, drawing room, kitchen, luggage storage and sleeping spaces for staff. These trains were immensely comfortable except in summer when the sun would heat up the metal roofs, causing the inner spaces to become virtually unendurable. The emperor could, and did, order his train to stop whenever he wished to have relief from the heat, to take walks in the woods or perhaps even enjoy a picnic. Grand dukes were usually not that priviledge; their private cars had generally to conform to the railroad schedules.
Until the last days some of the Romanov's used the train as their last hidding spot. Many went to Kiev for a while, protected by the german occupation armies, but most felt uncomfortable being protected by enemy of yesterday.
