Naming Update
The latest period of review has been much quieter for namings, with the only names appearing on the Hull Trains Class 802 ‘Paragon’ fleet. As mentioned in the last issue of Railways Illustrated, the Hitachi fleet in use with Hull Trains have all been named following a ‘Name that Train’ competition organised by the East Coast open access operator. Following on from 802303, which was reported in the last issue, the remaining four Class 802s have now received their names, with the vinyl nameplates applied on each cabside of the trains, featuring silver lettering on a pink background.
The names for 802301/304/305 were all applied without ceremony at Bounds Green, but a special event was held to mark the naming of 802302 as Jean Bishop (The Bee Lady). Mrs Bishop, who died in 2021 at the age of 99, was a well-known charity fundraiser in Hull, dressing up as a bumblebee to raise money for Age UK Hull.
Over a period of 30 years, she raised more than £125,000 for the deserving cause.
The nameplates on 802302 were unveiled at Hull Paragon station on October 26, witnessed by Mrs Bishop’s daughter, Jennifer Baldwin, and her husband Ken Baldwin, along with new Hull Trains and Lumo managing director Martijn Gilbert.
The names carried by four members of the fleet were chosen by a panel of judges, with the fifth (that applied to 802302) chosen by a public vote on social media.
Two locomotives lost their nameplates during the last month, both following repaints. Europhoenix/rail Operations Group’s 37800 has been shorn of its Cassiopeia nameplates following its rebranding in ROG livery, with the locomotive due to receive a new name over the coming weeks (see pages 54-56), while 67027 has lost its Charlotte nameplates following its repaint into GB Railfreight livery at Arlington Fleet Services.