Railway scents

[ASharpe]

I often read on these forums about the sights and sounds of the railway, but what about the smells. The good, the bad and the ugly.

I love the smell of heavy braking on a 225, the burning smell that tells you that you were going very fast but now it's time to stop without wasting a second.

My idea of bad is a 142 starting up to Leeds station.

The ugly would be the smell that comes from the middle WC on TPE 185 on a bad day. I feel bad for the guards who tackle it by throwing all the newspapers they can find in there before locking it out of use. God help the cleaning and maintenance crews who actually deal with it.

What railway smells do you notice the most?

 

[hidden]

Smell of leaves on the line or the residue being being crushed stinks!

 

[Merseysider]

A smell of rotten eggs just before you pass from Chester to Wales!

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Sometimes the engine end of an Intercity 225 is very strong. The smells I don't like are the toilets and fumes from old heavy freight trains. The best smells are from platform level cafe's. Also some Nottingham trams smell like burnt rubber when going round Wilkos street.

 

[Bungle965]

Bad would be the smell that emits from cross country voyagers toilets

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

A smell of rotten eggs just before you pass from Chester to Wales!

Not quite sure what you mean there?
The Roodee and Chester city walls at least are fine sights en route.

The whiff of Crosfields ("Joe Soap's") detergent at Warrington BQ is, as Michael Portillo would say, "iconic".
Despite the name changes (Unilever, Ineos) the aroma remains.
It used to be a huge railway customer - but no more.

I used to anticipate the views of the iron foundry under the railway at Crane Street, Wolverhampton, especially at night.
It was sometimes accompanied by the smell of burning from the furnaces and ash.
All gone and now derelict.
What a pity the railway viaduct can't be realigned through the site.
It's one of the most constrained bits of railway on the network.

 

[yorksrob]

I love that smell of oil and grease that you get in big terminals.

Then there's that damp, slightly fusty smell that some of the old slammers used to have which I miss.

The rather nice detergenty smell that train loos sometimes have.

 

[colchesterken]

The smell of a steam engine at a station the combination of coal fire and hot oil
My open fire at home never smells like a steamer ..must be the type of coal they use

 

[Smitham]

That little green bar of soap you used to get in the toilets on mk1 emus.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

The passengers...
From a delicate hint of some exotic and expensive perfume through to the overpowering waft of someone who has overdone it and is in danger of asphyxiating the entire coach.

And that's just the men...

 

[miami84]

The smell that greeted you when opening the sliding door in those old carriages that had compartments.

 

[Diplodicus]

Liverpool Street in the early sixties. A unique combination of steam, London and fish oil (trapped in the sawdust of guards' luggage compartments). N1s roaring away to Hertford East and B1s simmering at the end of an up fast. Aaah!

 

[dgl]

the fumes from a nice old diesel engine (like the one in the 33's at Swanage), a sort of sweetness to the smell.

 

[WestRiding]

smelly people, of which there seem to be many. epecially on preserved railways.

 

[samuelmorris]

- Bad: grease (?) around the tracks on very tight radius curves on the tube - worst example (that I know of) Central line at Bank, particularly westbound. Can't stand it. Smells a little bit like burning fish...

- Bad: BO in summer on any crush-loaded service.

- Bad: Any burning smell when you can't immediately identify the source as being outside the train

- Bad: Burning brakes. Doesn't alarm me but I don't find it a very pleasant smell when it comes through strong, e.g. as cited a Mk4 set coming to a stop abruptly, or a 321 leaving the minimal amount of time to slow down for the Gidea Park speed restriction...

- Good: I agree on the compartment smell though, having just travelled in one through taking the niece & nephew on the K&ESR's santa special - bit before my time obviously, but certainly has a nostalgic quality to it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What railway smells do you notice the most?

The fug of urine, faeces and diesel fumes on a hot day at Manc Picc or Paddington. Disgusting.

The fug of diesel fumes getting inside a Class 166 when the aircon is broken.

FWIW, I'd imagine an awful lot fewer people would use the train bogs while it was in the station were there not a 30p charge for the station ones.

Neil

 

[thenorthern]

The voyager smelly toilet scent is really bad especially when standing in the vestibule areas when there are no seats is probably the worst smell on the railways.

The smell of the pumpkin coffee shop in the morning or the smell inside Coach H of the Virgin Pendolino are quite nice. Although they are old trains I don't think the Northern Rail sprinters or the 144s have what I would call bad smells.

 

[ASharpe]

- Bad: grease (?) around the tracks on very tight radius curves on the tube - worst example (that I know of) Central line at Bank, particularly westbound. Can't stand it. Smells a little bit like burning fish...

I agree with that. not a nice smell at all.

One tube smell I do like is the faint whiff of ozone sometimes when you just miss a train. Can also be very strong on the mainline in Guildford during the winter.

 

[scotraildriver]

Class 67 engine rooms smell good!

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Liverpool Street in the early sixties. A unique combination of steam, London and fish oil (trapped in the sawdust of guards' luggage compartments). N1s roaring away to Hertford East and B1s simmering at the end of an up fast. Aaah!

What does London smell like??? Good/Bad??

 

[Iskra]

Tunnels on a warm day have a distinct smell (on stock with opening windows). I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad smell though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Tunnels on a warm day have a distinct smell (on stock with opening windows). I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad smell though.

Yeah, the Lime St approach tunnels (with their curious street signs labelling the streets above) particularly so.

Neil

 

[yorksrob]

Tunnels on a warm day have a distinct smell (on stock with opening windows). I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad smell though.

Yes, a nice musty, sooty, centre of the Earth sort of smell. Definately good.

 

[170401]

The interior of original condition unrefurbished class 303 or 311 EMU's always had a fairly unique, not unpleasant, but certainly comforting smell.

 

[satisnek]

There are lots of smells that have been lost in the name of progress. Mk1 coaches always used to have a distinct smell when in BR service which seems to have been lost in preservation.

On the subjects of London and tunnels, the Waterloo & City line used to have its own smell. I can recall that it retained this even after the stock was replaced, but today it smells no different to the rest of the Underground system (at least to me).

And of course the wonderful smell of paraffin is now long gone from the rail network.

 

[Bodiddly]

I used to love the smell of Glasgow Queen Street station in the mid to late 80's. It stank of diesel fumes but in a good way. Also, as you came out of the tunnel and headed up towards Cowlairs, there was always the smell of the whisky maltings from the distillery in Port Dundas.
Good times!

 

[scotsman]

The smell of malted barley from the brewery at Dalry, Edinburgh is always good when it drifts over the WCML

 

[carriageline]

I think SE's Networkers have a distinctive smell inside them!


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[Tracked]

Good: MK3 & HST brakes

Bad: Other passengers, especially if they've started drinking before 9am

Ugly: Voyager toilets

 

[glbotu]

I've always had a soft spot for the mouldy smell of the Waterloo & City line at Waterloo, or that iron smell of pre-refurbished C-Stock.