Glossary of United Kingdom railway terms
Appearance
This is a list of jargon commonly used by railfans and trainspotters in the United Kingdom, including nicknames for various locomotives and multiple units.
See also the list of US railfan jargon and the list of NZ railfan jargon.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
A
- Ash Tray: Derogative term for a Steam Locomotive cf Kettle.
- APT: Advanced Passenger Train
- APT-E: Experimental Advanced Passenger Train
- APT-P: Prototype Advanced Passenger Train
B
- Baby Deltic: D5900 class locomotives constructed by the English Electric company, which mechanically speaking used a single Deltic engine/generator combination, as opposed to the two engines/generators layout of the much more successful Deltic locomotives.
- Baby Warship: North British D6300 class locomotives which used one engine coupled to a hydraulic transmission, making them effectively half a D600 Warship or NBL D800 Warship.
- Bail: The act of leaving the train before the end of the run. E.g. "We bailed at Caerphilly and went to the pub for lunch".
- Basher: One whose object is to travel behind all locomotives of a given class, and/or cover as much mileage as possible behind the chosen class; a "track basher" attempts to cover as much of the rail network as possible.
- Barbie: Livery of First Group's companies up until Feb 2006 - the name comes from the amount of purple and pink like something Barbie would own.
- Beast: Term applied to a locomotive eliciting enthusiastic approval.
- Bendy Bus: A Pacer (class 142 or 143 DMU).
- Boat: Deltic locomotive, because of the naval origins of the power units.
- Bodysnatcher: Class 57 locos, made by transplanting a General Motors reconditioned power unit and alternator into a Class 47 bodyshell. Term used especially by Brush bashers who have not come to terms with their favourite locos being treated in this way.
- Bog unit: Diesel multiple unit - derogatory ("bog standard" and basic way to travel)
- Bomber: British Rail Class 91 - Referring to the high speed and dark blue GNER livery (also called Stealth Bomber)
- Bone: British Rail Class 58 (Shape, the body is narrow with wide cabs, also "egg timer").
- Bouncy castle: Pacer units have only four wheels per coach and consequently very poor ride and body control on anything but smooth, well-maintained track. The bouncing inflicted on the passengers draws comparison with the bouncy castle children's play device.
- Bowled: An undesirable outcome, such as missing a train (if a move, especially a suicidal one, does not come off) or an undesired type of traction (often a Class 47) turning up. Analogy with the manner of, similarly disastrous, dismissal of a batsman in cricket. E.g. "I went to Exeter to bash the 50s but got bowled by a 47!"
- Brick: British Rail Class 153 - presumably from the boxy shape of the single-car units.
- Brush: British Rail Class 47, also known as the Brush Type 4. Followers of this type are often known as "Brush bashers".
- Bubble car: Single Railcar.
- Bucket: Class 40 locomotive. When new, these were the first British locos to have on-board toilet facilities for the driver. The alleged unreliability of these devices meant some drivers resorted to other means and methods.
C
- Can: Class 86 A general name given to the 100 class 86 AC electric locomotives built between 1964 and 1966. Sometimes applied to class 87s as well.
- Chopper: Class 20 locomotive, either from the engine sound or because the single cab design gives a "one end bigger than the other" appearance bearing passing similarity with the Chopper bicycle design.
- Clag: A term describing the often spectacular exhaust emissions of many older British diesel locomotives, especially classes 52 & 55. Bashers often enjoy these effects by flailing and getting wound-up. See also 'thrash'.
- Clayton: Class 17 locomotive, manufactured by the Clayton Equipment company.
- Clown: A basher who doesn't have much idea of what he's doing. Also applied to a slow or unskilled train driver who can't keep time!
- Coffin: Applied to the first air conditioned mark 2 coaches which came with sealed windows in the passenger saloon. A locomotive enthusiast enjoys leaning out of the window (ideally not far enough to foul lineside structures although some serious injuries and deaths have been caused from over-enthusiastic leaning out) to hear the locomotive working more clearly. Coffins deny this pleasure and a rake of coffins on an enthusiast special train is likely to provoke adverse comment from those who pay good money to travel on such a train. Also can refer to the Class 158 DMU which is loosly based on the Mark 4 Coach and shares the sloping sides, the outline shape when viewed from the front is like an upsidedown coffin
- Crank: Affectionate term for a fellow railway enthusiast.
