TRIVIA: Naming of Engines

[J-Rod]

There wasn't much Industry left at the end of that decade

You're right. No, no there was not.

Back to the racehorses then.

 

[DarloRich]

You're right. No, no there was not.

Back to the racehorses then.

I don't mind racehorses per se but naming a train after a horse that won the 2000 guineas in 1924 is just meh. It means nothing. To use a race horse name it would have to be Red Rum or Dessert Orchid or Kauto Star which resonates with the public.

 

[J-Rod]

I don't mind racehorses per se but naming a train after a horse that won the 2000 guineas in 1924 is just meh. It means nothing. To use a race horse name it would have to be Red Rum or Dessert Orchid or Kauto Star which resonates with the public.

Jokes aside, I think the question should be what actually constitutes a good name. The inter-industry ones are pretty dull (though no doubt serve a purpose); racehorses/famous trains from yesteryear are either irrelevant or contrived sounding.

Not sure what that leaves - olympians/sportspeople/non-flavour-of-the-month celebs? Answers on a postcard [forum]

 

[Iskra]

Jokes aside, I think the question should be what actually constitutes as a good name. The inter-industry ones are pretty dull (though no doubt serve a purpose); racehorses/famous trains from yesteryear are either irrelevant or contrived sounding.

Not sure what that leaves - olympians/sportspeople/non-flavour-of-the-month celebs? Answers on a postcard [forum]

Warships and those from mythology sound the best, are evocative and are timeless IMO. Of course, RN warships do have a naming committee.

I like the old LNER names. Some appear random, but that catches your attention and you can learn a lot by googling them.

 

[hexagon789]

there is no formal naming committee. There may be some approval process but i suspect it is down to someone having a good idea. The days of worthy names that you suggest are gone. Today a name is more likely to reflect a PR opportunity to commercial tie up.

I wasn't sure if some TOCs maybe had something like it in their PR departments or whatever.

Some modern names are perhaps a bit 'peculiar' will we say but some are named after very worthy organisations and people I think.

 

[superalbs]

91028/91128: Guide Dog

 

[Helvellyn]

37425 - CONCRETE BOB

One side only - the other carried his full name as opposed to nickname, i.e. Sir Robert McAlpine. I personally think a two-time nameplate would have been better.

I am surprised nobody had mentioned the unfortunate 43002 Top of the Pops yet.

When BR reintroduced Fleet naming the 50s, 86/1s, 86/2s and 87s at least had a theme behind them with many historical names. But then somebody cottoned on to the promotional aspects of a naming ceremony and the more commercial names started popping up.

 

[Chris217]

There were many other classes of names too.
Like Rivers for example.
Tamar,Severn,Thames
And University names to for example
University of Dundee,Leicester,Strathclyde
All on 47s.
Then we had county names like
County of Merseyside on 86249,some Welsh County names like 37180 Sir Dyfed/County of Dyfed(going back a bit lol).and City names like City of London 87005 and City of Liverpool 87008.

Loved the named trains idea.
Strange how there wasn't one called
City of Cardiff/Dinas Caerdydd although there used to be a HST named City of Swansea/Dinas Abertawe.

Great topic again.
Ha,I'll let someone else have a go.

 

[krus_aragon]

Who remembers the South West Trains unit named "Mum in a Million 1997 Doreen Scanlon"? I am sure Ms Scanlon is a lovely lady but it's not a suitable name for a train (in my opinion, of course). Just the lady's name without the title would have been better.

Similarly, a competition run by First North Western resulted in 175103 being named "Mum".

 

[nat67]

One side only - the other carried his full name as opposed to nickname, i.e. Sir Robert McAlpine. I personally think a two-time nameplate would have been better.

I am surprised nobody had mentioned the unfortunate 43002 Top of the Pops yet.

When BR reintroduced Fleet naming the 50s, 86/1s, 86/2s and 87s at least had a theme behind them with many historical names. But then somebody cottoned on to the promotional aspects of a naming ceremony and the more commercial names started popping up.

