Humorous names- reality is far funnier

[TommyDodd]

I've never been a huge fan of made-up "funny" names for garden railways. Even if it's a good joke it tends to wear out fairly quickly, and I prefer railways to be built to last. Besides, how can tired and leaden puns possibly compete with what was really out there? I mean, here in Lincolnshire we have the picturesque villages of New York and Mavis Enderby.

These gems pale into insignificance compared to a beauty I recently discovered across the pond. SWMBO hails from Lancaster PA, a town which was briefly blessed with its own 3' gauge common carrier, the Lancaster Oxford & Southern. This minor line closed in 1917 leaving only an early i/c railcar to posterity, but like the NWNGR was once part of a vast 200+ mile grand plan to link the coalfields of the Broad Top mountains with the city and port of Philadelphia. Two physically separate sections were built, the LO&S and another on the opposite bank of the Susquehanna river, named for the small PA town where the bridge was to have been built. This name appeared on all the locomotives and passenger cars.

http://www.accucraft.com/index.php?show_aux_page=50

Imagine, if you will, a large impressive locomotive like the one linked to above, sitting proudly at the head of a long train of 'varnish', all proudly bearing, in gold egyptian serif lettering, the name "PEACH BOTTOM". Yes. Really. I kid you not. I'd like to see the humour merchants beat that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peach_Bottom_Railway