Railway Station smell, what is it?

[PaxmanValenta]

What is the characteristic smell you get in some stations? I Last smelt it at Torquay station, it’s like a mix of Jeyes Fluid, tar, diesel and oil. I actually quite like it.

Is it the cleaning stuff they use or smell from the railway sleepers?

 

[Greetlander]

Back in the days of wooden sleepers, I found that some stations had a distinctive smell. Funnily enough I used to walk the branch line nearest my house (closed 1959) and it had the same smell in places. They’d reused sleepers for fences and viaduct barriers. It was particularly noticeable in warm weather.

 

[Greetlander]

And yes I loved the smell - tar, creosote, not sure what

 

[PaxVobiscum]

What is the characteristic smell you get in some stations? I Last smelt it at Torquay station, it’s like a mix of Jeyes Fluid, tar, diesel and oil. I actually quite like it.

Is it the cleaning stuff they use or smell from the railway sleepers?

It’s only a matter of time before someone suggests it might be the spotters. Oops...
(Hides)

 

[squizzler]

And yes I loved the smell - tar, creosote, you don’t want to know what

That’s how I read your post: I suspect the track discharge toilets make a contribution to the olfactory experience!

 

[route101]

Northern trains units smell of cleaning fluid.

 

[The_Engineer]

What is the characteristic smell you get in some stations? I Last smelt it at Torquay station, it’s like a mix of Jeyes Fluid, tar, diesel and oil.

I rather suspect the main element of this smell is indeed creosote (the "Jeyes" Fluid" smell). You may be too young to remember it as a standard protection for domestic wooden fences! It is quite corrosive, poisonous and gave you skin burns if you weren't careful.

As a student I commuted in from Cheshire to Liverpool past the Ditton Creosote Works where new wooden sleepers were vacuum impregnated with the stuff. The smell was indeed not unpleasant, unlike some of the more obnoxious emissions from the local chemical works!!

 

[yorksrob]

I rather suspect the main element of this smell is indeed creosote (the "Jeyes" Fluid" smell). You may be too young to remember it as a standard protection for domestic wooden fences! It is quite corrosive, poisonous and gave you skin burns if you weren't careful.

As a student I commuted in from Cheshire to Liverpool past the Ditton Creosote Works where new wooden sleepers were vacuum impregnated with the stuff. The smell was indeed not unpleasant, unlike some of the more obnoxious emissions from the local chemical works!!

Mmm I love the smell of creosote !

There's a wonderful smell of oil and grease that is very evocative of large stations.

 

[DarloRich]

What is the characteristic smell you get in some stations? I Last smelt it at Torquay station, it’s like a mix of Jeyes Fluid, tar, diesel and oil. I actually quite like it.

Is it the cleaning stuff they use or smell from the railway sleepers?

A mixture of human waste, 50 years of diesel and oil soaking into the trackbed, whatever (solid or liquid) gets chucked off the platform, dank drains and weedkiller

Back in the days of wooden sleepers, I found that some stations had a distinctive smell.

Creosote is forbidden these days

 

[The_Engineer]

Creosote is forbidden these days

Creosote was banned in April 2003 for sale to domestic users. However, I believe it is still permitted to be used in the industrial vacuum impregnation of timber provided environmental rules on transport, storage and disposal are followed. I have not seen any further bans on its use industrially since 2003, but I am happy to be corrected.

On that note, are wooden railway sleepers still vacuum impregnated with creosote, or has a new preservative been found? I am sure our p-way members can let me know! (Ditton Creosote Works has long since closed......)

 

[DarloRich]

Creosote was banned in April 2003 for sale to domestic users. However, I believe it is still permitted to be used in the industrial vacuum impregnation of timber provided environmental rules on transport, storage and disposal are followed. I have not seen any further bans on its use industrially since 2003, but I am happy to be corrected.

correct but see below

On that note, are wooden railway sleepers still vacuum impregnated with creosote, or has a new preservative been found? I am sure our p-way members can let me know!

the later i think. someone will be able to confirm for certain

 

[furnessvale]

I rather suspect the main element of this smell is indeed creosote (the "Jeyes" Fluid" smell). You may be too young to remember it as a standard protection for domestic wooden fences! It is quite corrosive, poisonous and gave you skin burns if you weren't careful.

I once got a soaking in industrial strength creosote.

You've never seen anyone remove a set of overalls (and underpants) as fast in you life!

 

[The_Engineer]

I once got a soaking in industrial strength creosote.

You've never seen anyone remove a set of overalls (and underpants) as fast in you life!

Good grief! I hope you were not burnt. I never experienced that myself, I did hear it was especially painful on the genitals though..... (Wash hands after use)

 

[furnessvale]

Good grief! I hope you were not burnt. I never experienced that myself, I did hear it was especially painful on the genitals though..... (Wash hands after use)

Thanks for your kind thoughts. Fortunately I was applying the creosote to a canal boat so deep water for total immersion was close by. Even so, the nether regions were tender for a day or two!

 

[mcmad]

correct but see below
the later i think. someone will be able to confirm for certain

Funnily enough, I noticed a newly delivered batch of softwood sleepers at Perth on Friday and they have a label warning of the creosote danger so obviously still used.

 

[colchesterken]

Steam engines the smell of hot oil & steam, why does the smell of steam engine coal burning smell better then the fire at home?

 

[driver_m]

A couple of fresh timbers on the trackwork at Bangor had a very distinctive coat and smell of creosote, so it must still be used.

Underground stations always have a distinctive smell too, i love it! No idea why, suppose it's a marmite thing like the smell of petrol where you love it or hate it.

 

[Mojo]

What is the characteristic smell you get in some stations? I Last smelt it at Torquay station, it’s like a mix of Jeyes Fluid, tar, diesel and oil. I actually quite like it.

I always notice this small at Clapham Junction station.

 

[Mag_seven]

The old Glasgow subway (prior to the 1979 modernisation) used to have a very distinctive smell. I've only ever experienced that smell elsewhere and that is on the Old St platforms of the Moorgate-Drayton Park line!

 

[Millisle]

Steam engines the smell of hot oil & steam, why does the smell of steam engine coal burning smell better then the fire at home?

If you run a domestic coal fire very hot you can get same smell. The quality of the smoke depends on the temperature the coal is burning at and not all grades of house coal are good enough for that in an undraughted open fire in my experience.

 

[Greetlander]

The smell that I always liked on the underground (slightly sweet, slightly rubbery) also now makes an appearance on the underground sections of the relatively new Chatswood-Epping link here in Sydney. I'll be interested if the game appears on the Metro under construction.

 

[OuterDistant]

I used to come home after a crossing keeper turn (volunteer) to be told "you stink of railway". I'd always assumed it was oily ballast.

 

[t_star2001uk]

I used to come home after a crossing keeper turn (volunteer) to be told "you stink of railway". I'd always assumed it was oily ballast.

My wife says the same thing about me wheni get hame from work. She says its like diesel, fumes and dust....

 

[kentuckytony]

Semi off-topic - but back in the 60's the Madrid Metro had a very distinctive smell that included ozone, oil, and whatever.
You know how they say olfactory memories can be very strong - well to this day if something similar accosts my nose my memories jump right to being on the platform of the Metro!