- Cranking: Obtaining pleasure in a railway orientated situation.
- Crompton: British Rail Class 33 locomotive (fitted with Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment).
- Cyclops: Class 67 (single-pane windscreens).
D
- Darth Vader: British Rail Class 460. This refers to the nose shape which in the opinions of railfans resembles the mask of the Star Wars villain Darth Vader.
- Deltic: British Rail Class 55. Britain's fastest and most powerful diesel passenger locomotive design. A unique complex & lightweight English Electric design utilising two Napier Deltic high speed engines. The prototype 'Deltic' was introduced in 1955 and it ran in Britain until 1960. When built it was the most powerful diesel locomotive in the world, developing 3,300 bhp. The 22 production locomotives ran from 1961 until 1982 hauling crack expresses on the East Coast mainline. Very popular with enthusiasts and noted for their unique sound and for producing huge clouds of smoke when starting from cold.
- Desperado: An obsessive individual (who may be a basher, spotter or ned) who will go to great lengths or excessive expense to achieve their aim. Often seen by others as irrational or weird.
- Desperation index: A method of establishing how desperate a basher is. For example, a basher making a round trip of 500 miles to travel only 10 miles behind a 'required' loco has a DI of 50. Anything above 100 indicates a real 'desperado'.
- Dogbox: A Class 153 single car. Name refers to the very small new cab created during the conversion from the 2 car Class 155.
- Doodlebug: Siemens Desiro unit. From a nickname for the V-1 flying bomb - The Desiro is German built and in their earlier days were prone to blowing up (failing) without warning. Also a lesser known name for class 153 railcars - as with the V-1 flying bomb, you're quite safe until the engine cuts out, and then you should start worrying.
- Doughnut: British Rail Class 60. The grill arrangement allows an observer to see though the engine compartment and out the other side. This unusual arrangement gave rise to the saying "if you can see through it - don't do it"!
- Dreadful: Exclamation denoting enthusiastic approval.
- Duff: A British Rail Class 47. From the general slang use meaning "no good", from the time when Class 47s were so widespread as to be thoroughly uninteresting, or possibly due to early reliability problems of the class. A 47 turning up in place of the hoped-for traction became known as "duff gen", meaning unreliable information.
E
- Egg Timer: Class 58 locomotive.
- EMU: Electric Multiple Unit.
F
- Flying Banana: Originally referred to the large areas of yellow on the original High Speed Train livery, now is used to describe the New Measurement Train (a bright yellow converted HST).
G
- Gen: Information, most particularly regarding locomotive movements and what might be working a particular train. The rise of the mobile phone and internet communication has made modern gen more long-term and less distinguishable from general rumour.
- GM: General Motors design locomotives such as the Class 59 and Class 66. Either a neutral term or, by allusion to genetic modification, a negative connotation (especially the 66s, which displaced many well-liked native British locomotive classes).
- Goyle: A British Rail Class 31; from "gargoyle" (the somewhat ungainly headcode boxes above the driving cabs).
- Grid, Grid iron: A British Rail Class 56, from the large grilles
- Gronk: A Class 08 Shunter
- Growler: A Class 37 (from the engine sound)
H
- Heinz: Class 57 locomotive, of which several ("57") varieties have appeared.
- Hellfire: Particularly noisy and/or smoky locomotive, though also applied to one in good mechanical health but being worked hard. For example "That little Class 27 slogging up the gradient was hellfire!" Generally taken as a term of enthusiast approval.
- Hoover: British Rail Class 50 (Sound of the engine cooling fans being similar to a vacuum cleaner, prior to refurbishment which removed this characteristic; also "vacs").
- HST: High Speed Train.
- Hymek: D7000 class locomotive using a V16 Maybach engine coupled to a Mekydro hydraulic transmission.
I
- Insect: Infestation found at the end of station platforms. Also applied to the huge numbers of young bashers who appeared in the 1980s after most of the rateable locos had gone.
J
- Juniper: Class 460 or Class 458 EMUs.
