GWR train named after mystery writer Agatha Christie

A train has been named after Devon-born best-selling mystery author Dame Agatha Christie.

The GWR Intercity Express train 802110 was officially named by her grandson Mathew Prichard in a ceremony at Paignton Railway Station.

The ceremony also celebrated the 70th anniversary of her famous play The Mousetrap.

Christie, who was born in Torquay in September 1890, had her first book published in 1920 and continued writing until her death in 1976, aged 85.

Members of the cast of a touring production of The Mousetrap, which is on in Torquay, were also at the ceremony.

Dan Panes, of GWR, told BBC Spotlight the ceremony was part of the company's "100 Great Westerners, external" series of naming trains.

He said: "It's really special, and this is about us doffing our hats to those people who helped make the West [of England] great.

He added: "Today is about Agatha Christie, and it's a fantastic way to honour people."

Christie wrote 66 detective novels, including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and 14 short story collections, often using places in Torquay and south Devon as inspiration for locations.

Such places included the cliffs at St Marychurch, the Imperial Hotel in Torquay and Burgh Island.

Her books have sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation, according to her media rights company Agatha Christie Ltd.

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