Silliest Nameplate on a diesel ?

[Andy Kirkham]

I would love to see a class named after works of classical music by British composers. I think it would be grand to see locos named "The Dream of Gerontius", "Belshazzar's Feast", "War Requiem", etc.

[Bomag]

I would love to see a class named after works of classical music by British composers. I think it would be grand to see locos named "The Dream of Gerontius", "Belshazzar's Feast", "War Requiem", etc.

 

The only problem is that it would have to be a fairly small class otherwise there would there would be a lot of 'some undecipherable modern cacophony which could be Maxwell Davies or Birtwistle'. Actually the 70s could be named after the 15 Enigma variations and the 5 Pomp and Circumstances, although 014 would have to be Romanza as having a name consiting of three asterisks would be silly.

[John_Miles]

There is an Arriva Trains Wales 143 with a Sir Tom Jones nameplate. Like the man himself, it has seen better days.

[definate maybe]

Dont know about silly names but what about silly style nameplates. The worst has to be a fight between the early Virgin stick on graphics and the Anglia pixel style nameplates used to honour famous people from the region. Not 1 image was recognisable.

[Welly]

That sort of train ( Pacers ) least deserve naming! Unless we can come up with names on a "Donkey" theme. "Cornish Donkey", "Northern Donkey", "Welsh Donkey" or "Manky Donkey"?

[Oldddudders]

That sort of train ( Pacers ) least deserve naming! Unless we can come up with names on a "Donkey" theme. "Cornish Donkey", "Northern Donkey", "Welsh Donkey" or "Manky Donkey"?

Nodding donkey?

[Talltim]

Donkey Kong

[Boris]

At one point it was seriously entertained that a Vanguard shunting locomotive at a local heritage railway would be named, suggestions were asked for and many put forward the name "Priapus", this was selected as the winner and all was going swimmingly until somebody realised what he is the god of and how he is portrayed....

[Oldddudders]

ISTR a well-known narrow-gauge line where they had been lucky enough to get a loco from the Irish Peat Board. Clearly some of the membership had minds as narrow as the gauge, because there was uproar when the loco was named Irish Pete......

[Oldddudders]

At one point it was seriously entertained that a Vanguard shunting locomotive at a local heritage railway would be named, suggestions were asked for and many put forward the name "Priapus", this was selected as the winner and all was going swimmingly until somebody realised what he is the god of and how he is portrayed....

An upstanding member of the deity?

[newbryford]

Going down a film route for the 70's:

 

 

70001 "Nightmare on Elm St"

70002 "Nightmare on Elm St 2 - Freddy's Revenge"

70003 "Nightmare on Elm St 3 - Dream Warriors"

70004 "Nightmare on Elm St 4 - The Dream Master"

70005 "Nightmare on Elm St 5 - The Dream Child"

70006 "Nightmare on Elm St 6 - The Final Nightmare"

 

etc

 

70018 "Chariots of Fire"

 

Cheers,

Mick

[John M Upton]

and expand that theme a little with television programmes and you can have 70012 'Banana Splits'

[newbryford]

70013 "Friday the 13th"

 

Cheers,

Mick

[eastwestdivide]

Found it:

From 1983, a "modified" name:

[Joseph_Pestell]

This is a big subject with so many to choose from. I recall that after a series of daft namings by BR, someone wrote a letter to Modern Railways complaining. They suggested, as a ridiculous example, that at this rate we would get a locomotive named after Oor Wullie (who IIRC was a cartoon character in a Manchester newspaper). Surely enough, about six months later.....

[keefer]

must've been syndicated as 'oor wullie' and 'the broons' are and always were courtesy of the 'sunday post' by dundee's d.c.thomson. i bet there's many folks south of the border have never heard of them, yet most scots of a certain age will remember them fondly!

 

actually between the two there are enough characters for a class of 15!

[62613]

must've been syndicated as 'oor wullie' and 'the broons' are and always were courtesy of the 'sunday post' by dundee's d.c.thomson. i bet there's many folks south of the border have never heard of them, yet most scots of a certain age will remember them fondly!

 

actually between the two there are enough characters for a class of 15!

 

Still going strong in the Sunday Post; one of my nieces had never heard of either The Broons or Oor Wullie, so we had to show her the SP specially. A bit strange, as my paternal grandfather was a Dundonian through and through.

[JeffP]

IIRC, the loco named Peter Pan was done so after it was the winning name on a competition for kids on the Blue Peter series?

 

The one that made me laugh out loud was seen at Newton Abbott in the 70's, a class 45 "Peak" diesel towing a dead Western diesel and it's train.

Some wag had drawn a nameplate on the "Peak" in it's grime and named it "Western Acorn". It was so off the wall it tickled me.

[keefer]

just remembered this from the railblue website: http://www.railblue.com/pages/Related%20Rail%20Blue%20Info/in_1977.htm

 

when did this policy come into force and was there any particular reason why? obviously any named locos remained so, so why the change?

[PhilJ W]

just remembered this from the railblue website: http://www.railblue....nfo/in_1977.htm

 

when did this policy come into force and was there any particular reason why? obviously any named locos remained so, so why the change?

A loco named 'Hal o' the Wind'?

[Talltim]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_North_Inch

[PhilJ W]

http://en.wikipedia...._the_North_Inch

Thanks for that Tim, I was thinking more in terms of the nickname that might be bestowed on the loco by some enthusiasts.

[MJI]

Well I never got my head around 50 007 ... and I'm not talking about 'Hercules'

 

We never refered to it as anything but Hercules

 

 

That caused alot of aggro, that green 50....... I also particularly like the ones named after VCs, there was a 31, 2x47 and currently 2x66 I think. A good use of a nameplate.

 

 

It was ALWAYS covered in hand written marks saying HERCULES, some people even went so far as to rename the poor victim composer Hercules.

 

Everyone hated what was done to 50,007, and a lot of preservationists said if the got their hands on it - straight back to blue and Hercules.

 

Captain Sensible always seemed a strange name to me. I never understood what he had achieved to warrant the naming.

 

Complete and utter pee head who needed slapping with a large piece of wood. He was at a local music concert and was a support act (headliners Girlschool) and was booed off stage, he kept singing songs called "I don't know the words"

[MJI]

 

Aviation has long applied names to those things we trust for longer journeys. I think PanAm had a history of naming all its planes Clipper Somethingorother - how about Clipper Young America, one of its earliest 747s?

 

 

What is wrong with Summer 87, Autumn 86 or 5.2D?

[MJI]

I always thought the BR (WR) named 47's were excellent.

 

Not too many of them, and it was always special when you saw one.

 

Well for a 12 year old in 1972 it was.

 

I like my models of 47513 Severn and 47076 City of Truro