Great Western Railway (GWR) has honoured Paddington Bear’s creator with a special livery on one of its new Intercity Express trains.
The firm has had train 800010 painted with the name Michael Bond at one end and Paddington Bear at the other, as well as a pictures of the bear by Peggy Fortnum, the first illustrator of Paddington Bear images.
GWR unveiled the train on platform 1 at Paddington Station, from where the company operates rail services to and from West London, the Thames Valley and the West and South coast of England.
Paddington Bear will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2018, with the first book having been released on October 13, 1958.
Commenting on the honour Karen Jankel, Michael Bond’s daughter said:
“Even before my father found the bear that inspired him to write his first book, he had decided that Paddington would make a good name for a character.
“He saw it every time he arrived at Paddington Station from his home town of Reading, so it is hard to imagine anything more appropriate than naming a train after him.”
GWR’s new Intercity Express Trains began entering service last year, and are being named after individuals and organisations that have inspired the regions that they serve.