How do you pronounce them?

[rodshaw]

So, 69843 (or should I call you sixty-nine eighty-four three?), I think the answer is whatever you want it to be.

 

Meanwhile, I have to catch the one after 909.

[Rivercider]

Like Natalie, I would say it is not standard, partly depending on whether the loco number also describes the class .

 

My experience is mostly TOPS era, and then I would vary it,

47100 would be forty seven one hundred,

47111 would be forty seven one one one!

 

Would GWR staff also work this way, when a loco class was identified by its first two numbers? 

As an extension of that I remember in the diesel hydraulic era referring to, for example, 6333 as sixty three thirty three,

 

cheers

[Kenton]

 

Do you say "oh" or "zero" ?

 

IMHO "oh" is a letter not a number.

neither,

 

it's nought

 

as in naughty, naughty :no:

[Rugd1022]

When asking our Control at Crewe which loco or locos we've been allocated for a particular job, we hardly ever mention '66' or 'sixty six', just referring to the individual loco such as ''take nine-five-one for the Thorney Mill and six-oh-six for the Angerstein...''.

 

I still refer to Westerns as 'ten ten' or 'ten twenty two' (always have, always will!), and Tops numbered stuff as 'forty seven oh seven seven' etc, although with the Class 50s it's always been 'fifty twenty two' or 'fifty forty seven', leaving out the 'oh' in the middle. Just seems to trip off the tongue that way ;-)

 

Of all the ex-steam London Midland chaps I've worked with, I don't think any of them referred to their charges using the full five digit BR numbering, with for example a Duchess being referred to as 'sixty two forty' for 46240 City Of Coventry.

[DavidB]

Would GWR staff also work this way, when a loco class was identified by its first two numbers? 

As an extension of that I remember in the diesel hydraulic area referring to 6333 as sixty three thirty three,

I think the answer is Yes, based on various books written by GWR railwaymen - in one of my slower moments, I remember struggling as a teenager to understand why Harold Gasson's 1940s reminiscences referred to ROD Three Oh Three Oh as "Dirty Gertie".....took me a while (OK, years - and thanks to Bob Meanley of Vintage Trains at Tyseley for enlightening me) to work it out as rhyming with Thirty Thirty......  

 

David

[Poor Old Bruce]

In the year twenty thirteen, the loco is forty-four seventy-two.

 

 

I doubt that there is any consistently followed standard be it regionally, or professionally.

 

Personally, for diesel and electric traction, I'd use the TOPS class, followed by the three digit number within the class, generally on a digit by digit basis.  For steam locomotives, I'd tend to say the number digit by digit, but this would to some extent depend on the number.

 

For example, I'd tend to pronounce the steam locomotive number 60163 as six - oh - one - six - three, but if it was a class 60 diesel with the same number (although not that many were produced) I'd definitely pronounce it as sixty - one - six - three.

 

However, for a number such as 60007 (Sir Nigel Gresley), I'd be tempted to say sixty thousand and seven rather than say six - oh - oh - oh - seven.  I would however say sixty - double oh - seven for the Class 60 locomotive with the same number.

 

I therefore think that a lot depends on the number.  Interestingly, I always say zero when quoting my credit card number, but wouldn't when refering to a locomotive number, even although I know it is technically correct.

 

As for the last two digits of train reporting numbers, I would read these as the number: 1A23 would be one - A - twenty three on the basis that it is a sequential number up to 99.

There is a professional standard for use on the real railway. Last time I did my PTS renewal (a while ago I must admit as I am now retired) we were told that the proper way to communicate letters and numbers in telephone messages was one digit or letter at a time. Thus signal DY450 would become Delta Yankee Four Five Zero. So, in the year "twenty thirteen" it would be 'Four Four Seven Two' (or 'Five Zero Three' or 'One Zero Three' (or both) depending on the NRM's whim of the day. Among background noise or with slurred diction or even a different accent (I would say think of Ant and Dec but it makes me shudder) 'fourteen', fifteen', 'sixteen', 'seventeen', 'eighteen' or 'nineteen' could become confused with 'forty', 'fifty', 'sixty', 'seventy', eighty' or 'ninety'.

 

In my opinion, the only place for 'Double Three', 'Double six' etc is on dominoes.

[pH]

In central Scotland, with ex-LMS, ex-LNER, BR Standards and WDs around, steam engine numbers were always quoted as all 5 figures e.g. 'four-two-one-seven-six', but diesels were e.g. 'D eighty-one twenty'.

 

'0' was always 'oh', never 'zero'.

 

A bit of an exception to the 'all 5 figures' for steam engines was if the second and third numbers were the same. You might hear (but not always) 'eight-double oh-two seven' or 'four-double five-six-two'. I don't remember any other pairs being 'doubled'. For example, 42266 would be 'four-double 2-six-six'(!!)

