TfW names a Class 197 unit "Penarth Pier"

[chrisjo]

Chester, yesterday:





This is 197009, in Chester Carriage Sidings, showing the bilingual Welsh / English name Pier Penarth / Penarth Pier, with the subtext Enywyd gan / Named by Ava, Creigiau Primary School.


Quite why Transport For Wales didn't do it properly and write Enywyd gan / Named by Ava, Ysgol Gynradd Creigiau Primary School, I couldn't say.

 

[Coleridge]

What a ridiculous name for a train. Not exactly Evening Star or City of Truro, is it?

 

[Bletchleyite]

What a ridiculous name for a train. Not exactly Evening Star or City of Truro, is it?

The ridiculous name for a train made up by a kid was "Mum" as Northern did some years back.

Naming a train after a fine historical structure seems good to me.

 

[Peter Sarf]

The ridiculous name for a train made up by a kid was "Mum" as Northern did some years back.

Naming a train after a fine historical structure seems good to me.

Yes. It is a safe enough name.

And in the event one does not like the name then just ignore the name as it is not essential for travel.

 

[Coleridge]

But why do these everyday, run-of-the-mill trains even have to have names? It's infantilising the rail network. And probably costs a not insignificant amount of money at a time when there is none.

 

[DS25]

What a ridiculous name for a train. Not exactly Evening Star or City of Truro, is it?

Its better than the ones named after the Wrexham owners but thats bias from me as a Shrewsbury supporter..

 

[XFeed]

The ridiculous name for a train made up by a kid was "Mum" as Northern did some years back.

175103 was named Mum

 

[Bill57p9]

Are there any CS Sleeper staff on here?

I am staying at Corrour on Sunday night and want to jump on the sleeper to Tulloch to go walking the next morning.

Do I just flag the train down and pay the fare onboard?

@alistairlees works for CS in ticketing.

I do know people who have just turned up and travelled where the guard has grumbled, but allowed them to travel.

 

[Tester]

Could be worse - I have seen an MTR train in Sweden called TrainyMcTrainface.

 

[XFeed]

Could be worse - I have seen an MTR train in Sweden called TrainyMcTrainface.

Someone thought it was a good idea

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

What a ridiculous name for a train. Not exactly Evening Star or City of Truro, is it?

I quite like it, I think it’s quite sweet. It’s a nice pier. Though I once had a date there a few years back as a uni student and I think that I’d rather forget

 

[DanCardwell]

What a ridiculous name for a train. Not exactly Evening Star or City of Truro, is it?

One of the shunters on the Old Dalby line is called Pushy-Pully...

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

175103 was named Mum

That’s hilarious, and awful.

 

[Northerngirl]

But why do these everyday, run-of-the-mill trains even have to have names? It's infantilising the rail network. And probably costs a not insignificant amount of money at a time when there is none.

The grand steamers of olden times were just run of the mill in their day, why cant we have some appreciation of our trains now, even with the horrors of how much everything costs when its attached to a railway, the stickers can't surely be more than a few hundred

 

[sd0733]

They also have internal QR coded info panels by the doors with information about the naming.

Pier Penarth/Penarth Pier | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

 

[Bletchleyite]

They also have internal QR coded info panels by the doors with information about the naming.

Pier Penarth/Penarth Pier | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

View attachment 212285

That's a good idea. Virgin had little plaques about the various "Voyagers".

 

[John R]

A bit odd to name a Class 197 Penarth Pier, as it will go nowhere near the Penarth branch.

 

[507 001]

A bit odd to name a Class 197 Penarth Pier, as it will go nowhere near the Penarth branch.

This is the only problem I have with the name.

A unit that will ostensibly operate in North and Mid Wales named after a pier in South Wales strikes me as a bit strange.

 

[Sheridan]

This is the only problem I have with the name.

A unit that will ostensibly operate in North and Mid Wales named after a pier in South Wales strikes me as a bit strange.

Accept 197s won’t get to Penarth, but they do operate to Swansea, Carmarthen and beyond, don’t they?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 17:32 ==

Chester, yesterday:

View attachment 212185

View attachment 212186

This is 197009, in Chester Carriage Sidings, showing the bilingual Welsh / English name Pier Penarth / Penarth Pier, with the subtext Enywyd gan / Named by Ava, Creigiau Primary School.


Quite why Transport For Wales didn't do it properly and write Enywyd gan / Named by Ava, Ysgol Gynradd Creigiau Primary School, I couldn't say.

I always thought it was odd they chose ‘Happy Valley’ for the very first one, seeing as it’s a monolingual English name. I suppose Llandudno was the first place they operated to (on the Blaenau services) so they may have wanted a Llandudno-related name, but I’m surprised they didn’t go for something a little more Welsh, with them being rightly keen to foreground the Welsh language in most aspects.

 

[BurtonM]

The ridiculous name for a train made up by a kid was "Mum" as Northern did some years back.

Naming a train after a fine historical structure seems good to me.

156420 'La'al Ratty', wearing its Ravenglass and Eskdale promotional livery, was another questionable one from Northern in my eyes - the unit wasn't often up the Cumbrian Coast as IIRC it generally works out of Newton Heath(!), and I can't imagine the name meant much to most people, particularly at the other end of Lancashire... it was borderline gibberish, and 'ratty' hardly did a 156 (or any Sprinter) any favours.

