Are there any named passenger trains on the underground?

[Railguy1]

A few national rail trains are named (link below) but there does not seem to be any listed from the London Underground/ TFL. Why is this?

I vaguely remember some trains were painted with a special livery on the Piccadilly line to commemorate the night tube and also some other occurrences in the past but I have never seen a tube train with a permanent name.

List of named passenger trains of the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[cool110]

You're getting a "named train" confused with a named loco or unit. The former is a particular service in the timetable (usually a sleeper or limited stop express), which makes no sense at all in a high frequency system.

 

[GFE]

I do believe some of the S stock trains were/are named - I recall one was called "Tim O'Toole"

 

[minimann]

I believe at least one of the trams have been named and several overground trains have after previous Commissioner's and Deputy Mayor's but that's it. Maybe the next step after naming the various overground lines?

 

[kacper]

I think there's a S stock with a "Queen Elizabeth II" nameplate, some overground trains are named too along with some DLR trains

 

[Taunton]

The DLR have quite a number of named trains, generally (it would appear) after staff members or nearby residents, particularly those who did various deeds during Lockdown. Quite large aluminium bodyside plates, giving not only the name but their background. Probably inspired by the C2C trains that run alongside, which seem to have quite a number likewise with staff member names.

 

[MaidaVale]

You're getting a "named train" confused with a named loco or unit. The former is a particular service in the timetable (usually a sleeper or limited stop express), which makes no sense at all in a high frequency system.

In a rare case of this actually occurring with a high frequency system, Running number 111 is often referred to as Nelson by staff, and 222/333 are usually referred to as "all the twos" or "all the threes".

This is in relation to the actual service the train is running rather than the vehicle itself. Obviously completely unofficial and will never be used in public comms or any form of safety-related operational comms.

 

[bluegoblin7]

21099/100 is 'Tim O'Toole'
21301/302 is 'Queen Elizabeth II'

The ex-LMS Inspection Saloon, part of the Heritage Fleet, is numbered 17 and called 'Florence Nightingale' (after the Met Bo-Bo of the same number/name) and the preserved Met Bo-Bo is Number 12, Sarah Siddons. Despite common belief, neither of these are part of the LTM collection and remain in LUL stock.

There were previously four battery-electric locomotives procured in 2006 by Metronet for the upgrading of the Waterloo & City line called Walter, Lou, Anne, and Kitty. At least two of these are preserved, I don't have my notes to hand to confirm any others.

That's about your lot - I wouldn't consider slang for certain train numbers to be relevant to 'named trains' in any sense of the word (as someone who hears, and detests, 'all the fours' on an almost daily basis).

 

[MaidaVale]

I wouldn't consider slang for certain train numbers to be relevant to 'named trains' in any sense of the word (as someone who hears, and detests, 'all the fours' on an almost daily basis).

Neither would I really, but it's about the closest you could come to a named service as linked by the OP that we have at LU.

I hear "all the twos" and "all the threes" on a daily basis and I'm fairly indifferent on the use of them although I hear them used a lot by others, particularly the more experienced train ops.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

I was astonished for a second, that there might be named services on the Underground. I was expecting to see the “Cockfosters Limited” - dining car as far as Bounds Green, sleeping cars in summer months.

 

[aar0]

I was astonished for a second, that there might be named services on the Underground. I was expecting to see the “Cockfosters Limited” - dining car as far as Bounds Green, sleeping cars in summer months.

There is… but it’s BYOB, BYOF…

 

[GFE]

In the days of the Chesham shuttle, Perhaps the Limited number of fast & through trains had a name?

 

[Central]

All the Schoma locos were named.

 

[Florence Rox]

Metropolitan S8 stock carriage 41100 is named Tim O'Toole CBE, Managing Director of London Underground 2002-2009

 

[bluegoblin7]

Metropolitan S8 stock carriage 41100 is named Tim O'Toole CBE, Managing Director of London Underground 2002-2009

As I noted...

21099/100 is 'Tim O'Toole'

All the Schoma locos were named.

Forgot about these! Now I'm back with my notes...

1	Britta Lotta
2	Nikki
3	Claire
4	Pam
5	Sophie
6	Denise
7	Annemarie
8	Emma
9	Debora
10	Clementine
11	Joan
12	Melanie
13	Michele
14	Carol

 

[boiledbeans2]

It's very confusing that each LU train doesn't have a name. To make it easier for customers, I suggest a £6m rebranding exercise, such that each train is individually named.
Therefore, the LU status page can show "Severe delays on the Metropolitan Line. Henry has broken down and is awaiting a pushout from Thomas."

 

[philthetube]

In the days of the Chesham shuttle, Perhaps the Limited number of fast & through trains had a name?

Going back to the Chesham shuttle days the through trains were indicated with a P, I was told that this related back to the days they had restaurant cars on board and stood for Pulman. If this is true then they were named.

 

[tram21]

Saw this on Facebook this morning, there's at least one named train!

Picture is a screenshot of a post on 'Dull Men's Club' on Facebook, showing a Metropolitan S-Stock train named Tim O'Toole CBE.

 

[Railguy1]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[BlitzFan87]

Saw this on Facebook this morning, there's at least one named train!
View attachment 171294

That is a good name

 

[Backroom_boy]

Back in Metropolitan railway days were there any named trains when the MR thought of themselves as a mainline railway? Didn't some services have pullman carriages?

 

[norbitonflyer]

Going back to the Chesham shuttle days the through trains were indicated with a P, I was told that this related back to the days they had restaurant cars on board and stood for Pulman. If this is true then they were named.

The trains (services) were not named, but the two Pullman Cars were named Mayflower and Galatea. They were named respectively after the defending champion and the challenger in the 1886 Americas Cup.

You're getting a "named train" confused with a named loco or unit.

Some names are used in both ways, to the confusion of many. "Flying Scotsman" is the best known example. The services used to be the 10am from Kings Cross to Edinburgh and the 10am Edinburgh to Kings Cross. The GNR locomotive 1472 "Flying Scotsman" (later renumbered LNER 4472, LNER 502, LNER 103 and finally BR 60103) might, on any given day, have hauled one of other of these (but obviously not both!) but the service existed long before the locomotive, and continued long after it was withdrawn. (Indeed No 4472 was only in front line service for about 15 years, before being superseded on the fastest trains by the A4 streamlined Pacifics)

Other examples are Royal Scot (LMS service, and loco No 6100) and Coronation (the name of an LNER service, but also LMS locomotive No 6220, built for hauling the LMS Coronation Scot service)

 

[simple simon]

I have not found an online reference to prove this (although web search did find this Railforums thread!) however I feel sure that there was a train named The Harrovian (or something very similar). This will have been in the steam train era.

If present-day Chesham trains were still running fast between Finchley Road and Moor Park (19 minutes, non-stop!!) then these could have been named something like "The Chesham Flyer" or "Chesham Express". Just imagine, two S7+1 trains converted to have tables and even a lounge car. Maybe though also offering a light refreshment service and a toilet might have been too expensive. Anyway, yes this would be a marketing ploy, just as the real Pullman Coaches on some longer-distance trains run by the former Metropolitan Railway were a marketing ploy designed to attract more passengers.

Instead however with the service we have today "The Chesham Slowcoach" (or even the Chesham Slug??) would be more appropriate, erm, these being names that I suppose would not exactly attract passengers to use these trains.