RenownRepulse.com - Nicknames

If it moved under it's own power on the railway then it almost certainly had a nickname. The list we have gathered needs adding to, especially with explanations of the origin of certain nicknames. If you can think of any we have missed out email Bryan Jones using the contact form. Look forward to hearing from you.

Class	Nickname & Reason
01	Breakwaters The last 2 were used (or at least 1 of them, the other might have been just for spares) on the breakwater branch at Holyhead, which in the end was not connected to the national rail network
03	Minigronk Mini class 08 Flower Pot Shape of the exhaust
08	Gronk Sound they make Jocko Turtle
09	Super Gronk Souped up class 08 Turtle
13	Double Gronk A class 13 is two class 08s permanently coupled Master and Slave How the two 08s operated
14	Teddy Bear Cab in the middle made the loco look like a teddy bear from head on
17	Clayton Manufacturer of the loco's power unit
20	Chopper Sound they make Wardrobes Lots of body side doors H-Bomb Rollerskate Sort of looks like a roller skate side on Chibbles Way they sound at idle Whistling Wardrobes Combination of all those body side doors and the noise they make
22	Baby Warship The first few were effectively half a D600 Warship mechanically speaking; the production batch were half a North British D800 Warship
23	Baby Deltic Half a Deltic though different power units
24	RAT RATeable thrash once the as-built silencer systems started failing and were removed Fruit Machines Driver's desk power controller slides back and forward like a fruit machine handle
25	As for Class 24
25912	Ice Cream Van Livery the loco carried
26	As for Class 24 with the Mc denoting their allocation to Scotland ie McRAT
27	As for Class 26
28	Metrovicks Manufacturer Co-Bo Wheel Arrangement Bread Loaf Body Shape
31	Peds Pedestrian - lack of power, especially ETH 31/4s! Rancid Peds from Immingham Shed - Derogatory term
31/0	Skinhead Because it looks like one head on. Later variants had head code boxes mounted above the cabs which broke up the skinhead lines Toffee Apple Shape of driver's power controller Goyle After Gargoyles because they looked ugly
33	Cromptons Manufacturer of the Electrics Shredder Woodlice Due to their rounded roofs
33/1	Bagpipes Loads of push-pull working equipment cables and pipes on the buffer bar
33/2	Slim Jims Narrowed body profile for working on lines with a narrow loading gauge
35	Hymeks Mekhydro hydraulic transmission
37	Tractors The noise they make Ploughs Corruption of the tractor name Syphon Syphons where the name for a type of China Clay wagon the 37s could be found hauling Growler The noise they make
37/7	Heavyweights Extra ballast for better adhesion makes them tip the scales at 120 tonnes
37/9	Slugs Power build up is slow - as in 37906 "Slug 6"
40	Whistlers Turbo noise Bucket Derogatory
42	Warships Members of the class were named after famous warships
43 (HST or 125)	Tram Unidirectional and frequency of services using them Flying Bananas Original livery; now refers to the Network Rail track test HST in its all over yellow livery Zing Toy
44	Peaks Locos named after hills and mountains such as 'Great Gable' Wagons Plenty of wheels, they had a 1Co-Co1 arrangment
45	As class 44
46	As class 44
47	Duffs Self explanatory Spoons Something to do with the horn sound
47401- 47420	Generators
47/7	Shove-Duffs Push-pull equipped for use on Glasgow to Edinburgh services Smokey Joes In late Network South East days the remaining 47's (ex ScR 47/7's) that plied between Paddington and Oxford/Newbury; used by those who frequented Didcot station at the time and were used to getting lost in the smog of a worn out 47/7 struggling to get load 9 moving.
47/8	Twanks TWin fuel tANKS for long range working
50	Hoover/Vac Sound they made before refurbishment 50/50s Dodgy reliability, there were also 50 class members. Log Body Shape, Smoking Log as a derogatory term Dub Dubs Due to noise made
50033	Smokey Joe Because it did, fixed in the end by the Plymouth Laira apprentices a few years before its final withdrawal
52	Thousands Numbered in the D1000 number range Westerns Names given to the locos such as 'Western Courier' and 'Western Champion', also Wessie and Whizzo as a corruption Lawnmower Derogatory
55	Deltics Name of the Napier engine because a cross section of the cylinders looked like the Greek delta letter Boat/Gunboat The Napier "Deltic" engine was originally developed as propulsion for Royal Navy MTB's (Motor Torpedo Boats), craft that were supposed to do fast hit and run attacks against enemy shipping. The high revving engines were ideal for that purpose, later on someone had the bright idea to fit them in the first high speed diesel locomotives for fast passenger workings on the ECML.
