I'm surprised such a thread didn't exist for this already, but just for fun I'd like to see what ideas everyone would have in mind for naming a train. The idea here isn't to name an entire fleet of rolling stock (ie. Pendolino, Azuma) but rather an individual name for a unit that we often see on the railway. There's no rules, just name a train after a person, event, location or rail service etc. and give us your reasoning as to why you chose the name and unit in particular. I'll start us off with some examples of my own:
- Ian Fleming (800 007) - Named for his contributions to literature including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the original James Bond novels that inspired the films that remains a British cultural icon to this day. I chose a GWR Class 800 for this name because Fleming was born in London, but for a time he also lived in Oxfordshire and is buried in St. James's Churchyard in Wiltshire, all areas served by the fleet. The train number was also a deliberate nod to 007, Bond's just as iconic number.
- Emmeline Pankhurst (390) - Named in recognition of her organising the British suffragette movement which helped women in Great Britain and Ireland win the right to vote in 1918. I chose a Class 390 for this due to her being considered a proud Mancunian who also lived in London, both cities being served by the fleet. Though 390157 is already named Chad Varah, 157 would've been a neat reference to her birthdate as 15 July.
- City of Glasgow (390 154) - There isn't actually much to this one. It's simply something I chose because it's the only second batch Pendolino set that doesn't currently carry a name, and seeing as one of the four new eleven coach sets was intended to replace the written off 390033 that was originally given the name, I feel like it's only fitting that it be given to the first eleven-coach unit that still doesn't have a name of it's own.
- Evelyn the Evero (805/807) - Again, not a lot of thought put into this one other than the fact that 390122 is named Penny the Pendolino, so therefore why not give a quirky name to another one of the InterCity West Coast train fleets? You could maybe swap the name out with another one such as Emma or Eva, but I think Evelyn works best. You could potentially go with a male name too, but I'd like to keep it feminine personally.
- Electric Truth (805 001) - Geoff Marshall's video on the 805s reveals that the name Evero comes from EV (Electric Vehicle) and Vero (Italian for "true"), hence the name "Electric Truth". I think it has a nice ring to it and is very befitting to the first of the new fleet brought in to replace the Voyagers and helped decarbonised the North Wales traffic on the WCML South.
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