Name that British Rail Train Multiple Choice Quiz | Trains

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This Class 44 locomotive numbered D1 appeared at the very top of most classifications and/or listings of British Rail locomotives. What was its name?

Answer: Scafell Pike

This locomotive was one of ten Class 44 members, all of which were named after geographical high points in England and Wales, and as such were nicknamed "Peaks".

Scafell Pike is the highest point in England, and thus assigned to locomotive D1. Ben Nevis, albeit the highest point in the British Isles, is in Scotland. The Fens, 12 feet below sea level, is the lowest area in England. Penyghent is another "Peak", number D8, and is preserved by Peak Rail in Derbyshire. D1 was scrapped in 1977.

2. The Class 45 locomotives were more powerful successors to the Class 44's. Some of these locomotives were named after soldiers of regiments of the British Army. Which one of these was NOT a Class 45 locomotive?

Answer: Royal Highland Fusilier

This question is difficult; Royal Highland Fusilier was a Class 55 (Deltic) locomotive.

The British Army has had many fusilier regiments during its history; the word means "musketeer" and is from "fusil", the French word for musket.

3. "Albion" , "Royal Oak", "Roebuck" and "Foxhound" were names of Class 42 locomotives. All the names of locomotives in this class shared a common theme, and as such they were given the nickname "Pubs".

Answer: False

Locomotives in Class 42 were nicknamed "Warships" as all but one of them were named after ships of the British Navy, the exception being D812 "The Royal Naval Reserve 1859-1959". D812 was christened thus to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Naval Reserve which took place while D812 was being built.

The Class 42 locomotives were named alphabetically as they were built, which caused something of a problem when an additional five unexpected orders were received following the naming of "Zenith", ostensibly the last of the line. This required a quick renaming of a couple of the "Z" Class 42's, and a trip back to the Royal Navy archives to dig up three more "Z" vessel names.

4. 1965 was a year of ups and downs for this Class 47 Locomotive numbered D1671. In September it received the name of a mythological deity. In December of the same year it was involved in a collision with another train which led to it being the first "named" Class 47 to be scrapped. Which deity was on the nameplate?

Answer: Thor

All these names were attached to Type 47 locomotives, but "Thor" is the correct answer.

The accident leading to the locomotive being scrapped tragically cost the lives of both drivers involved, and was the result of a landslip derailment and subsequent collision. The "Thor" nameplates were later assigned to D1677 in 1966.

5. The naming of D1662 at Bristol Temple Meads nicely tied together London's Paddington Station 100 miles to the east, and the Royal Albert Bridge spanning the Tamar at Plymouth, 100 miles to the south-west. What was the name given to D1662?

Answer: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Brunel was the chief architect of the Great Western Railway, including Paddington Station and the Royal Albert Bridge which carries the railway over the River Tamar.

Sir Herbert Walker was General Manager of the Southern Railway, his name is carried on a preserved Class 73 locomotive E6003.

Thomas Brassey was a civil engineer and a friend of George Stephenson; Brassey built many railways both in England and around the world.

It is unlikely Dr. Richard Beeching's name would appear on a locomotive; his participation on the Stedeford Committee in 1960 led to the British Government adopting his recommendation to close over one-third of the then-existing passenger rail network, the "Beeching Axe".

In 1969, "Isambard Kingdom Brunel" became the first named Class 47 to appear in the new British Rail "Blue" livery.

6. What are "Fearless", "Invincible", "Repulse" and "Warspite"?

Answer: Names of Class 50 locomotives

By the end of 1972, all of the Class 42 locomotives originally named for warships had been withdrawn from service, allowing British Rail to continue what had become a popular tradition.

Some names were re-used (Ark Royal, Benbow, etc.) Others, including the four examples in the question, were new to the Class 50 fleet.

7. Brush Electrical Engineering Ltd, who supplied many of the locomotives to British Rail from 1960 onwards, produced a single prototype of a diesel-electric locomotive for British Rail in 1961, which was designated the only member of "Class 53". The locomotive remained in use until 1973. What was its name?

Answer: Falcon

D1200 "Falcon" was the only example of a Class 53 locomotive produced, and was finally withdrawn from service after a 14-year trial.

By the time "Falcon" was withdrawn, it was possible to produce as much horsepower from a single powerplant as this prototype did from its twin engines with resultant fuel, spare parts and power/weight efficiencies.

However, the two-engine configuration came in handy in 1969 when one engine caught fire while the locomotive was operating the Paddington-Bristol passenger service. The fire was promptly extinguished and Falcon continued to Bristol on the other engine.

In spite of this setback, Falcon remained in service for another four years. British Rail are to be applauded for managing to spin out a "trial" for more than 14 years of loyal and noble service.

8. In spite of British Rail spinning out the testing of D1200 for more than 14 years, in 1968 Brush provided another prototype, numbered HS4000, which was the world's most powerful single-diesel locomotive. What was the name of the HS4000?

Answer: Kestrel

The HS4000 Kestrel produced over 4000 horsepower from a single V24 engine. Although there was no doubt over the success of the engineering on this prototype, the axle weight of the locomotive exceeded British Rail's allowable maxiumum, and it was withdrawn from service in 1971.

The HS designation referred to Hawker-Siddeley, the owner of Brush. Hawker-Siddeley, the developers and manufacturers of the Harrier Jump Jet, also produced a "Kestrel" fighter prototype.

One assumes that Hawker Siddeley kept their prototypes separate and never tried to shoehorn the "Kestrel" V24 Diesel engine into the "Kestrel" prototype fighter.

9. All the locomotives belonging to Class 52 carried names, and without exception all the names started with the same word. What word was this?

Answer: Western

The Class 52's were introduced by British Rail's Western Region, and carried names themed along heroic (Western Leviathan), royal (Western Empress) or military (Western Lancer) lines.

There were some oddities that didn't quite fit into any category (Western Druid) and even "warships" cropped up again (Western Renown, Western Bulwark).

In fact, while Warship Class 42 D801 "Vanguard" was tooling around the Western Region, it would have been perfectly possible to see D1069 "Western Vanguard" right alongside it, which rather smacks of a lack of naming originality.

You would also be right in suspecting that "Vanguard" would be reused by a Class 50 locomotive - D424

10. The final question refers to the Class 55 "Deltics". One of these famous locomotives, D9002, is the first (in 1966) to receive the "BR Blue" livery. In 1979, the same locomotive, now numbered 55 002, is selected by the National Railway Museum to be preserved as part of the national collection. What is the name of this illustrious "Deltic"?

Answer: The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

D9002/55002 is happily living out retirement as part of the National Railway Museum's permanent collection, and a number of the other 22 locomotives are preserved.

The names of the Class 55's are interesting in that those attached to locomotives stationed at Haymarket or Gateshead were again named after regiments of the British Army (with attendent problems in length, spelling and correct placement of the apostrophe), while those "stabled" at Finsbury Park were named after winning racehorses, such as the Derby-winning "Crepello" (D9012)

Source: Author burbanksteve

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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Name that British Rail Train Trivia Quiz

A mixed bag of questions relating to the names of British Rail locomotives which were active during the 1960's, 1970's and beyond. (Locomotive numbers refer to the pre-TOPS scheme unless otherwise noted.)

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