Train branding a lost tradition in America: Getting There

In this file photograph taken on May 6, 1994, a Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international terminal at Waterloo Station in London. less In this file photograph taken on May 6, 1994, a Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international ... more Photo: Andrew Winning / Getty Images Photo: Andrew Winning / Getty Images Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Train branding a lost tradition in America: Getting There 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

When a fast-moving winter storm was referred to as a “clipper,” it got me thinking of the old names that used to be given to specific trains, like The Yankee Clipper. Of course, that name originally derived from the fast-sailing ships, but other trains have personalities, too.

The Europeans do a great job branding their trains. There is, of course, Eurostar, the popular train between London and Paris via “the Chunnel.” There’s also Thalys from Paris to Brussels and Amsterdam, and Lyria, a speedy service from Paris to Switzerland using French TGVs.

All of these trains sound a lot more exotic than Acela, Amtrak’s best effort at a high-speed rail. As former Amtrak President David Gunn once said, “Everyone knows what Acela is...it’s your basement.”

Acela’s successor, to start running in 2021, will be called Avelia Liberty (whatever that means).

Amtrak still has some named trains though they are pale shadows of their historic namesakes: the Silver Meteor from New York to Florida, The Lakeshore Limited to Chicago, The Adirondack to Montreal and The California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco.

The old New Haven Railroad used to name its trains: The Merchants Ltd. and Yankee Clipper (no coaches, only parlor cars and diners), the overnight Owl, The Patriot and Senator. When Amtrak inherited The Owl, the night train from Boston to Washington, it was renamed “The Night Owl.” But it was so slow and made so many stops, it was better known to staff and passengers as “The Night Crawler.” It’s long gone now.

In its glory days, the New Haven RR also ran “The Comet,” a dedicated three-car streamliner that shot between Boston and Providence at an astounding 60 mph — like a comet! Get it?

Even stations’ names can evoke grandeur: Grand Central Terminal (not station!) says it all — big, centrally located and a dead-end. South Station and North Station in Boston give you a sense of location, like Paris’ Gare de Nord and Gare de L’Est. And Gare de Lyon tells you one of the big cities where the trains are coming from.

On Metro-North, most of the station names align with the towns where they are located. But Westport residents still insist on calling their station “Saugatuck” in honor of the adjacent river. And Green’s Farms memorializes John Green’s nearby 1699 farm.

Though it no longer names its trains, some Metro-North Bombardier-built, locomotive push/pulled cars carry names tied to Connecticut lore: Danbury Hatter (alluding to that city’s old industry), Ella Grasso (named after our former governor) and my favorite, The Coast Watcher.

Even before Amtrak, America’s railroads named many railcars, especially sleepers, parlor cars and diners. Today’s long-distance, double-deck Superliners carry the names of the states and such historic figures as A. Phillip Randolph, founder of the Pullman porters union. Other sleepers are named for states or exotic destinations like Palm Springs or Palm Beach.

So the next time you’re on some generic Metro-North train known only by a number, think of how much more glamorous your commute could be if that train had a name like “The Silver Streak” or “The Weary Commuter.”