Following on from Ian’s comments on loco names, I am firmly of the opinion that a locomotive without a name is an orphan, a second-class individual destined to lurk on the periphery of a railway’s operations, well-used perhaps but not well-loved. A named engine, on the other hand, has a certain air of superiority and importance, basking in the reflected glory of whatever attributes the name suggests to the viewer. Combined with the size of my fleet (around fifty, much to my innocent surprise) this view has given me pause for thought on many occasions when trying to think of a suitable name.

 

A number of themes have evolved over the years. Kent castles was an early one for a succession of diesels, as I grew up in that county. Cornwall, my wife’s birthplace, is also represented, with the likes of Tamar, Marazion and Par. My Indian stock have appropriate ethnic names, such as Kangchenjunga and Iron Sherpa, and my chosen career gets a mention with Inspector and Redgrave (the first factory inspector).

 

The only locos named after a person are my first steamer, Lady Anna, and a later one Dorothea, although I do have a Maid of Kent and a Kentish Men, in memory of other relatives. Scottish connections have shown up in assorted islands, such as Barra, Coll, Raasay and Westray.

 

Finally, there are a number of one-offs, where a name is a close match to the particular type of loco, and anything else would seem out of place. For example, Mark Hayward’s exquisite model of an Irish peat bog loco had to be Lough Ree, after the power station I have visited twice on Southport Model Railway Society’s sleeper trips. Also a black pirate-themed Lady Anne was a natural for Buccaneer, and an electric D Class could only be Major Bloodnock. As to why, episode six of series 8 of the Goon Show has the born-again coward and serial deserter singing ‘The Darjeeling One-Step’. Simples.

 

As to numbers, I started at ‘1’ and I may have reached double figures, but only I think due to a sense of duty. I do have a ’41’, but that again has Kentish overtones. Numbers by themselves are less personal and more prosaic than names, serving as identification on a shed master’s timesheet rather than on the timetable of a flagship rail service. However a combination of name and appropriate number might work well, analogous to the cricketing world’s Root 66 on the back of a certain Yorkshireman. No.39 John Buchan anyone?

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