Aye, surprising when one looks back and remembers just how many were named (in 4 sequentially numbered pairs of two to boot). None of the names the 320s have really stuck with me, unlike the ones 318259 & 266 received; the latter of that pair being one of my all-time favourite names applied to any British loco/multiple unit.
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Lots of 319s were named back in the day...
I believe that some of the Class 101 DMUs that were used on Newcastle suburban services in the 1960s and 70s (on the lines that are now part of the Tyne & Wear Metro) were named after celebrities or fictional characters associated with the North-East, such as Bobby Shafto and Danny the Mazer.
)That was the one I was thinking of in my earlier postClass 503 which is part the Hertiage Electric Trains Trust (Same as 4SUB 4732) was named Ivor T. Davies G.M. in 1988.
Class 503 preserved
The preserved class 503 at Birkenhead North & driver Ivor T Davis at the handover of the set to Wirral council, 14 march 1988
Perhaps Nexus could do the same with the current Metro cars in their last few months in service? How about:
Sid the sexist!!!!
Makes sense, the 150/2s were ordered for Bathgate re-opening (though in the early years any old thing that moved would work the turn) and the Dundee semi-fasts, replacing locos + vacuum braked Mk1/early Mk2.
Change of operating company is probably the most common. Though that doesn't always result in a denaming
Sometimes the trains change operators, are repainted, or the names are no longer relevant for whatever reason. The "namee" is usually given a copy of the nameplate if possible when the naming happens anyway.
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Indeed, as 318266 held on to it's nameplates when ScotRail changed hands in March 2015 (First to Abellio; it was the last remaining named EMU on fleet by this time I think), only losing them when sent down to Doncaster for refurb/repaint in December that year. Several 158s & 170s also still had names at the time of the changeover.
Yes, it appears to have been 1986-1996 as per this photo on Flickr:
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142073 was MYFANWY. Sometimes seen coupled to TOM. Well, he did have a reputation in the valleys, allegedly.
Captain Sir Tom Moore has both loco 66731 and unit 800025 named after him. Stagecoach also honoured his efforts with a named bus.
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Several Northern 156s and 158s were named during the Serco/Abellio days, using quite smart white-on-blue adhesive plastic 'nameplates' with white borders and curved corners. Ones that spring to mind are:
Ah yes....that was 158 784.
Captain George Vancouver (221 and 365).
Oh yes, the unit with the replacement 507(?) Driving Motor carTwo more for us Glaswegians, @hexagon789.
Nearly forgot that a single Class 314 carried a name: 314203* European Union. Also, and this may be one of the more obscure ones, a solitary Class 303: 303089 Cowal Highland Gathering 1894-1994. The latter may seem particularly odd on the surface, but given that Gourock is the closest railhead to Dunoon (where the Cowal Highland Games are held) and the Inverclyde Line was still dominated by 303s at the time of the naming (1994), it made some sense. Pictures of 089 with the name are extremely scarce, linked below is about the best I could find (from the Down to Nowhere, Matt Taylor & Charles Tallis Flickr streams respectively); 089's 'name-stickers' were located on the motor coach just beside the guard's doors.
314203
Back in January 2003, 314203 carried the attractive SPT carmine and cream livery. The motor coach carries the nameplate "European Union". The units were built by BREL York in 1979.
303089, Glasgow Central, November 24th 1996
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303089 sticky backed plastic Nameplate © 2014 Chas Tallis. Scanned from photograph
Glasgow Central Station © 2014 Chas Tallis
*: as if this particular 314 wasn't noteworthy enough already; more details here.
