The LNER Encyclopedia

On the LNER.info website it is suggested that Dick Turpin should have been named Black Bess.

There were horses called Dick Turpin before 1924 when the loco was built, but none seemed to be of any merit. A good horse of the name was born in 1929 after the loco was built.

For those interested in the horses after which the A1/A3s were named may find them here

http://www.pedigreequery.com/captain+cuttle

Type the horse name in the search box and select the likely ones according to date. Information about the horse may be found on the *i* information link next to the name and some have pictures which drop down when the link is clicked.

Captain Cuttle the horse was named after a character in the Dickens book "Dombey and Son"

For those interested in horses,beer and the LNER. Blink Bonny is extant as a pub just down from the former LNER station at Christon Bank, Northumberland.

52D wrote:Blink Bonny is extant as a pub just down from the former LNER station at Christon Bank, Northumberland.

It's also the name of a farm close to the battlefield at Flodden.

There is or was some stables near Malton of the same name - where the horse was bred & trained.

It has been suggested that "Blink Bonny" was an awful name for an A3, but I quite like it.

The name is taken from the Old Norse meaning "pleasant prospect".

Solario wrote:It has been suggested that "Blink Bonny" was an awful name for an A3, but I quite like it.

It's far and away my favourite name for an A3.

Sorry, Bullhead - Grand Parade is the one for me, even after Castlecary. BTW Blink Bonny must be one of the few loco names bestowed on a railwayman as a nickname, in this case Jack Somers, onetime DMPS New England, who had a habit of screwing up his eyes etc. when talking. An ex Stratford apprentice and a really nice bloke. Check if his boy, Dave, is still a p.way engineer at W'loo - another diamond geezer and member of the Gresley Society!

52D wrote:For those interested in horses,beer and the LNER. Blink Bonny is extant as a pub just down from the former LNER station at Christon Bank, Northumberland.

What's on the sign outside, the horse or the locomotive, or even hq1hitchin's mate Jack Somers?

FWIW, there's The Mallard pub, resplendent with the venerable A4 in Garter Blue on the sign just round the corner from the old Stevenage station.

Bullhead wrote:It's far and away my favourite name for an A3.

Steam Railway had a real downer on some of the A3 names 10/15 years ago.

Whilst a few of the names lack the sparkle of others, I think that it was a real inspiration to use racehorse names for most of them and, for me, it worked very well.

Shame that the North Eastern & Scottish regions of BR didn't follow the example of the Eastern Region when naming Deltics.

I wonder if the Sc R and N E R 's choice of regimental names for their allocated Deltics may not also have been influenced by doubts expressed in some sections of the railway press at the time C1961, rather snootily deriding the choice of racehorse names by the E R as not really suitable for 'flagship' locos in the modern railway era. The E R got in early and had their 8 Deltics named as they entered service, whilst the other regions took their time and I think it may have even been early 1965 before they got them all named, what with the regimental naming ceremonies etc. It is strange that there does not appear to have been a co-ordinated policy adopted by the three regions. While some of the A3 names may have sounded slightly off key ,others were superb names and the majority were fine.

I agree. I think that the LNER tradition of naming locomotives after racehorses is a fine one, and it's a shame that the Deltics didn't perpetuate it. It speaks of speed, grace, power, and beauty (and mucking out stables, unfortunately). At least "Royal Scots Grey" conjurs up equine associations, with Ensign Ewart's exploits at Waterloo perhaps the most notable.

For some A1/A3 engines the names they received were not those first proposed. The original selections included Bend Or, Common and Rock Sand but all 3 were dropped and never used. The first name has heraldic connotations and might have been rejected for that reason, and 'Common' seems a but naff but I wonder why 'Rock Sand' was dropped. They could have used it when 2563 was renamed, though 'Tagalie' wasa good choice instead I think. And would 'Common' really have been common? Depends where it would have been allocated no doubt,

And would 'Common' really have been common? Depends where it would have been allocated no doubt,

Somewhere down south near "Old Oak" perhaps?

[/quote]What's on the sign outside, the horse or the locomotive, or even hq1hitchin's mate Jack Somers?

[/quote]
Neither the horse or the locomotive, just the name! It is called the Blink Bonny as the horse was bred nearby and there is a small display inside with pictures of the horse and press cuttings etc., but unfortunately there is no mention of the loco - philestines!

60041, methinks a quiet word with the landlord might be in order. Maybe he could even be cajoled into shelling out a few quid a nicely framed photo of the locomotive. I found this one (not the best shot, I agree):

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/resu ... magepos=30

You might even add a few words of description.

Yes, I always thought that naming locos after racehorses was a fitting gesture. My favourite was Robert the Devil - struck a chord with me somewhere, that one.

I prefer 2745 `Captain Cuttle` and that`s what I have named my first A3 from Farish. I have others now, 2564 `Knight of the Thistle`, very controversial, and 2565`Merry Hampton`, also open to being misunderstood.

TonyM