Strange names

"Sampson" was at one time the standard spelling of the Welsh saint of that name.

 

LNER encyclopaedia reports that D49 62711 'Dumbartonshire' ran with a misspelled name for its existence. The county being Dunbartonshire, Dumbarton being the county town.

 

I heard that too, but it still rather lacks the full-blooded Gaelic twang. Nit-picking, I realise, but when an entire class of LNWR locos was known by the moniker 'Prince of Wales', it grates and for my tuppence worth, "Lord of the Isles" would've been a better choice, although I confess it doesn't exactly keep me awake at nights .... and doesn't detract from what is one hell of a fantastic project!

The point about the old Welsh (Welsh-English or Cymraeg?) spelling of Sampson (by @Forestpines) reminds us that (a) spellings weren't always as fixed as now* and (b) where Swindon now stands was a Brythonic (Celtic) speaking area, albeit a wee bit before the GW's time .... 1500 years, give or take.

*I was born in Plumstead, apparently named for the River Plum, now reduced to an occasional soggy spot beside King's Highway and recall seeing it rendered as 'Plumpstead', in old articles here.

 

Strangest one for me is A3 No. 2752 / 60098 Spion Kop. Named after a Racehorse maybe, but one named after one of the bloodiest and most shambolic defeats which the British Army suffered in the second Boer War.

Richard.

 

Just a question, is there some who knows why the BR standard class 2 2-6-0 got their nickname "Mickey Mouse"?

 

Didn't it come from the Ivatt LMS 2-6-0 design from which the Standard Class 2 2-6-0 emanated ?

 

You`re absolutely right, it is The Ivatt class i`m thinking of

 

Isn't it because the SR route disks stuck up above the curve of the boiler and gave it the recognizable silhouette of Mickey's face and ears?

 

Sounds like a reasonable explanation

 

This could form the genesis of an alternative to Days Out With Thomas

 

Hmm, if you think Britt Allcroft wants a lot of money for using their characters you ain't seen nothing yet...