RMweb Premium nightstar.train Posted November 8, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 8, 2023 I'm trying to fix a name for my layout. It's an imaginary fishing port on the west coast of Scotland that also serves local Islands by train ferry. Sort of a cross between Oban and Mallaig, with a dash of Fort William. It has a narrow gauge railway which joins the West Highland Line. Names I'm considering Port Kirkbrae (meaning church on a hill) Loch Drumbrech (sort of means hill hill) Port or Loch Dunard (Fort on a hill) Port or Loch Dunnabreck (Fort on a hill) I'm leaning towards Port (or maybe Loch) Dunnabreck, but would value opinions of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunalastair Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Dunard would suggest fort on a point / promontory from my little Gaelic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Name it after your wife or girlfriend, with a Loch or Glen prefix. They have Loch Katrine and the like up the there. That should earn a few brownie points. The obvious funny ones like Duff Town have been done Kyle of Minogue is a possibility. Personally after much deliberation I settled on Ugleigh for my (G)WR BLT , and Innamess and Goat of Barton for my 1988 era Scottish layout. That shoes how seriously I take naming stations. And locos. My 37s were names after Glens. Glen Campbell, Glen Miller and Glen y's Kinnock. Sadly the paper nameplates disintegrated. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Newport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Kirkham Posted November 8, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 8, 2023 I've often thought that a good name for a non-existent Scottish town would be Inveracity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinRS Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Didn't one of Iain Banks' characters in the Wasp Factory come up with an imaginative name for a small Scottish town? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I already have my potential Scottish layout name! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Torper Posted November 9, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 9, 2023 Auchentogle. It already exists in Scottish folklore, with perhaps Scotland's best known family residing at 10 Glebe Street. Their friend Wullie lives nearbvy in Auchenshoogle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Torper said: Auchentogle. It already exists in Scottish folklore, with perhaps Scotland's best known family residing at 10 Glebe Street. Their friend Wullie lives nearbvy in Auchenshoogle. Auchenshoogle is obviously from the real Auchenshuggle, so how about a small change in Auchentogle to give Auchenbogle - “field of the scarecrow”? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB-AU Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) A few options for inventing names. Pick an obscure Scottish saint and add Kil- or Kirk- in front of the name, e.g. Kilmachan (Cill Machan) is church of (Saint) Machan. Pick a Middle Gaelic name of Norse origin or a random thing that might be seen in a field and add Achna- or Achin- in front, e.g. Achnagorry (Achadh na Gofhraidh) is field belonging to Gofraid/Godfrid/Godfrey and Achnashellach (Achadh nan Seileach) is field of willow trees. For the word Drumbrech a possible variation is Drumeach (Druim an Fhithich) which roughly means raven hill/ridge. Fhithich is pronounced "eeich" and imitates the call of a raven. Another fertile ground for fictional place names in that part of Scotland is the original Monarch of the Glen novel. While many of them were made up to sound amusing for an English audience (e.g. Drumstickit and Strathdiddle) there are some with reasonable translations. For example Strathdun (valley fort?) and Loch na Craosnach ("loch of the spear"). However I don't think Glenbogle actually translates as bogle/bogill is a Scots word of Germanic origin (bögge which became bogey and böggelmann became bogeyman). If you mix Gaelic and Scots it could sort of translate as valley of the bogeyman/goblin. Edited November 10, 2023 by DavidB-AU Slightly expanded examples 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Jeremy Cumberland Posted November 9, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 9, 2023 Do you not have a favourite Scottish story or film to steal the name from? Personally. I'd think it a great opportunity to re-watch The Maggie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastglosmog Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 If you imagine a narrow isthmus for your town, you could call it Tarbert, there are at least three of those in the Western Highlands and Islands. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Why call it something logical, why not Welsh like Aberdeen? Back before the M4 and M5, Black and White Motorways (Buses) had a hub at Cheltenham near where North south A38 and East West A40 roads crossed. One busy Summer Saturday Bert Lawrence was working and a passenger asked him which bus for Aberdeen. Aber, sounds welsh Dean sounds Forest of Dean, next to Wales , and he was busy so he sent them towards the South Wales bus. Half an hour later after the Grand Depart at 2 pm he realised what he had done 11 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said: Newport? That's what Father in Law called his terminus, Newport I added the suffix (Dorset) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frobisher Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 16 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said: Newport? It'll need a suffix at the very least to distinguish it from Newport on Tay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 23 hours ago, nightstar.train said: Name for imaginary west of Scotland town. TownieMcTownface Should we put up a poll to see which name is most popular? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted November 9, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 9, 2023 How about.. Rathad-Iarainn. Road-iron Aka Railway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Tunnochbrae !! Brit15 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kylestrome Posted November 9, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) On 08/11/2023 at 17:27, nightstar.train said: I'm leaning towards Port (or maybe Loch) Dunnabreck, but would value opinions of others. I often find made-up names sound just exactly that, in other words fake. My approach to finding suitable layout names is to take a large scale map of the area and look for some tiny, obscure place, with a name that is not generally known, but which is suggestive of the region and easy to pronounce. David Edited November 9, 2023 by Kylestrome 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merseycider Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Unconvincing, not this one 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim49 Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Apollo, do you mean Tannochbrae? Tunnochbrae translates as the Hill Where They Make Tea Cakes. As no-one ever questioned Tannochbrae's authenticity, you could try variations on a theme:- Glentannoch - Valley of the Tannoch Invertannoch - Mouth of the River Tannoch Jim 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jim49 said: Tunnochbrae translates as the Hill Where They Make Tea Cakes. Sounds like a much nicer place than Tannochbrae ("Ye'll have had your tea")! Edited November 9, 2023 by Michael Hodgson 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Alex TM Posted November 9, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 9, 2023 3 hours ago, Jim49 said: Glentannoch Tut tut Jim, reusing an old layout name from your past! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Craggy Island? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 7 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said: TownieMcTownface Should we put up a poll to see which name is most popular? Attenboro' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackFivesMatter Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 13 hours ago, Merseycider said: Unconvincing, not this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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