Brickworks legacy honoured as train running between Bedford and Bletchley named
London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has named one of its trains in honour of Bedford’s historical roots, following a competition with Kimberley College.
The train, which operates on the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford, has been named ‘Brickfield Breeze’ with students asked to submit name ideas to be judged by an expert panel from LNR.
This marks the second train on the Marston Vale Line to be given a name, with the first officially titled “Bletchley Codebreakers” in May 2025 after a competition with residents.
Bedford was known for its brickmaking industry having hosted the world’s largest kiln which operated until 2008. At its peak in the 1930s, the then London Brick Company was recognised as the largest brickworks in the world, employing 2,000 people and producing 500 million bricks a year. The former brickworks at Stewartby is close to land where Universal is planning to build its first theme park in Europe.
Cara Higgs, community strategy manager at LNR, said: “We were delighted to connect with Kimberley College, so we could offer them the chance to come up with a name which celebrates the rich heritage of Bedford.
"We hope that passengers travelling with us will see the name given to our train and reflect fondly on the history behind it.”
Nicola Genders, assistant headteacher at Kimberley College, added: “Being able to contribute to the naming of this train is a fantastic opportunity for our students and has sparked some really insightful conversations about the heritage of Bedfordshire and the Marston Vale Line. It was fantastic to see them get creative with their name ideas, and we were so pleased to see the newly named train arrive at the platform.”
The Class 150 train, unit number 150137, was formally named during a special ceremony at Bletchley station, attended by students from Kimberley College and LNR.