Would Hal O' the Wynd 87031.
Plus a lot of the class 87's had names that were on the BR standard Britannia's I.e. Iron Duke, William Shakespeare & Robert Burns.

 

[sprinterguy]

Would Hal O' the Wynd 87031.

That was always my favourite of the class 87s because of the name; without context there was something ethereal, archaic and slightly whimsical about it. The name had previously been carried by Peppercorn A1 No.60116, which itself had adopted the name from one of the North British 'Scott' class 4-4-0s, named as they were for characters from Walter Scott novels. The names of 87026 "Redgauntlet" and 87032 "Kenilworth" were similarly derived.

On which note, with regard to peculiar names, some immature part of me is disappointed that the name of another of the 'Scott' class, "Wandering Willie", has never been revived.

 

[sprinterguy]

Not sure what that leaves - olympians/sportspeople/non-flavour-of-the-month celebs? Answers on a postcard [forum]

My personal favourite themes are ones that highlight features, attractions and noteworthy historical figures along or near the line of route. I personally think that GNER really hit the nail on the head with that one, they had a cohesive and euphonious sounding set of names.

Back to the racehorses then.

Yes, I'm sure the name "Touching Wood" (1982 St Leger winner) will look truly majestic adorning the side of one of LNER's IETs.

 

[J-Rod]

My personal favourite themes are ones that highlight features, attractions and noteworthy historical figures along or near the line of route. I personally think that GNER really hit the nail on the head with that one, they had a cohesive and euphonious sounding set of names.

True. Can't go wrong with that. Also, makes it relevant to the journey in hand.

 

[sprinterguy]

True. Can't go wrong with that. Also, makes it relevant to the journey in hand.

Yeah, something that celebrates the route the trains are travelling on, has relevance to the present day as well as perhaps invoking a bit of nostalgia. That's something that GNER were very good at, with their traditional heraldic emblem and "Route of the Flying Scotsman" moniker.

There's room as well I think to recognise modern institutions such as universities en route, as well as worthy charities and businesses that the TOC supports.

 

[Neil Urquhart]

If HST powercars were kept in pairs then I always thought that Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise would be great pair of names.

 

[nat67]

If HST powercars were kept in pairs then I always thought that Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise would be great pair of names.

That's what Micheal Palin said on confessions of a trainspotter.

 

[43096]

That was always my favourite of the class 87s because of the name; without context there was something ethereal, archaic and slightly whimsical about it.

Agreed. 87031 had a fantastic name (though sometimes referred to as “Will-o' the Wisp”), as did most of the 87s. Growing up on the West Coast route I've always liked them and the names.

Good to see that TPE have got an 87 crank in their midst and that 68028 and 68030 carry Lord President and Black Douglas plates. Now, can we have Redgauntlet, Wolf of Badenoch, Earl Marischal, Hal o' the Wynd and Kenilworth on the other unnamed TPE 68s, please?

Thought you'd like the photo below of 87031 at Manchester Picc back on 7 September 2004 before working 1A58 1227 to Euston. Back when West Coast had comfortable trains.

 

[Mag_seven]

Thought you'd like the photo below of 87031 at Manchester Picc back on 7 September 2004 before working 1A58 1227 to Euston. Back when West Coast had comfortable trains.
View attachment 58597

Nice loco - shame about the livery.

 

[Ianigsy]

"Ladas" of course long pre-dated the rather dubious Russian cars.

The LNER loco was named after the racehorse, which was in turn named after an aristocrat's daughter (the initials are something like Lady Alice Dorothea Antonia Smith), who also gave her name to the Snowdon Mountain Railway's number 1, which was wrecked beyond repair on the opening day.

I remember it being observed in the 1980s that it seemed rather perverse of BR to name locos after Henry Ford, Herbert Austin and Sir Henry Royce. Nowadays I think the thing with a naming policy is to work it out in advance and see it through- the best names of recent years to my mind have been on the Super Voyagers because they were consistent.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Not an engine, but 'Penny the Pendolino' is a little out of the ordinary... so is a few of the pendo fleet, too

Reminds me of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward

I reckon we could all come up with a few good ones if we tried.

