Headboard (train)
Encyclopedia
A Train headboard is a board hung on the front of a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

. Generally it can depict a named train, although other purposes also exist. Headboards are distinct from locomotive nameplates.

In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, headboards were common on the public railway in the age of steam
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 and into the age of diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

 and electric
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

 trains, although in modern times, use of headboards on scheduled trains is now defunct, although headboards are often still used on the occasion of a 'last train', such as the withdrawal of a particular class of train. On the scheduled network, headboards were used to denote special named trains, such as luxury pullmans
Pullman train (UK)
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company.-Origins:...

, blue riband expresses or other once a day special services such as boat train
Boat train
A boat train is a passenger train which connects with a passenger ship, such as a ferry or ocean liner. Through ticketing is normally available. -Notable named boat trains:*The Flèche d'Or Paris Gare du Nord to Calais...

s. Latterly, headboards are still used by railtour
Railtour
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not available using timetabled passenger services...

 companies, to denote the name of a tour, or more generally the name of the organisation running a tour. Headboards are also frequently used on heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

 line services to denote special trains or events. Common practice in the UK is to display the headboard on the front of a locomotive (temporarily attached, to denote the name of the train or other purpose), and to have the nameplate of the locomotive on the side of the locomotive (permanently attached to denote the name of the locomotive). Confusion may have arisen over the example of the 'Flying Scotsman' - where The Flying Scotsman
Flying Scotsman (train)
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...

 is a famous named train service operating since 1862, after which a now famous locomotive, the 1923 built No. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...

 was named - while the Flying Scotsman headboard has been worn by many different locomotives over the years, when No. 4472 was running the service for which it was built, this would give rise to No. 4472 displaying the name Flying Scotsman on both the front and the side of the locomotive.

See also

  • Drumhead (sign)
    Drumhead (sign)
    The term drumhead refers to a type of removable sign that was prevalent on North American railroads of the first half of the 20th century. The sign was mounted at the rear of passenger trains, and consisted of a box with internal illumination that shone through a tinted panel bearing the logo of...

  • List of named passenger trains of the United Kingdom – many of these trains would have run with a headboard fitted
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