European Railroad Discussion > My week along the Goblin

Three pictures taken during the week on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line which traverses North London from east to west and vv.

On Tuesday July 1st just after 19:15, and emitting rather more clag than it's eco friendly credentials would have you believe, 70010 passes Harringay Park Junction on the 6L87 Earles to West Thurrock cement train. Earles is the site of a cement works in the Peak District some 150 miles north of London, West Thurrock is a cement storage terminal some 20 miles east of London on the Thames. The 172 entering Crouch Hill Tunnel is bound for Gospel Oak

The following day, Wednesday 2nd, and DRS re-scheduled their Daventry to Purfleet intermodal some 100 minutes later than usual, I packed my camera into my work bag and cycled down to Crouch Hill for this picture taken at 06:47.

And finally on Saturday Colas rostered a pair of their 'national treasures' aka class 56087 and 56105 on the empty steel carriers from Tilbury (east of London) to Llanwern (in South Wales). The pair have just put on power after being checked at the Upper Holloway approach signal behind the preceding class 172 DMU.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/14 11:07 by 86235.

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Love your photos 86235 but must say that class 56's win the popularity stakes hands down for me, if you want raw power even one wins hands down against the others.
Looking forward to your next photographic submissions
Keith G, London, UK

Thanks

Amazing pictures!

What else you have besides "Sheds", "Goblin line", what is the class 70 called for example? :)

McKey Wrote:
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> Amazing pictures!
>
> What else you have besides "Sheds", "Goblin line",
> what is the class 70 called for example? :)

Ah, good question. Here are some of the commoner names bestowed, usually affectionately, by railfans on the locos that can be seen on the national network today.

20 = Chopper (sound like a helicopter)
37 = Tractor (sound like a tractor)
47 = Duff (goes back to the days that almost any train could have a 47 up front, consequently they weren't very highly regarded by rail fans)
56 = Grid (not sure whether this is in relation to the grid overing the horn cover or the bodyside grids covering the air intakes, I've always favoured Heap of Junk but that doesn't go down well with most railfans who regard them as akin to a National Treasure)
59 = never heard anything which has stuck, maybe because they are few in number and their sphere of operations is fairly limited; stone traffic in the South & SE of England)
60 = Tug (because they can pull almost anything, also heard Polo and Doughnut because you can see right through them through the air intakes!)
66 = Shed (they look like one, Freighliner's 66/5 and 66/6 are known as Freds, DRS 66/4s as Dreds but GBRf's 66/7s are Bluebirds. Haven't heard a Colas related sub-name)
67 = Skip (they look like an upturned builders skip)
73 = Ed(ward) (after ED - Electro Diesel)
86 = Can (no idea where that comes from - anyone know?)
90 = Skoda (supposedly there's a similarity with the Skoda Felicia hatchback but more likely a reference to the fact that Skodas were, at the time, unreliable as were the 90s when they first appeared)
92 = Dyson (they sound like the eponymous vacumm cleaner)

The 70 has been called a Fugly - I'll leave you to work that out or a Betty as in Ugly Betty.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/14 06:45 by 86235.

What a sortiment! How imaginative British railfans / rail pros are!

I wonder what the people outside these two groups think when they hear talking about say Goblin equipped with Dyson? Or running choppers from Liverpool to Manchester? :)

Oh yes I forgot

08 = Gronk :-)

That must have some cultural meaning that is not opening to me, translator can't help, and search only finds some giant called "Gronk".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gronk

Maybe from here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maelstrom_%28comics%29

McKey Wrote:
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> That must have some cultural meaning that is not
> opening to me, translator can't help, and search
> only finds some giant called "Gronk".

It's the sound they make

Who is it that uses these names? I have never heard of any them, either inside or outside the industry!

Railfans and railfan industry insiders. If you were a member of the Class 56 group for instance your quarterly journal would be Gridiron.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/14 08:52 by 86235.

I feel it is very interesting to hear the British railfans and industry insiders are so imaginative too. Same custom here in the Nordic, naming cool contraptions makes the work and railfanning more interesting, of course the people not knowledgeable on railroading here too wonder what in the earth they are talking when pros are talking about Rabbits of Zebras and Wolves chasing them ;) ...or Wolves being chased by Guinea Pigs...

Here's a link to a Wikipedia page of UK railfan jargon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_railfan_jargon

Also worth pointing out that MUs have nicknames too

321 = Dusty Bin (after the 1980s incomprehensible TV game show 3-2-1)
442 = plastic pigs (no idea)
Any Southern DEMU = Thumpers (the bad ride, incessant rattle and vibration from the large English Electric prime mover)
204 = tadpoles (they consisted of three cars, two narrow profile and one normal profile)
Any 1980s railbus = nodding donkeys (watch them on jointed track and you get the idea)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/14 12:31 by 86235.