 

Also, as someone has already said, some classes were treated unusually, where an engine was sometimes identified by its number within the class (this is well pre-TOPS). I remember things like 'Streak 34' or 'Brit 27' or (the example quoted before) 'Deltic 17'. Looking at those examples - maybe that was only done with relatively small classes numbered from '0' or '1'?

 

(By the way, has anyone else had trouble trying to say numbers to themselves 'spontaneously', but also trying to take note of how they're actually saying them?)

[bluebottle]

 

(By the way, has anyone else had trouble trying to say numbers to themselves 'spontaneously', but also trying to take note of how they're actually saying them?)

 

On York station some years back, I was baffled when a small boy excitedly informed me that: "Delta Kate's coming through in a minute!" Picturing a leather and chain-clad rock chick, I was somewhat disappointed when yet another diesel came through.

 

Gordon

[Fat Controller]

 

 

There is a professional standard for use on the real railway. Last time I did my PTS renewal (a while ago I must admit as I am now retired) we were told that the proper way to communicate letters and numbers in telephone messages was one digit or letter at a time. Thus signal DY450 would become Delta Yankee Four Five Zero. So, in the year "twenty thirteen" it would be 'Four Four Seven Two' (or 'Five Zero Three' or 'One Zero Three' (or both) depending on the NRM's whim of the day. Among background noise or with slurred diction or even a different accent (I would say think of Ant and Dec but it makes me shudder) 'fourteen', fifteen', 'sixteen', 'seventeen', 'eighteen' or 'nineteen' could become confused with 'forty', 'fifty', 'sixty', 'seventy', eighty' or 'ninety'.

 

In my opinion, the only place for 'Double Three', 'Double six' etc is on dominoes.

As someone who takes and records train and radio numbers for a living, might I make some observations?

UK Eurostar drivers normally give their train number as 'nine oscar x x' or 'nine india x x' , whilst French and Belgian ones either give character by character (eg neuf zero cinq sept) or in pairs of characters (quatre-vingt cinquante-cept, par example)

I try and get our own to give them digit by digit for 'misson numbers'- 'six four five two' or similar, and either as individual numbers or pairs (the latter being how the French give phone numbers)

[Ozexpatriate]

Do you say "oh" or "zero" ?

oh of course

neither,

 

it's nought

 

as in naughty, naughty :no:

Oh, I see.

 

(or was that 01C?)

"Oh" my goodness - what a discussion. I think we need to ask for "Zero" tolerance on this issue.....

[Ozexpatriate]

Would GWR staff also work this way, when a loco class was identified by its first two numbers? 

As an extension of that I remember in the diesel hydraulic era referring to, for example, 6333 as sixty three thirty three,

I think the answer is Yes, based on various books written by GWR railwaymen - in one of my slower moments, I remember struggling as a teenager to understand why Harold Gasson's 1940s reminiscences referred to ROD Three Oh Three Oh as "Dirty Gertie".....took me a while (OK, years - and thanks to Bob Meanley of Vintage Trains at Tyseley for enlightening me) to work it out as rhyming with Thirty Thirty......

Which raises the question that I find interesting. Do we try to preserve the dialectal aspects of this from the past in the spirit of curating railway history, or communictate the same information in a manner consistent with a world full of electronic communications?

 

Such as: three-zero-three-zero

 

Personally, I like the idea of thirty thirty. Curiously I think of GWR locomotives like 28xx as twenty eight, and 64xx as sixty four but not Stars or Kings as forties and sixties.

[Dagworth]

Another variation, any TOPS loco ending in zero would be (for example) Forty Seven Five Eighty or Eighty Six Two Ten.

 

A nightmare for outsiders before we even get into basherspeak.

 

Plenty of individual locos were only referred to by names, 'Snotvac' anyone? Or 'Sticks'?

 

Andi

[Ron Ron Ron]

....neither,

 

it's nought

 

as in naughty, naughty :no:

 

Correct.

 

Oh is a letter not a number.

 

.

[pH]

Personally, I like the idea of thirty thirty. Curiously I think of GWR locomotives like 28xx as twenty eight, and 64xx as sixty four but not Stars or Kings as forties and sixties.

I have in front of me a reference to a 'Star' as a 'small 40'!

[eastwestdivide]

Correct.

 

Oh is a letter not a number.

 

.

Have to disagree there - like it or not, "oh" is an acceptable general pronunciation of the figure 0, so long as the context doesn't offer any ambiguity with the letter O.

 

With language, so much depends on context, e.g. "great tit" (nothing personal!) getting picked up by the profanity filter, or the translator version of the lightbulb joke:

 

How many translators does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 

 - well, it depends on the context.

 

I blame Steve Wright the DJ, who was the first one I noticed pronouncing the 0s in phone numbers as zero.

[Stubby47]

"How many translators does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

 

Two - but the hard part is getting them in there....

