The Smell of a Locomotive

[Ian J.]

I was at the GCR yesterday, and the first train I got on was hauled by a class 47. Being the first time near one in use for quite a few years, when I smelled it I instantly recalled the smell from when I had been on trains hauled by them 'back in the day'. What did strike me though was that I felt it smelled different to a class 33. I am wondering just how much difference there is in smell between different classes of locomotive, between different diesels, and different steam locomotives... What are other people's memories of this?

[Steadfast]

Yeah different diesels do smell different, I presume it down to 2 stroke Vs 4 stroke, amount of oil that type burns, how rich it's burning along with other variables.

What's weird is different locos smell different in the cab too. "Low emission" 66s have a different smell in the cab to older ones. Presumably different materials in the insulation to better sound proof the cabs. 

GBRf locos smell different too, but presumably that's down to cleaners or paints used. 

And of course, there's always the odd loco cab that smells of fags and wee...nice.

 

Jo

[Rivercider]

People I worked with in Bristol reckoned you could tell if there was a class 50 idling on Bath Road, without leaving the office,

 

cheers  

Edited August 19, 2019 by Rivercider
punctuation

[Gibbo675]

Hi Folks,

 

Not quite a locomotive  but the brake van of a Cravens 105 working an overcrowded train on a rainy day sometime in the 1970's.

 

Gibbo.

[Wickham Green]

On 18/08/2019 at 09:55, Steadfast said:

Yeah different diesels do smell different, I presume it down to 2 stroke Vs 4 stroke, amount of oil that type burns, how rich it's burning along with other variables. ......

Oddly, though, the OP mentioned classes 33 & 47 - and you'd expect one Sulzer to smell much like another Sulzer ........

[The Johnster]

20 hours ago, Gibbo675 said:

Hi Folks,

 

Not quite a locomotive  but the brake van of a Cravens 105 working an overcrowded train on a rainy day sometime in the 1970's.

 

Gibbo.

I'll see your overcrowded Cravens brake van, Gibbo, and raise you a Cardiff Valleys 116 homeward bound after the rugby, with fans doing unspeakable things in the corners.  I remember hosing one down at Treherbert.

 

It wasn't all bad, mind, sometimes the van would be packed with scantily clad young ladies smelling of sun tan oil on the return leg of a Bank Holiday excursion from Barry Island.  It was worth turning the lights out in Cogan Tunnel to hear the screams; they sort of expected it of you.  Awful work, but somebody had to do it...

[Steamport Southport]

When they were on the Trans Pennines and coming into Lime Street on a regular basis you could tell it was a Deltic rather than a Class 47 before you even got close. Just by the smell.

 

 

 

Jason

[mikejames]

while a slight change of emphasis

I find myself reluctant to go to the railway museum at York

altho' my grand kids love it

because it doesn't smell like a 'shed' should.

 

regards

mike j

[Wickham Green]

17 hours ago, mikejames said:

.......... the railway museum at York .... doesn't smell like a 'shed' should.

It doesn't LOOK like a shed should either ....... there are shiny things which aren't unadorned oily metal or dribbles of water ...........

[APOLLO]

Locomotive smell ? --- Try head out of first window behind a Deltic leaving the cross !! 

 

 

Pity the poor baby in the pram here - scared to death by the approaching tunnel monster then poisoned !!!!!

 

 

Cough, cough splutter !!

 

Brit15

[tomparryharry]

You can tell the smell, by the coal they're burning. Iron Pyrites (clinker) has a smell & taste all its own. Hot oil, both saturated & superheated.  Steam leaks, etc. How water boils off leaves an aroma, both hard & soft water. 

No, I don't taste clinker, but the aroma is unique to the type, with different types of inclusion in the coal strata. 

 

Ian.

[woodenhead]

On 18/08/2019 at 09:55, Steadfast said:

Yeah different diesels do smell different, I presume it down to 2 stroke Vs 4 stroke, amount of oil that type burns, how rich it's burning along with other variables.

What's weird is different locos smell different in the cab too. "Low emission" 66s have a different smell in the cab to older ones. Presumably different materials in the insulation to better sound proof the cabs. 

