Gender of Steam Locomotives

[60103]

Lloyds of London just announced that they will from now on refer to ships as "it" instaed of "she".

A long time ago, there was an explanation of why steam locomotives were female. Does anyone remember this, or can you point me to where it was printed?

 

[RI541]

Hell hath no furry like that of a women.

I dont know why. But hurricanes were named after women because of thier tempers.May be steamers were named "shes" because of thier distemperment?

Shane

 

[roryglasgow]

Maybe it's because they are beautiful to watch in motion, but have bellies of fire!

-Rory

 

[YakkoWarner]

It is because if you treat them right they purr, but if you neglaect them, they blow-up!

 

[Bill Stone]

I'm not sure they were considered female.
At least in the US, back in the 19th century, when many locomotives were named, most seemed to have male names, or at least male-sounding names.
Bill

 

[Mike R]

Really tough to say..perhaps "Gertrude" or "Mavis" sound more railroady than "Cuthbert" or "Horace"......do they?
In the old days many names were kind of androgynous
[ .. like "Inyo", or "Reno" ]
Maybe these days if we went with "Pat" or "Merle" we can say the locomotives are either gender.

 

[roryglasgow]

I don't know if this is necessarily relavent to the topic, but Sotheby's recently stopped calling ships "she" and now refer to them individually as "it."

Whoa! What was that!? Are my eyes going or did a little bit more color just leak out of the world???

-Rory

 

[rockislandmike]

LOL that reminds me of a sign entering the University of Houston - Clear Lake campus (where I'm taking my grad degree from, yes I know it's a long way) . . .

CAUTION!
Wildlife on Campus
Some are Predatory

Saw a few gators in the creek once actually

 

[60103]

Well, tradition was that ships were "she", even the ones named after Admirals like Hood and Graf Spee.

I'm not sure about American names, but the English mixed everything up together.

There's a loco in Scotland named Maude, but it turns out to be General Maude.

 

[roryglasgow]

uuuuurrrfffgggggg.... My stupid brain! I was just going back over this thread and saw 60103's post about Lloyd's of London and the ship she/it business. I somehow managed to translate that post into being something that I read about Sotheby's somewhere else!

Sorry!

-Rory

 

[IMRL393]

What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.


-- Vice President Dan Quayle winning friends while speaking to the United Negro College Fund, 5/9/89 This gem has been added to Bartlett's `Familiar Quotations'. (reported in Esquire, 8/92) (reported in the NY Times, 12/9/92)