08 Diesel on Eurostar !!
 

:D:D, Good morning everyone.

Who saw that repainted, renumbered 08 diesel pulling a Eurostar train on the news last night.

Them good old "dobbins" still keep "plodding" on.

48111

Yes saw that crickey what a way to run a railway eh!

You can't beat a gronk.

Ok, you have got me now, whats a gronk ??

48111:confused:

Good to see it though dont you think mate ?
I wonder if Eurostar drivers are trained on the 08 ?
48111

Hello,

I guess the Eurostar driver acted as a "pilot" aside the 08 driver.

48111 asked "What's a Gronk"? so here's a few nicknames for various diesel classes that Iv'e come across;

"Gronk" = 08/09
"Chopper" = 20
"Rat" = 25
"Tip Top" = 27
"Brian" = 31
"Tractor" =37
"Whistler" = 40
"Spoon" = 47
"Grid" = 56
"Bone" = 58
"Doughnut or Tug" = 60
"Shed" = 66

Don't ask me, I'm only the messenger!:D:D

Regards, 62440.

Hi 48111, most of the names relate to the distinctive sounds, shapes or names origins of the loco's concerned.

a couple more Ive come across
"wezzie" = 52
"peak" = 45,46
"hoover" = 50
"predator" = 70

62440 like the class 31 nickname, not heard it before but certainly suits them.
Regards

I hate to say it but I do know that the "Brian" nickname comes from a character in the Magic Roundabout series.:eek:

Regards, 62440.

Class 70 = Ugly Betty 70001 ===Ugly Betty 1

Tel:)

Class 31 are also often referred to as 'Peds' (Pedalloes), and 47's (the erstwhile Brush Type 4's) as 'Duffs'. Class 66/0 are 'Sheds' (as previously mentioned), so the Freightliner 66/5's are known as 'Freds' (Freightliner Sheds), DRS class 66 are called 'Dreds' for similar reasons, and 67's are known colloquially as 'Skips'. Class 57 have managed to acquire the nickname 'Bodysnatchers' owing to them being largely rebuilt from 47's.
As for electrics, 92's rejoice in the nickname of 'Dysons' , maybe because they sound like VERY loud vacuum cleaners!

I thought Peds were so named because they are quite pedestrian in their speed?

But yes, a gronk is an affectionate name for an 08 shunter. :D

That's what I had always assumed, but apparently not. I'd imagine both explanations are bandied around though, to be honest.

How do Brush 4's become spoons? I would have thought maybe sweepers would be better!
Never heard of that one before though, thanks for the info.

Brush 4 Become "Spoons" from the sound made by the warning horn when just one note is used I understand, bit daft if you ask me, but some people think like that!:eek:

Regards, 62440.:)

Well as I said, at our place 08s were Dobbins and 47s were called "four and halfs" by all the drivers.

Not as I recall were any other diesels nicknamed.

48111

We called 31's Toffee apples. Don't know why.

I remember reading that drivers referred to 31's as 'toffee apples' because of the shape of a control lever in the cab. 31/0's were called 'skinheads', probably due to of the lack of roof mounted destination/code panels which the other 31's were fitted with.

Thanks for that. It,s the only explanation I've heard that makes sense.

I've just remembered that 37's, before being nicknamed 'tractors', were often referred to as 'syphons' during the 80's; also the first 20 of the Brush Type 4's (47401 onwards) were known as 'generators'. I believe that the 50's started out as 'warships', but that name never stuck, despite the obvious name connections; no doubt because of the REAL 'warships' (D600-D604 & D800-D870).

Wasnt it BR themselves who tried to get the name "warship" to stick to the 50's?

I think so, that's what I meant anyway. :)
Of course, there were a lot of diesel classes that were more or less known by names related to the manufacturers/engines, and so on:
'Hymeks' (D7000-D7100), 'Cromptons'; (D65xx/class 33), 'Claytons' (D8500-D8616), and 'Metro-Vicks' (D5700-D5719). 'Westerns' of course were self-explanatory, and then there were the 'Baby Deltics' (D5900-D5909). Oddly, I've never heard of any nicknames for the LMS/BR diesels 10000/10001. Shame one of THESE couldn't have been saved.

Class 24 = "Spin Dryers" - not sure why

Good old 08 shunters..........

they just keep working and working

I've not been able to find any pics of the 08 pulling the Eurostar - can anyone help?

Morning Gordon, no mate, it was not a still picture I saw, it was on BBC news when they were filming the failures from the tunnel during the first escapade.

48111

I've also heard of 57s being refered to as 'Zombies' presumably for the same reason as 'Bodysnatchers'...

It wasn't an 08 that rescued the Eurostars - it was a pair of Eurotunnel MaK Bo-Bos like this . There are some pictures taken at St. Pancras on Fotopic which I am unable to access right now to provide a link.

There was a picture of them at St.Pancras in Railway Herald No.206. It's a free online magazine and well worth having. Go to http://www.railwayherald.co.uk to sign up.

Regards, 62440.

Morning mate, I did not say it was an 08 that rescued the train, I said it was an 08 on the front, pulling the train and it WAS an 08 because I saw it myself on the screen.

48111

The class 14 were known as teddy bears or so I thought. I was running a model mine at an exhibition when an ex BR depot manager who maintained them told me that the crews called them Yogi Bears. So presumably it got changed by enthusiasts over time.