K
- Kettle: Steam locomotive
- Kit-kat: The predominantly red livery used by Virgin Trains on its older stock
L
- Log: Class 50 locomotive (unreliability - i.e. "still as a log", or the long and square-ended body shape).
M
- Man of Steel: - refers to a basher who attempts to make a very tight train connection which will end in disaster if the connection isn't made. May also be a 'dead' connection or indeed a minus 'suicidal move' (next train is scheduled to depart before the first train arrives). If the move fails the basher will be 'withered' and is likely to be described as a 'clown' by his fellow bashers!
- Metrovick: D5700 class locomotive constructed by Metropolitan-Vickers.
- Monster: Term applied to a locomotive eliciting enthusiastic approval. More emphatic than "beast".
- Move: In bashing terms, the act of riding on a train. Several types of "move" are used: a "positioning move" entails using a neutral (e.g. HST) or actively disliked (unit) type of traction, as a means of getting to a station or other location where a desirable form of traction may be taken. A "winning move" results in the desired outcome, e.g. a new loco scratched. "Suicidal moves" are those with very tight (ideally, non-existent) connections but with the potential for high reward should they come off (usually because the incoming train is running late). A series of successful suicidal moves may result in the person who successfully undertook them acquiring some bragging rights. A "fill-in move" uses otherwise wasted time productively.
- Moose: A Class 20, Comes from the long narrow moose like nose of the class 20
N
- NB: Abbreviation of "no boiler". Originally just that: a (diesel) loco not equipped with steam heating apparatus. More recently, any loco with no train heating equipment of any kind. NB locos would normally be used on freight services, although they did appear on 1970s and 80s summer weekend passenger services when they weren't needed for freight and the lack of train heating was unimportant. The "hard to get" aspect of NB locos made them more rateable and an NB scratch could be highly prized.
- NED: An acronym for "new engine desperado". A person can be referred to as a NED if they go out for new engines or rare movements exclusively.
- Nodding Donkey: The Pacer family of DMUs (from outside a moving pacer has a bobbing motion, like a nodding dog)
- Nose: A more recent term to describe the Class 37 locomotive, built by English Electric. It refers to the classic 'bonnet' in front of the drivers cab, the only class with this bodyshape still in regular service.
O
- Over-Doss: To miss one's stop by being asleep.
P
- Peak: British Rail Class 44, Class 45 or Class 46, so named because the ten Class 44s were named after mountains.
- Plastic: General description of many modern trains, especially nondescript multiple units.
- Plastic pig: Class 442, the first train to use plastics extensively in construction. The name comes from the Reliant Robin.
- Proper train: one with a locomotive (on the front) - i.e. not a unit. HSTs may or may not be proper trains depending on individual opinion.
- Ped: A Class 31, comes from their low power i.e. peddle car, mo-ped or pedestrian
R
- Rancid: Exclamation denoting disapproval. Also "rancidity".
- Rat: A British Rail Class 25 or related classes; the Scottish-based Class 26 and 27 were sometimes known as "MacRats". In their heyday, these locomotives were very widespread on the British railway network and, like the rodent, one was never far away.
- Roarer: Early 25kV AC electric locomotive of Class 81 to 85, so called because of the loud cooling fans.
- Run round: The practice of detaching a locomotive from its train, driving it to the other end of the train and re-attaching it, to allow the train to proceed in the direction it has just come from (e.g. when it reaches its destination and forms a service in the other direction). The cost (owing to the need to employ specialist staff to perform the dirty task at track level of detaching and attaching the loco, plus the dedicated track layout required) and complexity of this simple-sounding manouevre is one reason why loco-hauled trains are now scarce in the UK.
S
- Scratch: The action of crossing off a loco in a spotting book, either because one has seen it or had it for haulage.
- Screamer: Given to British Rail Class 43 HST powercars from the turbo howl - less common as powercars receive new and quieter engines.
- Scud: Class 153 unit. Allusions to scud missiles (you're fine until the engine cuts out - modern British Rail "sprinter" diesel multiple units have all coaches powered with one engine - if one fails the others can keep the train moving; the 153 being a single car unit removes this advantage). This nickname is also applied to Class 158 DMU, and in the West Midlands to the prototype Class 150 DMU Sprinter unit 150 001 .