397 001 Cross Fell

 

[Matt_pool]

why? - it is clearly a competition prize and a good bit of PR for the railway. The name of some random without the context of why is also just as pointless.



there is no formal naming committee. There may be some approval process but i suspect it is down to someone having a good idea. The days of worthy names that you suggest are gone. Today a name is more likely to reflect a PR opportunity to commercial tie up.



another completion winner.

Who decides what is a suitable name? I suspect many here would only be happy with names taken from the big book of railway names 1932 edition. Perhaps we should just stick to naming trains after the obscure board members of the TOC's. Afterall the LNER named an A4 after their chief legal counsel Miles Beevor so perhaps we could have a Pendolino named after the current chief finance officer of Virgin trains!

Yes, it was a competition in the Liverpool Echo in which readers could vote. So, along with "The Flying Scouseman", the other options that were shortlisted from the hundreds of suggestions were:

"Mighty Mersey"
"From Liverpool With Love"
"Alright La!"
"Pride of Liverpool"
"Merseyside Express"
"The Fourth Grace"
"Liver Bird"
"Day Tripper"
"Liverpool Belle"

Sometimes it isn't a good idea to allow the public to vote, i.e. "Boaty McBoatface"!

 

[Thunderer]

56124 "Blue Circle Cement" ha! Product naming is so unfortunate, why not name a train "Andrex Moist Wipes" or "Domestos - The Ultimate Toilet Cleaner" - ludicrous! Ha!

 

[xotGD]

OK, so if folk aren't keen on St Ledger winners for some unfathomable reason, how about using the names of all of the rivers crossed on the LNER route?

 

[43096]

56124 "Blue Circle Cement" ha! Product naming is so unfortunate, why not name a train "Andrex Moist Wipes" or "Domestos - The Ultimate Toilet Cleaner" - ludicrous! Ha!

I don't recall Andrex or Domestos having large contracts with Railfreight, which is what Blue Circle had at the time.

 

[Cowley]

56124 "Blue Circle Cement" ha! Product naming is so unfortunate, why not name a train "Andrex Moist Wipes" or "Domestos - The Ultimate Toilet Cleaner" - ludicrous! Ha!

Lucky you're not called 50046 'Ajax' then.

 

[Thunderer]

I don't recall Andrex or Domestos having large contracts with Railfreight, which is what Blue Circle had at the time.

You miss the satire in my statement.

 

[Thunderer]

Lucky you're not called 50046 'Ajax' then.

Brilliant - that made me laugh, fair play - you could say it was "Superb"

 

[43096]

You miss the satire in my statement.

Satire doesn't really work when written down, does it?

 

[Thunderer]

Satire doesn't really work when written down, does it?

Most Satire begins on paper as script and hopefully, the right people bring it to life incidentally, you should be 43296 now lol Last time I saw 43096 it was called "The Queens own Hussars" at York, a few decades ago now, working with 43117 on a King's X to Aberdeen service, in its wonderful INTERCITY swallow livery great days!

 

[sprinterguy]

Agreed. 87031 had a fantastic name (though sometimes referred to as “Will-o' the Wisp”), as did most of the 87s. Growing up on the West Coast route I've always liked them and the names.

Good to see that TPE have got an 87 crank in their midst and that 68028 and 68030 carry Lord President and Black Douglas plates. Now, can we have Redgauntlet, Wolf of Badenoch, Earl Marischal, Hal o' the Wynd and Kenilworth on the other unnamed TPE 68s, please?

Thought you'd like the photo below of 87031 at Manchester Picc back on 7 September 2004 before working 1A58 1227 to Euston. Back when West Coast had comfortable trains.
View attachment 58597

The names on the 87s were very evocative. Personally I'd rather that the TPE class 68s carried names relevant to the route, though it is pleasing to see some of the old names being revived: There's definitely a crank somewhere influential in the ranks of DRS, with the 68s being named for warships and 87s, and the 88s adopting names from the Woodhead 77s.

Thanks for that photo, brings back memories!