GBRf locos smell different too, but presumably that's down to cleaners or paints used. 

And of course, there's always the odd loco cab that smells of fags and wee...nice.

 

Jo

So NR are ridding the track of toilet nasties but drivers still have to p*ss in the cabs - nice.

 

I thought drivers carried empty  bottles for such emergencies if you're on the move, surely if you're stopped it's just a case of opening the door or at least do it in the engine room.

 

18 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

When they were on the Trans Pennines and coming into Lime Street on a regular basis you could tell it was a Deltic rather than a Class 47 before you even got close. Just by the smell.

 

Jason

Surely with a Deltic the racket would be heard long before you smelt it.

[Steadfast]

Engine room just leaves a nice puddle on the floor for fitters to sit or stand in. Or anyone else needing to access it. It doesn't take much effort to climb down the steps when stopped. We had one a few weeks back where it was in the outer doorway on a 66 but the smell crept into the cab. It's probably only a minority of people marking their territory like animals, but these things happen often enough...

 

Jo

[TheQ]

The MSWJR was known as the Pxxs and Vinegar line due to the squaddies returning from their weekend passes carrying fish and chips, drunk and  in old non corridor coaches. I'm glad i wasn't a carriage cleaner..

 

Edited August 21, 2019 by TheQ

[ejstubbs]

The thread title made me think that this was going to be about a new DCC capability, like sound chips for specific locomotive types...

[TheQ]

I've often thought there should be a small kettle full of boiling water, steam oil and some coal beneath a layout to give the right atmosphere..

Edited August 21, 2019 by TheQ

[Rivercider]

14 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I've often thought there should be a small kettle full of boiling water, steam oil and some coal beneath a layout to give the right atmosphere..

And a piece of creosoted timber.

 

cheers

[admiles]

42 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

And a piece of creosoted timber.

 

cheers

 

The waft of warm creosote from my back garden (raised beds built with genuine railway sleepers complete with indents and bolts holes from the chairs, ballast marks and steel bands to repair the split ends!) brings back memories...

[Steamport Southport]

1 hour ago, ejstubbs said:

The thread title made me think that this was going to be about a new DCC capability, like sound chips for specific locomotive types...

 

I'm pretty sure smells are already available from the smoke oil manufacturers. Everything from steam and diesel smells to bacon.

 

 

 

 

Jason

[woodyfox]

I actually searched for 'diesel aroma's' last week. I have sound fitted loco's, surely the next logical step is a packet with smell to put in a loco body?

[keefer]

On 20/08/2019 at 15:47, The Johnster said:

  It was worth turning the lights out in Cogan Tunnel to hear the screams; they sort of expected it of you.  Awful work, but somebody had to do it...

 

So what was it you did with the lights out Johnster? 

 

There was always the smell of creosote, oil (and whatever else) from the track in a station (when we used to have hot, dry summers)

 

 

[big jim]

You can always tell when ive been on a class 37 or 56 as the exhaust fumes linger on my clothing and in my hair, a sort of sweet aroma 

 

on the same vain different locos cabs within a class also smell different too, 37025 has a 1970s vinyl smell because of the seats and flooring in it whereas 37057 has more of a ‘sweaty’ vibe going on as it has cloth seats and different flooring!

 

the time to worry is when either of them get that ‘electrical’ smell 

 

 

 

 

[pH]

14 hours ago, APOLLO said:

Locomotive smell ? --- Try head out of first window behind a Deltic leaving the cross !! 

 

I wouldn't dare! It was bad enough in a fully air-conditioned first coach. 

[The Johnster]

2 hours ago, keefer said:

 

So what was it you did with the lights out Johnster? 

 

There was always the smell of creosote, oil (and whatever else) from the track in a station (when we used to have hot, dry summers)

 

 

Cogan's not a long tunnel, didn't have time to do much!

[w124bob]

I was second manning on a ballast one night and was woken ( it was a hectic night ) by the smell of burning rubber, as my boots smouldered gentle on the hot plate! The smell I recall in the cab of a 56 often seemed to be of washer bottle fluid, my fuzzy memory recalls they had a very large container on the second mans side. Of cause the other smell that I remember are the "odour de Woodbine".