5 DECEMBER 1981, Page 16

The age of the thane

Sir: Richard Crampton's example (Letters, 28 November) of disconcerting locomotive names reminds me that recently, on one of my weekly journeys to Manchester, I boarded a train at Euston which had been delivered there by the Thane of Fife, and learnt on my arrival that I had been drawn by the Thane of Cawdor; hardly reassuring for anyone — and especially an actor — bearing my family name.

Frank Duncan

40 Bedford Gardens, London W8