V4 2-6-2 No. 3403

Was there ever a horse called Quatre-Vingt...?

(ETA - apparently there was a horse called Quatre Vingt et Un....

 

Cockaleekie

may strike a chord with those of us old enough to remember the original pair

 

not quite -- there are a couple of locos in your circle /
Lightning -broad gauge Iron Duke class 1847-1871
Lightning-Rover class 1878-1892 , also broad gauge

 

Ptarmigan has a nice ring to it!

That's it! I knew I wasn't losing it! This is my personal favourite.

 

' Cockatrice'

 

3 Sqd RAF has a cockatrice on its badge.

 

A dragon winged death dealing.... chicken, gets my vote.
3 Squadron used to have Harriers (hence the progression from Bantam Harrier)

 

Well if we are going all mythical, how about Unicorn?

 

I don't think there were any problems with the V4s, They were supposed to be quite good and more were intended to be constructed. What happened I understand is that two were built to presumably evaluate the design and check for issues with more planned to be built. Nigel Gresley then unexpectedly had a heart attack and died whilst still Chief Engineer.

His successor Thompson decided then they were too complicated and designed his own two cylinder machine (the B1) instead. Probably partly because he wanted to make his own mark. The two V4 that were constructed then ran ok until they needed new boilers at which point it was decided to scrap them (in the 1950s) rather than build new boilers for a non standard loco.

They may have been good machines but only 2 were ever constructed, so it is surprising that the A1 trust didn't decide to build something like say a K3 that were far more common. Maybe it is because the K3s weren't named.

 

I think it's more about having a loco with a wide route availability and attractive for hire by preserved railways. Same thinking with the V3

 

Speaking of the K3, it would be nice to see an un-named locomotive produced for a change! Not that there's anything wrong with namers if the previous examples of that class had names originally of course, but all the same, a plain numbered K3 would be a nice sight...

Richard.

 

I think they like to use the name for marketing purposes though in getting publicity and support. I am not so keen on the name Prince of Wales. Would have made more sense in my opinion to choose something with a Scottish theme as per the originals, but I guess they felt that the connection to Prince Charles might open doors for more support/publicity.

 

There was a proposal to name it Duke of Rothesay when it is running in Scotland

 

The G5 and 3MT projects don't seem to have suffered from being nameless...

 

My thoughts too... A Scottish name would have been nice for the P2. - Perhaps not "Nicola Sturgeon" though, as it's being built south of the border. She wouldn't like that!
As it is, I'm happy with "Prince of Wales" - As long as there's a P2 stuck to the back of the nameplates, they can call it Thomas if they like!

Richard.

 

That's very presumptive of you, assuming to know the thoughts of the First Minister on things made in England...

For the P2, War time matte black under the guise of Wolf of Badenoch.

 

As has been said many times before - when it is running in Scotland it will carry the name Duke of Rothesay. This is the Scottish title of Charles Windsor.

 

Do yourself a favour and read the Edward Thompson thread. Hardly done to “make a mark”.

 

Agreed it would look good, but the P2's all had A4 fronts by that time...... Now there is a tenuous affinity between 'Cockatrice' and 'Bantam Cock', non whatsoever with 'Unicorn' ( but my fantasy/ wibn /lottery win newbuild 2-8-2 would be called 'Sleipnir')

 

I had to look that up. Nice tenuous link! Definitely sinister enough!

I was trying to go down the trio route, Wolf of Badenoch, Tornado becomes 60134 Foxhunter and the V4 becomes...??? Deerhound???

Yass! Is that will a definite then? Quick change of plates at Berwick/Newcastle...