{"id":477403,"date":"2026-07-14T18:21:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=196222"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:21:39","slug":"turing-train-cypher-finally-cracked-following-challenge-to-the-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=477403","title":{"rendered":"Turing train cypher finally cracked following challenge to the public"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A secret message hidden on the side of a Great Western Railway train for the past four years has finally been deciphered.<\/p>\n

The code was concealed within ‘Trainbow’ Intercity Express Train 800008, named in honour of World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing back in May 2022.<\/p>\n

The hidden message read: \u201cNow know ye that we in consideration of circumstances humbly represented unto us are graciously pleased to extend our grace and mercy unto the said Alan Mathison Turing and to grant him our free pardon posthumously in respect of the said convictions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The wording was taken from the official Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted to Alan Turing by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, recognising the injustice of his conviction under laws that criminalised homosexuality.<\/p>\n

Turing was subjected to chemical castration and died in 1954, aged 41. His posthumous royal pardon was granted in 2013.<\/p>\n

‘Turing’s Law’ was subsequently passed in 2017 and led to pardons for thousands of other men criminalised for same-sex relationships.<\/p>\n

GWR launched its competition ahead of the anniversary of Turing’s birthday on 23 June, revealing three clues before 24 supersleuths were successfully able to decipher the hidden message.<\/p>\n

Participants were challenged to identify the correct letter sequence before being directed towards the significance of the train’s palindromic number, 800008, and finally being encouraged to \u2018make some SPACE\u2019 if there appeared to be too many Zs. Here’s how it was done.<\/a><\/p>\n

Alongside the main message, eagle-eyed participants also discovered a hidden tribute to Turing’s school friend, Christopher Morcom, reading: “For his love of Christopher.”<\/p>\n

Dan Panes, GWR head of external communications, said: \u201cWe knew we were setting people a proper challenge when we revealed there was a hidden message on the train, and we\u2019ve been amazed by the determination, creativity, and enthusiasm shown by everyone who took part.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing the posthumous royal pardon for the hidden message was our way of paying tribute to the part Turing played in the history of LGBTQ+ rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The successful codebreakers were entered into a prize draw to win one of five limited-edition commemorative coins produced to mark the train’s naming.<\/p>\n

Best known for his work at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, Turing led the team responsible for breaking the German Naval Enigma code, intelligence work that proved crucial to the Allied war effort.<\/p>\n

His groundbreaking contributions to mathematics and computer science laid the foundations for modern computing and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

The train was named by members of Turing’s family at London Paddington, where GWR also unveiled its ‘Trainbow’ livery celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

First introduced in 2018, the rainbow-themed design continues to appear at Pride events across the network and reflects GWR’s support for LGBTQ+ colleagues, customers and communities.<\/p>\n

Image credit: GWR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A secret message hidden on the side of a Great Western Railway train for the past four years has finally been deciphered. The code was concealed within \u2018Trainbow\u2019 Intercity Express Train 800008, named in honour of World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing back in May 2022. The hidden message read: \u201cNow know ye that we [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16940,16017,47,180,16016,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diversity-inclusion","category-industry-news","category-rail-news","category-rolling-stock","category-train-operating-companies","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t