 

[Peter Sarf]

156420 'La'al Ratty', wearing its Ravenglass and Eskdale promotional livery, was another questionable one from Northern in my eyes - the unit wasn't often up the Cumbrian Coast as IIRC it generally works out of Newton Heath(!), and I can't imagine the name meant much to most people, particularly at the other end of Lancashire... it was borderline gibberish, and 'ratty' hardly did a 156 (or any Sprinter) any favours.

I suppose it was useful to advertise the existence of the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway to likely visitors that were not already there.

As for pier names. I suppose many piers might not be in areas served by TfW but 197s get near enough. I am showing my ignorance but did the GWR ONLY name Castle class steam engines after castles that were really close to GWR lines (as close as Penarth is to Cardiff).

 

[DS25]

A bit odd to name a Class 197 Penarth Pier, as it will go nowhere near the Penarth branch.

Yes, it would’ve been more appropriate to give that name to a 756 or even a 398

 

[SWML9102]

A bit odd to name a Class 197 Penarth Pier, as it will go nowhere near the Penarth branch.

It may not get to Penarth but will get a lot nearer to it than 001 or 004 will get to their namesakes (Philadelphia Robin and Vancouver Red Dragon)!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Lets face it. I suspect Penarth Pier benefits from publicity that is from 10 or miles away more than from publicity that is local as locals already go there if they like that sort of thing.

It is a nice enough pier btw. Small and unassuming but not semi derelict. My only dislike is the threat of seagulls and the jettisoned unwanted contents of their bowels as they soar above me. Brighton pier taught me that - apparently its good luck you know !.

 

[Rhydgaled]

But why do these everyday, run-of-the-mill trains even have to have names? It's infantilising the rail network.

Just a publicity stunt I feel. Of all the TfW named units, the only one that I would say risks infantilising the network is 197049 - a gross misuse of language if you ask me.

What irks me more-generally is the idea a whole multiple unit (with multiple vehicles that may get chopped and changed between units) would carry a name, rather than an individual vehicle. After all, first class Pullman cars each had their own individual name.

They also have internal QR coded info panels by the doors with information about the naming.

Pier Penarth/Penarth Pier | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

View attachment 212285

A bit odd to name a Class 197 Penarth Pier, as it will go nowhere near the Penarth branch.

This is the only problem I have with the name.

A unit that will ostensibly operate in North and Mid Wales named after a pier in South Wales strikes me as a bit strange.

I don't think 009 is ETCS fitted is it - in which case it will presumably NOT spend much of it's time with TfW in Mid Wales - TfW intends for the non-ETCS 197s to be mostly for the North Wales coast, Holyhead-Cardiff and Manchester-Cardiff-Swansea-Carmarthen-Pembrokeshire services I believe.

I am showing my ignorance but did the GWR ONLY name Castle class steam engines after castles that were really close to GWR lines (as close as Penarth is to Cardiff).

I don't know the location of every place the GWR named locos after (or which of the Castles were built/named by BR), but I do know that Kilgerran Castle and Cardigan Castle are close to the Cardigan branch - a line which was operated by the GWR, and that they later absorbed, but which couldn't take such heavy locos. There is/was also a Dryslwyn Castle (possibly even a preserved loco) - the stone namesake being between Carmarthen and Llandovery I think - was that a LNWR or GWR route?

 

[Sheridan]

Just a publicity stunt I feel. Of all the TfW named units, the only one that I would say risks infantilising the network is 197049 - a gross misuse of language if you ask me.

I quite agree, surely it should just have been called ‘Castell Caeriw / Carew Castle’. The child who submitted it could still have been credited.

 

[DelW]

As for pier names. I suppose many piers might not be in areas served by TfW but 197s get near enough. I am showing my ignorance but did the GWR ONLY name Castle class steam engines after castles that were really close to GWR lines (as close as Penarth is to Cardiff).

I don't know the location of every place the GWR named locos after (or which of the Castles were built/named by BR), but I do know that Kilgerran Castle and Cardigan Castle are close to the Cardigan branch - a line which was operated by the GWR, and that they later absorbed, but which couldn't take such heavy locos. There is/was also a Dryslwyn Castle (possibly even a preserved loco) - the stone namesake being between Carmarthen and Llandovery I think - was that a LNWR or GWR route?

The nearby line was LNWR, but it's not too far from the GWR line between Llandeilo and Llanelli.

This thread points out that a number of GWR Hall class locos were named after buildings as far distant as Yorkshire:

Hall Class 7904 Fountains Hall

Hello I hope this is the right place for this question. Does anyone know if the Locomotive in the title was named after the Fountains Hall on the Fountains Abbey Estate in North Yorkshire? I am a volunteer at Fountains Abbey and so interested in anything that relates to the estate Jez

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[sad1e]

@alistairlees works for CS in ticketing.

I do know people who have just turned up and travelled where the guard has grumbled, but allowed them to travel.

Think you may have the wrong thread

 

[Trainz6013]

I suppose it was useful to advertise the existence of the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway to likely visitors that were not already there.

As for pier names. I suppose many piers might not be in areas served by TfW but 197s get near enough. I am showing my ignorance but did the GWR ONLY name Castle class steam engines after castles that were really close to GWR lines (as close as Penarth is to Cardiff).

Along the same lines, some of the Southern's schools class were named after schools miles away from the southern railway

 

[bigmanaiq]

Maybe I’m too optimistic, but what difference does it make that trains have these perceived “silly” names? It doesn’t impact anyone travelling, and in the case of this thread it seems like it’s just promoting a local tourist attraction. The railway gets a lot wrong, but we don’t have to find a way to complain about everything