- Shed: A Canadian built Class 66 locomotive (from the roof shape and also the corrugated bodysides).
- Shoebox: Class 73 locomotive (from the boxy body shape and third rail pick up shoes required for operation on the Southern Region).
- Shop: A Virgin Voyager, from the self service shop that serves as the on board catering, Super Voyagers are sometimes known as 'Tilting Shops' or 'Super Shops'. Also by analogy with Southern Region EMU types (4-VEP, 4-CIG etc.), Voyagers may be referred to as 4-SHOPs.
- Shoves/Shove Duffs: Class 47s 47701-47717, modified in the 1970s for use on Edinburgh-Glasgow shuttles via push-pull control to avoid the need for running round at the end of each journey.
- Skinhead: Term for one of the small number of Class 31s built without roof-mounted headcode boxes.
- Skip: Class 67, from the body profile which looks like an inverted rubbish skip.
- Skoda: British Rail Class 90 - Styling reminiscent of a 1980s Škoda.
- Slapper: High Speed Train - Referring to the slam door rake of Mk. 3 coaches.
- Snail: British Rail Class 31 - from its lack of power (also Ped as an abbreviation of "pedestrian"; "Rancid Peds from Immingham shed").
- Spamcan: SR West Country Class Bulleid pacific.
- Spearmint Polo: British Rail Class 175 - The new Arriva Trains Wales 175 livery is a Spearmint Polo or a TUBE of Polos when 3car and coming towards you.
- Spoon: Class 47, deriving from the high-pitched two-tone horn sound: onomatapaeically "Spoo-oon!"
- Stealth Bomber: British Rail Class 91 - High speed, quiet and with dark blue GNER livery (also the associated passenger coaches that the 91s usually haul).
- Super Skoda: British Rail Class 91 - similar styling to the Class 90.
T
- Thousands: Class 52 diesel-hydraulic locos given the number range beginning with D1000.
- Thrash: The noise made by many classic diesel locomotives, often very distinctive and loud. Best appreciated by bashers from the front window, often accompanied by lots of 'clag'. A loco which is thrashing loudly is usually 'hellfire' or 'dreadful! Best experienced when a locomotive hauls a heavy train up a long gradient such as the Lickey Incline.
- Thumper: Southern DEMU - unlike conventional DMUs these used a single, comparatively large engine mounted immediately behind one driving cab. The power units made a distinctive "thumping" noise when working hard.
- Tractor: A British Rail Class 37, possibly from the engine sound, also because they could be found hauling almost anything as a mixed-traffic design.
- Tram: Original nickname for a HST set (possibly from the frequency of services operated by these units, also the double-ended design means one cannot immediately discern the direction of travel from a static shot).
- Tugs: British Rail Class 60; a heavy freight design with very low gearing that can haul immensely heavy trains.
V
- Veg: General term of abuse for spotters or 'Neds'.
- Vermin: Virgin Trains (derogatory)
- Vomit Comets: Virgin Voyager units, allusion to NASA astronaut-training devices which went round corners very quickly and exerted high g-forces on the occupants. The Voyagers replaced popular loco-hauled trains and the nickname also implies the feelings many enthusiasts have for them.
W
- Wagons: British Rail Class 44, Class 45 or Class 46, sturdily-constructed designs with four axle bogies to spread their weight: "Sixteen wheels on my wagon".
- Warship: D600 or D800 class locomotives, most of which were named after Royal Navy vessels.
- Wessie: Class 442 (from the Wessex Electric brand used at launch)
- Whistler: British Rail Class 40, from the engine sound.
Y
- Ying Ying: Describes the sound made by a General Motors class 66 locomotive (a rancid shed) when idling. Usually derogatory, as the engine sound is so muffled in comparison. Generally disliked by most rail enthusiasts except for youthful 'spotters' and 'insects' who don't know any better.
Z
- Zing: An older term for British Rail class 253/254 High Speed Trains HST. From the sound of the power cars as they speed past.
- Zombie: Another term to describe classic locomotives which are re-engined with a modern engine. Usually applied to Class 57 locomotives. See also Bodysnatcher.