Islineclear3_1
Established Member
How about the Romsey Rocket ?
Strictly speaking yes; however given that the Connect service is operated exclusively by 360s and there are no 360s operating outside of EMR, some may refer to the fleet as “the Connect trains” (I have done on occasion). Had EMR stuck with Electrics, maybe the same would have caught on.Surely that’s a name for the service, not the fleet?
Cornish branch lines, surely. The things eked out the last years of their life on the Devon branchesWhich rapidly became derided as "Slip-per" due to not coping on the Devon branch lines
Predator?the 70s really don't have a proper nickname (certainly not one I'd accept haha)
I do not know why they changed the fleet name from Zephyr to Adelante, but I assume it was for it to be consistent with the FGW (and possibly Hull Trains depending on when it happened) fleets.Why the change??
When 165/0s were first introduced, I heard a lot of "Welcome on board the Chiltern Turbo". The use of a brand "Turbo", didn't seem to catch on or last long.
Has ’Nova 3’ lasted long?I don't hear 185s being called "Pennine class" much, but FirstGroup certainly tried it for a good while before giving up.
The nursery that opened in 1992, just north of the station? "Timmy (or Tiny) Turbo" , wasn't it? That takes me backI beg to differ. I hear some people refer to 165s as 'Turbos' even today, they even named a kid's nursery near Oxford station after them...
I travelled them on the Exmouth branch and the Barnstaple branch in 1986. They were tortuous on those - my ears still get flashbacks! - so I dread to think what they were like on the Cornish branches.Cornish branch lines, surely. The things eked out the last years of their life on the Devon branches
I'm from Norfolk so might be bias but I think the Lotus Esprit Turbo just pips it.Ah yes, the infamous Turbo sunglasses. Not sure what Turbo effect they gave mind!
Sticking Turbo on everything seemed to be a late 80s fad though - but I still feel that one of the greatest things to ever have that phrase adorned to it was the SAAB 900 Turbo!
You could well be right there, it’s possibly memory fade on my part but I seem to recall it being 87s in the illustrations. Need to search out the old publicity items now to confirm.I thought Electric Scots was a name for electric cross-border trains in general from 1974, not all of which were hauled by 87s.
Flying Scotsman syndrome - people confusing the name of a service with the branding of the rolling stock.I thought Electric Scots was a name for electric cross-border trains in general from 1974, not all of which were hauled by 87s.
Apologies if this has been discussed somewhere else in the past but I was watching a documentary about the build and design of the Class 91s/IC225s that referred to them as 'Electra'. I knew this was the catch all fleet name but even using the ECML regularly I've never heard it used
Around 1991 the word "turbo" was quite widely used to denote something fast, up-to-date, efficient, or generally to try to convey the impression that it represented a Great Step Forward.
Sticking Turbo on everything seemed to be a late 80s fad though - but I still feel that one of the greatest things to ever have that phrase adorned to it was the SAAB 900 Turbo!
My teen coveted car.I'm from Norfolk so might be bias but I think the Lotus Esprit Turbo just pips it.
Yep mid-late 80s was all about turbo - I even had a pair of turbo sunglasses!
The problem with that was always going to be that the fleet consists of three entirely different and unrelated train types, so calling them all Nova was (ahem) never going to go.Am I also correct in saying TPEs fleet of NOVAs ain't exactly stuck either??
Cursed things!Only to return a couple of decades later........
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The nursery that opened in 1992, just north of the station? "Timmy (or Tiny) Turbo" , wasn't it? That takes me back
Are the Class 50's still called the Hoovers?
(Sir) Richard Stilgoe, the principal lyricist for Starlight Express. is of course a lifelong rail buff, and apart from the overall theme of the musical itself, it is peppered with names and terms taken, sometimes obliquely, from the railway (and enthusiast) world. In a radio interview he described how the title itself was inspired by reading about the "Starlight Specials", cheap overnight services from Glasgow to London in the early 1960s, which employed interesting combinations of steam locomotives and thus were regularly featured in enthusiast magazines of his youth.Electra was definitely just the 91s, and IIRC was a marketing link up with the Musical ‘Starlight Express’ where one of the key protagonists is a shiny new electric train called Electra; and not coincidentally an APT style train also in the mix breaks down.
But EMR Connect has mostly been dropped again now in favour of Luton Airport Express. I don't think the association is there - although changing the name twice in two years probably means that is absolutely inevitable.Strictly speaking yes; however given that the Connect service is operated exclusively by 360s and there are no 360s operating outside of EMR, some may refer to the fleet as “the Connect trains” (I have done on occasion). Had EMR stuck with Electrics, maybe the same would have caught on.
Before or after they were withdrawn from service?Has ’Nova 3’ lasted long?
GWR still uses the turbo name on some of the information posters inside the trains. The welcome on board adds that say something along the lines of "we hope you enjoy traveling on out turbo train"When 165/0s were first introduced, I heard a lot of "Welcome on board the Chiltern Turbo". The use of a brand "Turbo", didn't seem to catch on or last long.
NSE did try to market them as South Western Turbo in their very early days.
[snip]
Indeed, SWR seemingly still do.
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/travelling-with-us/our-trains/class-159-south-western-turbo
I agree that the name "Turbo" is much more associated with the 165s and 166s.
Ah yes, the infamous Turbo sunglasses. Not sure what Turbo effect they gave mind!
Sticking Turbo on everything seemed to be a late 80s fad though - but I still feel that one of the greatest things to ever have that phrase adorned to it was the SAAB 900 Turbo!
That's the one. Thanks.Turbo Ted's nursery on Roger Dudman Way between the station and the Down sidings. I believe it's still there today.
That raises the whole of the civil engineer's wagon fleet names, after various water creatures, which I believe came originally from the GWR. The approach came from the onetime use of telegrams, which were charged by the word, so various codewords were useful.Not to be confused with the civil engineer’s Turbot wagons!