judging by the colour, this has got to be MoD army green - so they must be sending them all to Afghanistan and we wont have to look at them after all, with any luck.
Still, when our boys at Rolls Royce get round to making a jet railway loco just think how quickly you could get from London to Glasgow then!!

Wow, that thing does look pretty ugly. = /

God knows what you would attempt to give it as a nickname. "Warts" or something, maybe?

Some photos of the Class 70 are now on the Freightliner website.
http://www.freightliner.co.uk/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=173

Paint job does nothing for the looks.

Nicknames - a big unsightly blob at each end with a thin bit in the middle - which slightly resemble Dumb-Bells (empahasis on DUMB), which could easily become DUMBOS? It works for me. God, they ARE awful!

Just seen the class 70's.
In short I hate them.

I would vote for Dumbos / Dumbells.

They still look awful, even in that paint job. Why they didn't bother to design them any better is beyond me. There is just no grace or style to locomotive design anymore.

Even for steam fans, you have to admit, any old first generation British Rail diesel loco looks like a work of art compared to whatever that thing is.

And I thought Class 66 and 67 looked dumb.

I saw a class 66 yesterday and I hated that.
Now I have seen that thing I will worship them!

I've a feeling that the Class 70's might well become known as "Jordans" ;)

OK, slightly mixed emotions here: despite the fact that Jordan (IMHO) should already have the nickname "Dumb-BELLE", there ain't too much to complain about (figuratively speaking) regarding her assets, and these things are an insult to her figure - they've got SQUARE bumps, after all! I know the German Railways had a class of diesel they nicknamed "Lollas", owing to the rounded front, evidently reminding them of the curves of Gina Lollabrigida, but at least they were ROUNDED! I'll stick to Dumbos....

The word GHASTLY comes to mind. But I can't use the adjective I have in mind to put before it on here, or I'll get banned!
62440.

But Dumbo only really describes the overall body shape which has already been adequately described by the "Bones" nickname given to Class 58's. It's the square bumps that most people find unusual/strange so shouldn't the nickname concentrate on them?...........how's about "Funny Bones"?:D

Like I said earlier, the emphasis was on the DUMB of Dumbo! There's always 'turds', I suppose....:)

Incidentally, while I'm here, I should mention that I recently spent nearly three weeks roaming the rails, courtesy of two Rail Rover tickets, as a result of which, I've added EIGHTEEN new collections to my Fotopic site:
http://daverowland.fotopic.net/
with another due to be started tomorrow. There's railway photos from these locations: Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Chester, Hooton, Helsby, Crewe, Basford Hall, Gresty Bridge, Stafford, Liverpool, Acton Bridge, Manchester, Stoke, Wigan, Warrington, Sheffield, Derby, Doncaster, Peterborough, Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, Barnetby, Worksop, Bedford, Wellingborough, Bletchley & Milton Keynes, among other places. Also collections from Barrow Hill Roundhouse, Elsecar, The Museum of Science & Industry, The Kelham island Museum, The Great Central Railway at Loughborough, and a day on the Sheffield Trams; plus a load of bus photos, and some Nottingham trams.
Might be something there to interest someone?

I actually think we will come to like them, a bit like we got used to the first Ford Sierra's !!!!!!!

I don't suppose you're far wrong; the rail enthusiast has a tendency to detest all that is new, after all, it generally means that old favourites will be getting the old heave-ho; and all new stuff will remain unpopular until such time as it, itself, becomes yet another endangered species, and then schemes will abound left right & centre to preserve as many as possible. We're a fickle lot, really! They ARE bl**dy ugly though, nevertheless...

I think ugly is the word for the new locos.

I will assume from that outburst and the EIGHTEEN references to the “F” word that you don’t approve of my alternative nickname suggestions.:rolleyes:

Not at all, I just think it would inevitably get shortened to 'bones', 'new bones' or something of that ilk. Maybe not; I suppose only time will tell! How about 'Ugs' - short for ugly? :)

Yes, you're probably right. "Funny bones" is a bit long-winded.

I like that. I also like Deathbyteacup's "Warts" suggestion. You could also go one step further and call them "Toads" (green and yellow with warts:) ) or would some enthusiasts get confused with GWR brakevans?:D

Perhaps the engine sound may influence a nickname ? It could sound awesome, like a 40 crossed with a deltic, and make up for it's controversial looks.

Just the thing for blind trainspotters?

From the few video's I've seen of it on test, it does not sound very impressive at all.

I would imagine it will sound a bit like a 66 or a 67.

Les

Bob on.

I don't know why but they sound identical, this seems to be no different.

An seeing its a GE build we know its going to sound just like a 66. Its only us brits who can build loco's that sound different to one another, hav'nt any of you seen the videos of yankie loco's on (youtube) they all sound the same no matter what varient they are.

a name?
 

In the tradition of gronk, skip, shed, chopper, tractor etc....


How about "gollum"? :eek:

What's "Gollum" done to deserve having something that ugly named after him?

Tumour.
Fits the bill?

A GE is not a GM - 66's and 67's were GM designs. Have a listen to an ALCO and tell me it sounds like a shed! And by the way, we dont build locomotives here any longer......

And the ugly sisters? They sound nothing like sheds or skips, which have GM power units in them and a silly silencer which produces a silly (and highly irritating) noise. This new thing, has a brand new design GE power unit, and sounds completely different. All I care about though, is that they are smooth riding, quiet in the cab, warm in winter, cool in summer and comfortable - everything a 66 isnt.;)