Tynerail DMU Names
E56220 with the name "Coffy Johnny". Ed Fulton.
In the summer of 1971 some of the Class 101 and 108 DMU vehicles allocated to South Gosforth were adorned with names carried on Tynerail stickers. This was noted as an attempt to attract more traffic to local services.
The stickers would be beside each of the passenger doors and on the cab fronts.
E50623 with the name "Cushie Butterfield". Graeme Phillips Collection.
They were applied to a total of 57 vehicles:
32 power cars (22 101s, 10 108s)
18 driver-trailers (14 101s, 4 108s)
7 centre cars (4 101s, 3 108s)
Eight different names were used, all local characters:
- Adam Buckham (5 vehicles) - a Northumbrian Folk song
- Bobby Shaftoe (9 vehicles) - an English Folk song
- Coffy Johnny (6 vehicles) - a character in the song 'The Blaydon Races'
- Cushie Butterfield (9 vehicles) - a Geordie Folk song
- Harry Hotspur (5 vehicles) - an English knight who fought in the area against the Scots
- Nanny the Mazer (8 vehicles) - a Geordie Folk song
- The Keelman (7 vehicles) - the local name for dockers and mentioned in Cushie Butterfield
- The North Country Lass (8 vehicles) - a local poem
A numerical list of the vehicles:
50138 Nanny the Mazer
50143 Nanny the Mazer
50146 Cushie Butterfield
50156 Nanny the Mazer
50198 The Keelman
50201 The North Country Lass
50204 Bobby Shaftoe
50211 Bobby Shaftoe
50214 The North Country Lass
50216 Harry Hotspur
50225 Adam Buckham
50232 Harry Hotspur
50233 Coffy Johnny
50247 Cushie Butterfield
50251 Cushie Butterfield
50257 Harry Hotspur
50259 Coffy Johnny
50599 Adam Buckham
50605 The North Country Lass
50606 Cushie Butterfield
50610 The North Country Lass
50620 Nanny the Mazer
50622 The North Country Lass
50623 Cushie Butterfield
50634 The North Country Lass
50640 The Keelman
50645 The Keelman
51206 Bobby Shaftoe
51208 The Keelman
51209 Adam Buckham
51437 Coffy Johnny
51508 Cushie Butterfield
56050 The Keelman
56053 Harry Hotspur
56064 The Keelman
56068 Bobby Shaftoe
56069 Bobby Shaftoe
56070 Adam Buckham
56083 Bobby Shaftoe
56085 Coffy Johnny
56195 Harry Hotspur
56196 Nanny the Mazer
56201 Cushie Butterfield
56202 Nanny the Mazer
56220 Coffy Johnny
56363 Bobby Shaftoe
56373 The Keelman
56374 Cushie Butterfield
56375 (thought to be Bobby Shaftoe)
56379 Adam Buckham
59071 Cushie Butterfield
59380 Coffy Johnny
59385 Nanny the Mazer
59386 Bobby Shaftoe
59530 The North Country Lass
59535 Nanny the Mazer
59539 The North Country Lass
These vehicles were formed into some of the two and three-car sets at South Gosforth, but not the four-car sets. For the sets that had names applied each vehicle would have a different name.
While seemingly applied at random, there were two distinct groups of names, the five shorter names and the the three longer ones.
The full list of the two and three-car sets at the depot at the time is shown below along with the set numbers. Note the formations were fluid, those marked * were in different formations on 24 July, and probably explains why some sets only had one vehicle names.
Class 101 driver-trailer sets.