 

Coat, gone.

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

Western engines - certainly by all and sundry at Didcot at least - are known by the first two numbers of the loco's number so No. 6697 is known as The Sixty Six and No. 1466 (4866) is known as The Fourteen (despite the fact that it is currently a Forty Eight!). There are exceptions as there are two panniers they tend to get called by the full numbers (Nos. 3650 & 3738), the King is 'The King' and the Castles are Bathurst (or Bathtub!) and Pendennis. The 13XXs can be a bit of a minefield too but are known collectively as 'The Thirteens'.

 

As for pronunciation of the numbers themselves, the way that we all do it on shed and that I have heard every other Western fanatic do it is in pairs. So for example, Pendennis is Forty - Seventy Nine and the Mogul is Fifty Three Twenty two. So it would tally with Bob and Mr Gasson's opinions. The only exception to this is Hinderton Hall which is Fifty Nine Hundred.

 

Hopefully this doesn't muddy the waters too much!

 

All the best,

 

Castle (or should that be Large Forty?).

[Gwiwer]

 

I have been wondering if there is a proper way to pronounce British locomotive numbers.

 

So far as I am aware and over half a century of train watching there has never been one hard and fast rule.

 

The guideline is that steam numbers were usually digit-by-digit though as others have said there were local and individual variations.  TOPS numbers are broken up into class then individual locomotive number such as "fifty double-oh five" and again the individual three digits are pronounced differently accordiong to local convention or personal whim.

 

Units have been treated the same way with pre-TOPS set numbers "spelled out" such as "one-oh-one-nine" for a 6L Hastings unit but "three-fifty two-four-seven" for one of the latest LM electrics and again always subject to local variation.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

So it's "Hornby-Dublzero" then or the "Gauge Zero Guild".

 

Exit rear.....

[Guest Natalie Graham]

Now what about the LMS diesel twins? Would anyone except a really jolly enthusiast or Father Christmas refer to them as 'One-oh-oh-oh-oh' and 'One-oh-oh-oh-one'?  

[The Stationmaster]

As someone who takes and records train and radio numbers for a living, might I make some observations?

UK Eurostar drivers normally give their train number as 'nine oscar x x' or 'nine india x x' , whilst French and Belgian ones either give character by character (eg neuf zero cinq sept) or in pairs of characters (quatre-vingt cinquante-cept, par example)

I try and get our own to give them digit by digit for 'misson numbers'- 'six four five two' or similar, and either as individual numbers or pairs (the latter being how the French give phone numbers)

This is an area where I really admire the French, they don't mess about with numbers because they have a system in their language and they stick to it (especially on SNCF) and their method for 'phone numbers is excellent in my view - even I can understand them  

 

And of course technically the Eurostar Drivers are correct southbound and the other Drivers are correct northbound (although southbound changes at the NR/ET boundary where the numbers change from numeric-alpha-numeric-numeric to wholly numeric).

 

Incidentally noting a point earlier one thing which irritates me more than anything else is the use of standard phonetic alphabet words in respect of signals - quite why someone has to say 'Delta Yankee' when they mean 'Derby' is totally beyond my mind to comprehend.

[newbryford]

Incidentally noting a point earlier one thing which irritates me more than anything else is the use of standard phonetic alphabet words in respect of signals - quite why someone has to say 'Delta Yankee' when they mean 'Derby' is totally beyond my mind to comprehend.

 

My nearest signal is DS9 - if I was a driver, I'd be tempted to say "Deep Space Nine".................. (DS is Daisyfield Jn in my case)

 

Cheers,

 

Mick

edit - typos

[newbryford]

However, for a number such as 60007 (Sir Nigel Gresley), I'd be tempted to say sixty thousand and seven rather than say six - oh - oh - oh - seven.  I would however say sixty - double oh - seven for the Class 60 locomotive with the same number.

 

And yet I'd use six treble-oh nine for the kettle and sixty oh nine for the diesel, with the emphasis on the "sixty". (Using RugD's dropping of the middle zero)

 

Just no pleasing some folk....

 

Cheers,

Mick

[BR60103]

Slightly off.

My father was at university when alumni from the turn of the century were still common. Those from 1900 (or possibly up to 1909) called themselves the "naughty aughties".

[69843]

Well, thanks to everyone who responded. This is now clear as mud!

 

Incidentally, I would use six-OH-one-six-three for 60163, six-double oh-oh-seven for 60007, fourty-seven eight-five-three for 47 853 and fourty-seven five-hundred for 47500.

 

I'd never really heard of the Deltics being refered to as 'Deltic 22' before, and that actually is interesting, as I always say fifty-five oh-two-two.

 

Also, for anyone who is interested, it's thirty-eight-oh-one, not three-eight-oh-one!

 

Thanks for the help, and keep the variations coming

 

Six-nine-eight-four-three