Newbie
 

Hi my names Ash and im from north wales. I watch live streams of trains going in and out of stations and look at them on realtime trains for times and codes. In the chatroom people say, oh there's a 56 passing or there's a 37 in at p11, how do they know it's a 56 or a 66 or a 37? How do you tell?

Hi Ash, your location sounds like you have access to both the Chester Holyhead line and the Cambrian.
Locomotive recognition is initially down to body shell design, but to add to the confusion many class upgrades use the same body shells.
You mention 37s, these are quite recognisable from both shape and engine sound but may be confused with the 40s.
However it's all down to experience when it comes to locomotive identification.
Enjoy the forum and feel free to ask any other railway questions.

Can you give me tips on recognising locos please?

Your best bet is to look at the loco number. All the diesel or electric locos in this country have a five-figure number, and the first two digits tell you what type it is. After you've noticed a few you'll begin to recognise the distinctive features of each type.

Hi, type in Google (as an example) "class 37 locomotive" , and read the Wikipedia entry.

Do that for other classes you see (first two digits of loco number for locomotives and first three for multiple units) and before long you will be an expert.;)

Also use YouTube for videos of different classes.

Hi yes i've been watching videos on youtube of 66 locos and 56 locos and i noticed that the 66 locos have a pointed roof whereas the 56 have a curved rounded roof.

I watch the Crewe webcam on youtube and in the chat people talk about what's coming in and their numbers, how do they know the numbers when you can't see the number on the train and before it comes in they know what number it is. For instance a colas was due in so i tuned in to watch it, this guy in the chat said oh a colas 56 is coming in, im thinking how do you know it's a 56? I asked him but he didn't answer.
So frustrating.

This morning i was watching the Crewe webcam and a yellow loco passed, i saw in the chat that someone said that was a 37 and another person said no it was a 97. To add to my frustration, all these train numbers i don't understand. What can i do to learn all these trains and numbers so that when i go on the Crewe webcam i'll know what they're talking about?

Ian Allen ABC http://www.crecy.co.uk/abc-locomotiv...6f547043679969

What book would be good for a beginner?

Yes, that looks a good book to me. This one is purely the locomotives (so is probably the best place to start) - the one I was going to suggest (in the same series) covers all locomotives, multiple units, coaches, wagons and on-track plant:
http://www.crecy.co.uk/abc-rail-guide-2020

Depends how much you want to look into - up to you!

With regard to this, it is largely down to experience I'm afraid - you just get used to want you see all the time (and one of these books would probably help).
And the yellow loco - to add to the confusion, they were both right in some respects. Officially, these are Network Rail class 97s, but were originally built as class 37s and they were re-classified as class 97 when they were transferred into departmental service and refurbished for Network Rail use.

Tony

is there a rail guide available as an e book? Thanks

Ash