Virgin naming - Tony Cunnane's Life and Times

"How would you like a high speed train named after the Red Arrows?" This question had come completely out of the blue one day in March 1997 in a telephone call to me from Kelvin Bayldon, Account Manager for Virgin Trains. "All our train sets are being repainted in a very striking red and dark grey livery."

"I am sure we’d be delighted but there’s already a train named after us," I replied. "It’s 91004, one of East Coast Main Line’s Intercity 125s, and it was named by The Queen Mother at Kings Cross in 1989. I’m not sure whether we could have two trains named after us. It might seem greedy and it might confuse the spotters."

But, as the Team were to learn, Kelvin is not easily put off. 49 members of the Red Arrows including all the Reds, a group of the Blues and a fair sprinkling of wives, partners and children, drove by motor coach to York and gathered in the Royal York Hotel for a VIP reception on 12 May 1997.

After introductory remarks by  Virgin Trains’ Chief Executive, Brian Barrett, Simon Meade, the Red Arrows' Team Leader, was invited to make a short  speech, which I had written for him, and carry out the actual naming:

"You may not know this, but Richard Branson has been associated with the Red Arrows for a number of years. He flew a full display sortie with Tim Miller,  one of my predecessors, 7 years ago – and that is not an exploit to be undertaken lightly. I was there that day, just about to start my first year with the Team. Richard Branson now has 10 ex-Red Arrows flying as pilots for Virgin Atlantic including  the Team Leader he flew with in 1990. So Richard could, if he wished, form his own Red Arrows’ Team – albeit with rather ageing pilots! I am not sure whether that represents good teamwork and leadership or just plain head-hunting. Brian, please tell Richard that if he is thinking of poaching any of my pilots to use them as drivers on Virgin Trains – I would be grateful if he would wait until the end of my tour. Next Saturday we'll meet this train again, between Exeter and Teignmouth, on that spectacular stretch of line along the sea wall, when we hope to make a series of flypasts over the train to take photographs for the benefit of the local tourist boards – and for the sheer pleasure of doing it. We hope that you, Brian, will fly in my back seat to see your train from a different angle."

After the brief ceremony, the Red Arrows joined the train for the journey south to Derby. Because it was a normal scheduled service, there were fare-paying customers on board but many of those turned out to be train spotters rather than genuine travellers. The Red Arrows passed through the train distributing brochures and stickers and chatting to the passengers. Fortunately, many of them appeared to be Red Arrows’ fans and perhaps they assumed that the Team’s presence in their flying suits  was part of Virgin Trains’ on-board entertainment. Certainly no-one complained, possibly because everyone was invited to share the free champagne and canapés. No-one, apart from the pilots, even batted an eyelid when the Senior Conductor, encouraged  by the blue-suiters, announced over the public address system that Spot Firth, one of the Red Arrows’ fuel bowser drivers, was driving the train. It was not true, of course but the pilots looked worried for a few seconds. Several of the pilots  and ground crew were, however, invited into the cab to see the ‘cockpit’, accompanied, as the rules required, by a senior inspector. The Red Arrows left the train at Derby and re-joined their coach, which had repositioned from York, for  the journey home.

Next