56	Grids Body louvres compared to a Class 47. Grid at front of loco behind which is the air horns Xmas Trees When they where new locos did not have as many lights as they do now.
57	Heinz 57 varieties (geddit?) Bodysnatcher A class 57 is a class 47 with all a lot of its mechanical and electrical items completely replaced Zombie For the same reason as Bodysnatcher
57/3	Thunderbird Virgin's chosen branding and naming policy for its locomotives used for rescuing failed trains and piloting trains when the overhead is switched off
57601	Purple Ronnie Named after the cartoon character when painted into Porterbrook Leasing's purple livery
58	Bones Look like a bone when viewed from above Egg Timers Look like an egg timer when viewed from above Fitted Wardrobe All those body side doors
59	GMs Made by General Motors in Canada and has tones of being Genetically Modified due to the, at the time, amazing amount of power produced.
60	Doughnuts You can see right through the loco Politicians See through them easily! Tugs
66	Sheds Because of the corrugated body sides Cheeseburgers Due to the EWS red and yellow livery Ying Yings Sound they make - apparently they sound impressive when the silencer has broken Dreds Name given to DRS 66s because there are so many of them around. Corruption of Sheds
66/5	Freds Freightliner Sheds, the original 66 order was for EWS
66/7	Bluebirds Colour scheme
67	Skip Looks like a skip turned upside down and put on wheels due to the sloping front cabs Ned Super Shed Reference to the Class 66s Cyclops Only have one cab window as in "Cyclops the ugly super shed"
70	Hornby
73	Eds, Mr Ed, Little Ed Short for Electro Diesel Shoebox It is a bit rectangular
74	Big Ed
76	Tommy
81-85	Roarer
81-87	Sparky Overhead electric locomotives
86	Cans
87	Vans UFOs Pronounced "oofs" (like a horses hoof without the "h"). This was due to their three lights that are in a perfect row looking like o O o in the dark which made them look like a UFO Lasers The original headlight was like a laser. Round and very bright. Pifcos Later, a couple of 87s were fitted with the now standard "square" headlight and these were affectionately known as "Pifcos". This was due to their torch-like headlight (Pifco manufactured torches at the time)
89	Flying Badger This unique loco made by Brush had a cab that looked like a snout at both ends
90	Skoda Carpet Slipper They have a tendency to wheelslip in damp conditions when hauling heavy trains. Carpet Slippers have no grip in the wet either!
91	Stealth Bomber/Stealths When painted in dark blue GNER livery Electras Ladas
141-144	Pacers/Skippers Official names given to these DMUs by British Rail. Skipper was only ever used in Cornwall. Bouncy Castle Pacers have only 4 wheels on each carriage which on any below par track gives a very bouncy ride especially when the suspension and dampers start to wear. Jungle Bus When it's bad it feels like you are riding down a jungle track in some doddery old bus rather than being on a train on a flat railway line.
142	Nodding Donkeys When you get a bit of rough riding the train seems to go up and down like a nodding donkey oil well
153	Skateboard/Bubble Car/Brick Single motorised carriage (DMU) mostly to be found on rural branchlines but not infrequently used on longer distance services Dogboxes Believed to arise from the small cabs at the number 2 ends. When they were converted from 2-car 155s the new cab put in the non-driving end of the original DMU coach had to be significantly smaller to fit the available space; the drivers hate them Mini-cabs Go quite fast but don't carry a lot of people Scud Arises from analogies to crude self-propelled missiles; you're fine until the engine cuts out!
158	Coffin Express Shape of the front end and also refers to no opening windows in the passenger compartment Scud
165	Plastic
205/207	Thumpers Noise the diesel engine makes on these DEMUs
220	Shop or 4-SHOP Vomit Comet Very fast but make any self-respecting rail fan sick
221	Super Shop
365/465	Notworkers Unreliable Networker EMUs