With one exception (56374) only five of the eight names were used, the shorter of the five names (not Cushie Butterfield, Nanny the Mazer or The North Country Lass):
| N100 | E50198 | The Keelman | E56363 | Bobby Shaftoe | |
| N101 | E50199 | E56077 | |||
| N102 * | E50200 | E56084 | |||
| N103 | E50204 | Bobby Shaftoe | E56367 | ||
| N104 | E50205 | E56381 | |||
| N105 | E50210 | E56078 | |||
| N106 | E50211 | Bobby Shaftoe | E56379 | Adam Buckham | |
| N107 | E50216 | Harry Hotspur | E56085 | Coffy Johnny | |
| N108 * | E50219 | E56079 | |||
| N109 | E50225 | Adam Buckham | E56050 | The Keelman | |
| N110 | E50226 | E56372 | |||
| N111 * | E50227 | E56218 | |||
| N112 | E50231 | E56068 | Bobby Shaftoe | ||
| N113 | E50233 | Coffy Johnny | E56069 | Bobby Shaftoe | |
| N114 * | E50248 | E56082 | |||
| N101 | E50199 | E56077 | |||
| N115 | E50257 | Harry Hotspur | E56064 | The Keelman | |
| N116 | E50259 | Coffy Johnny | E56070 | Adam Buckham | |
| N117 * | E50296 | E56374 | Cushie Butterfield | ||
| N118 | E51206 | Bobby Shaftoe | E56053 | Harry Hotspur | |
| N119 | E51208 | The Keelman | E56220 | Coffy Johnny | |
| N120 | E51209 | Adam Buckham | E56083 | Bobby Shaftoe | |
| N121 * | E51210 | E56066 | |||
| N122 * | E51212 | E56373 | The Keelman | ||
| N123 | E51214 | E56081 | |||
| N124 | E51221 | E56073 | |||
| N125 * | E51435 | E56377 | |||
| N126 | E51437 | Coffy Johnny | E56375 | Bobby Shaftoe? | |
| N127 * | E51439 | E56089 | |||
| N128 * | E51441 | E56370 | |||
| N129 * | E51443 | E56052 |
Class 108 driver-trailer sets:
With one exception (Harry Hotspur on 56195) only the three longer names are used:
| N140 | E50605 | The North Country Lass | E56203 | ||
| N141 | E50606 | Cushie Butterfield | E56190 | ||
| N142 * | E50620 | Nanny the Mazer | E56195 | Harry Hotspur | |
| N143 | E50622 | The North Country Lass | E56202 | Nanny the Mazer | |
| N144 | E50623 | Cushie Butterfield | E56196 | Nanny the Mazer | |
| N145 | E50610 | The North Country Lass | E56201 | Cushie Butterfield |
For the two exceptions above, I know of an image showing a 108 DMBS paired with a 101 DTCL, a combination not found in the list below. The 108 carries "Nancy the Mazer", so it must be 50620. This means it was not paired with 56195 "Harry Hotspur", the exception in the 108 section. If the 101 DTCL it was working with was 56374, it'll also explain that exception, assuming that 56195 was paired with a 101 DMBS.
However! It still leaves two (long name) 108 DMBSs without a partner, and two (short name) 101 DTCs without a parter. Were these paired, meaning the two name batches were mixed? Or were there some other vehicles with names not listed?
Class 101 three-car sets:
These carried only the three longer names:
| N300 | E50156 | Nanny the Mazer | E59530 | The North Country Lass | E50146 | Cushie Butterfield | ||
| N301 | E50165 | E59062 | E51509 | |||||
| N302 | E50201 | The North Country Lass | E59535 | Nanny the Mazer | E51508 | Cushie Butterfield | ||
| N303 | E50214 | The North Country Lass | E59071 | Cushie Butterfield | E50138 | Nanny the Mazer | ||
| N304 | E50251 | Cushie Butterfield | E59539 | The North Country Lass | E50143 | Nanny the Mazer |
Class 108 three-car sets:
(Two had Class 101 DMBSs). With nine names carried on the three sets, each of the eight names was once once except "The Keelman" which was used twice. The three longer names were all applied to one set:
| N310 * | E50624 | E59389 | E50641 | |||||
| N311 | E50599 | Adam Buckham | E59380 | Coffy Johnny | E50640 | The Keelman | ||
| N312 * | E50604 | E59390 | E50646 | |||||
| N313 | E50247 | Cushie Butterfield | E59385 | Nanny the Mazer | E50634 | The North Country Lass | ||
| N314 | E50232 | Harry Hotspur | E59386 | Bobby Shaftoe | E50645 | The Keelman |
References
Vehicle names/formations from "The Railway Observer" (the newsletter of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society) on page 320/1 of the September 1971 issue, and a correction on page 351 of the October 1971 issue.