How did you name your loco?

[Boustrophedon]

I have three loco's now, all as yet unnamed, How do you name your loco's do you have a theme or is it on an individual basis?

[MDLR]

For the MDLR / Flagg Fluorspar I use Terry Pratchett character names - the Diesels are all named after witches (apart from number n n n n n nineteen, which is named Paul Hardcastle) and the steamers are all major characters.

My Darj is named after my late father-in-law, whose bequest paid for it.

[dewintondave]

My homebuilt locos are all named after what was going on at the time. The two small de wintons were named after Harry potter characters. The large de winton is named after Jack White. The diesel outline steam loco is named after Calvin Harris. The live diesel is named after an online character. My current build is named "Donald J", after the great man himself.

Best wishes,
Dave

[MDLR]

My current build is named "Donald J",  after the great man himself.

Will it's safety valve trump like the old Merlin ones did?

[dewintondave]

I hope so!

[ge_rik]

Following Southwold Railway practice, my steam locos are named after communities served by the railway and my i/c locos follow Llanfair and Welshpool practice by being named after the Lord and Lady of the manor (but then when I ran out of those names I turned to members of my own family - including various cats).

Rik

[Peter Butler]

The majority of my locos carry female names, as I tend to think of them as 'she', and have come from discount boxes at shows. If I model a prototype (rare in my case) it carries the original name. Models bought 'pre-loved' retain whatever name they arrive with.
I don't get too fussy over names as there is no perfect solution, but I do insist on them showing one.

[philipy]

My first two were named after my wife ( Name variants). Next two were named after our African Grey parrots. Last one was based on 'Quintus' but called Octavius since it was No.8 not No.5! A couple of diesel railcars only have numbers.

[ge_rik]

when I ran out of those names I turned to members of my own family - including various cats).
Rik

By coincidence, I've named my IP Lollypop railcar 'Lolly' after the last cat we owned (now no longer with us). I hasten to add that the name was inherited from the cat's previous owner who called her 'Lollypop' - she was an infant school teacher (the owner not the cat).

Rik

[Killian Keane]

If you wanted to be grand and victorian (but a little pretentious!) you could name your locos after gods: ophir, bellorophon, xerxes etc. Incidentally, the most popular full size loco name is hercules

[Big Jim]

Once I get around to etching the plates, one of mine will be named after the current wife the other all have names that seem to suit. My current project will me named Ol' Bill after the Bruce Bainsfather character as it seemed to fit.

I did toy with the idea of using names of Goon Show characters. But you would would need a large engine if you wanted to name one The Honourable Hercules Gryppe-pype Thinne.

[TonyW]

Mine are named after Class 42/43 Warship diesel locos. So, Warships then.

[Killian Keane]

Has anyone on here read '4 feet 8 and a half and all that'? If so you may remember the chapter when we are given a tour of crewe works including the engine naming studio, where scholars and poets are surrounded by volumes of classical literature, coming up with streams of names, achilles, cerberus, juno, pugsy etc etc

[5H17]

I named my Lady Anne 'Lormina' after my Mum who passed away in August. Her name was actually Lorna, but Lormina was a nickname (long story), so I'm unlikely to see another loco with the same name.

I also lost my dog 'Butler' earlier this year (2016 hasn't been the best of years at Chez 5H17!) and I've already got a pair of plates made to name my next live steamer after him. Haven't decided what to buy yet though.

[artfull dodger]

My engines carry names from my favorite Charles Dickens book, Oliver Twist. Mike

[Sir Clothem Cap]

My first 2 are named after the fictional towns they serve Warren and Stow, Then I named one Ivor (after the cartoon one ) then a sister engine is called Eva as EVA is as good as IVOR, since then I have followed a dragon theme, IDRIS, BLODWIN, WYVERN, DRAIG BACH (Small dragon in welsh) One came with the name SIR HAYDEN and I won't change it. 4 more need naming but I haven't decided on them yet.

[Chris Cairns]

I started off by giving my locos an appropriate Scottish Gaelic name, but that did not last too long when the nameplate trader had to leave the business rather smartish. I recently had to locate a commercial freeware font for Narrow Planet to use so they could produce another set of Scottish Gaelic nameplates for me.

Top tip - fix your nameplates with silicone or acrylic sealer, which allows easy removal without damaging the paintwork. I have a couple of 2nd hand locos where the nameplates appear to be fixed in place using epoxy.

Chris Cairns

[IanC]

My one and only loco is named Kaitlan Grace after my granddaughter. All my future locos will also carry ladies names.

Ian

[DLRdan]

If a loco has come with a name it has kept it though the rest are a complete jumble, usually just a name I liked.

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Local rivers all the way.
River Deben
River Alde
River Butley
River Tang

Luckily there are tons of little water courses (barely more than streams) given names in the local area so I won't run out!

My 5" gauge steam loco is called Madge (it was the name it came with) and the name plates were so nice that I kept them though I don't particularly like the name I have to say.