Naming Update
Great Western Railway has applied three more ‘Castle’ nameplates to its Class 43 HST power cars, with 43160/171/172 all gaining new names in recent weeks and all applied without ceremony at Plymouth Laira.
43160 is now Castle-an-dinas, while 43171 has become Raglan Castle and 43172 Tiverton Castle. Of note, 43172 was previously well-known for carrying a vinyl wrap in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War and was named Harry Patch The last survivor of the trenches, although the power car has carried standard GWR dark green livery since being refurbished at Doncaster Works, emerging in October 2020. To celebrate 20 years since GB Railfreight first collaborated with the Port of Felixstowe on operating intermodal services across the country for MSC, 66792 was named Collaboration in a ceremony at Felixstowe South Terminal on April 27.
John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said: “Without our 20-year partnership we would not have been able to support the UK economy in the way that we did. Felixstowe has been crucial to the success of GBRF and the wider rail freight sector, enabling us to deliver more services, in a more efficient way, to customers. “In the next 20 years our partnership will be multi-faceted, as we work together to make the UK’S supply chains even more resilient, efficient, and importantly, sustainable, too”. The locomotive now features a standard Collaboration nameplate with triangular lining behind it, with cast logos applied to each vertex for the Port of Felixstowe, GBRF, and MSC.
GBRF has also named newly-released 69005 Eastleigh. The locomotive carries British Railways green livery similar to that carried by the Class 33s. Now-preserved 33008 also carried the same name for a number of years, spending much of its final years in traffic carrying a variation of its original livery.
The final naming for this period of review is the application of Railway Heritage Trust nameplates onto Caledonian Sleeper Class 92 92033 in a ceremony at London Euston station on May 11. The naming took place as a token of thanks for the trust’s support of the major restoration project of Perth station carried out by Caledonian Sleeper. It was organised in conjunction with GB Railfreight, which provides and operates the locomotives used on Caledonian Sleeper services. Caledonian Sleeper restored the interior of an unused waiting area to create a luxury guest lounge for its passengers, as well as a staff training centre. The Railway Heritage Trust provided a generous grant to help fund the refurbishment.
Serco managing director for Caledonian Sleeper, Kathryn Darbandi, said: “We are honoured to be naming one of the Class 92s after the Railway Heritage Trust and proud to have worked with the trust on our restoration project at Perth station.
“It is incredibly important that we protect heritage features of the UK’S iconic railway network, while also ensuring that the network is fit for use in the 21st century so it can be enjoyed for many years to come.”