Questioning Nomenclature Thread

[Davo Dentetsu]

Alternative title:  "Where the bloody hell did they think that nonsense up?"   :P

Somewhere to debate the naming wisdom and not-so-wisdom of our train loving friends on the volcanic islands.  Should be plenty of oddities to think about.

 

So... Red Thunder, huh?  That makes... no sense whatsoever.  Mind you, do any of the freight loco nicknames make much sense at all?  Anyone else got unusual names to wonder about?   :)

Edited May 30, 2014 by Azumanga Davo

[VJM]

I don't see what the problem with Red Thunder is.  The loco is red, the sound of it rumbles like thunder.  At least, that's my explanation.

[Davo Dentetsu]

Interesting board meeting though, when you think about it.

"EH500 needs a nickname.  What have we got?"
"What colour is it?"
"Blue."
"Hmmmm... blue, blue.  How about... Blue Thunder?"
"Sounds great, I'll get the graphic designers onto it pronto.  Oh, before we finish, we have the EF510 ready for production.  That one will need a name as well.  It's red."
"Oh, ummmm... Red Thunder obviously."
"What do you mean obviously?"

It's not the first thing that's probably red in a few people's opinions is all.  :P

[cteno4]

seems perfectly reasonable name to me. you could say this about any name someone puts on a train. your issue with the name seem more odd to me than the name does,,,

 

why flying scotsman? it does not fly and its not a scotsman, its an engine and of course there will be scotsman on it as it goes to scotland so why be that obvious?

 

jeff

[Davo Dentetsu]

I've seen a Flying Scotsman before.  He did have a lot to drink that day however!  :P

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Ah yes, but are we talking about specific names, or locomotive class names? LNER number 4472 (or GNR 1247 as it was numbered originally) was named after the 11:00 London Kings Cross to Edinburgh express train; a.k.a. 'The Flying Scotsman'; the railway's premier service, with the locomotive being named for marketing purposes. A bit like a green EF81 being named 'Twilight Express'.

 

Locomotives get named after all sorts of interesting things, and a fair few boring ones as well(!), but the individual naming of locomotives does not seem to be particularly Japanese trait. 'Blue Thunder', 'Red Thunder' or 'Red Bear' look to be a more formal class title, derived from a particular feature of the locomotive, perhaps more akin to the French Sybics or the Swiss Crocodiles.

[Mudkip Orange]

I do agree that the giant RED THUNDER or BLUE THUNDER decals on the site of the JRF locos are cheesy, and not in any way comparable to a little letter board that says "Sir Nigel Gresley" or whatever.

 

I think, for me at least, railways possess a sort of intrinsic gravitas... there's a solidness, a constantcy, a refinement there that isn't present with other modes of transportation. So if you want to take a bus and decorate it EL AUTOBUSES EXPRESSO FIESTA AMIGOS MEXICANO, that seems completely normal to me... it's a bus. Likewise if you want to put hydraulics in the trunk of your Eldorado so that a button push reveals neon to the world: 44 ACREZ HOMES HATERS WHERE U AT... again, seems completely natural, it's a car.

 

But for a train it's just odd.

[miyakoji]

Mudkip, do you save stuff like that for this board, or is it the norm for you? :grin

[kvp]

There are two kinds of train class names, the official ones and the ones given by crews and/or train fans. The official ones are for marketing and tend to be a bit too 'grand'. Good examples are the British Tornado and Warship classes or the Hungarian Bison (424 class) and Taurus classes (the latter is a general marketing name used by Siemens for the EuroSprinter 64U2 type).

 

And there are the nicknames, like the Hungarian 'Leo' for the V41/V42 Ward-Leonards, the 'Rattler' for the M41 diesel hydraulics or the 'Red Riding Hood' for the MDmot which is actually a branchline diesel locomotive and/or baggage railcar (even the official classification is unclear) which happens to be painted red.

 

Anyway, what are the nicknames of various Japanese trains? So far i've only heard the name Gohachi for the JNR EF58...

Edited May 31, 2014 by kvp

[katoftw]

Alternative title:  "Where the bloody hell did they think that nonsense up?"   :P

 

Somewhere to debate the naming wisdom and not-so-wisdom of our train loving friends on the volcanic islands.  Should be plenty of oddities to think about.

 

 

So... Red Thunder, huh?  That makes... no sense whatsoever.  Mind you, do any of the freight loco nicknames make much sense at all?  Anyone else got unusual names to wonder about?   :)

There is a reason Japan appeals to us westerners.  Cos they do things differently, and we like it.  Don't question it, just enjoy it.

[Mudkip Orange]

Mudkip, do you save stuff like that for this board, or is it the norm for you? :grin

 

I live in inner-ring Houston, on the border where the black neighborhood becomes the mexican neighborhood (I'm about 8 blocks on the black side).

 

This is the norm.