-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Where does the nickname 'Gricers' come from?
- Thread starter alexl92
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
randyrippley
Established Member
- Joined
- 21 Feb 2016
- Messages
- 5,132
swt_passenger
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2010
- Messages
- 31,385
Wouldn’t a majority who post here include the unnecessary apostrophe and refer to “gricer’s”? 
Would those not then be greengricer's?Wouldn’t a majority who post here include the unnecessary apostrophe and refer to “gricer’s”?
Sorry.
but 'A gricer's counting rivets' would be right.Wouldn’t a majority who post here include the unnecessary apostrophe and refer to “gricer’s”?
I always thought "gricing" referred to the sound you get sometimes when the wheel flanges touch the check rail giving a "gricing" sound. Seems I was wrong!
Southsider
Member
- Joined
- 10 Aug 2015
- Messages
- 758
With ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ somewhere in the sentence?Wouldn’t a majority who post here include the unnecessary apostrophe and refer to “gricer’s”?
swt_passenger
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2010
- Messages
- 31,385
You’ve noticed as well...
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Here was I thinking that only secondary schoolchildren were prone to that grammatical error...
and their is the problem.....Here was I thinking that only secondary schoolchildren were prone to that grammatical error...
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
In a recent visit to Manchester, I did notice there were some Northern Quarter graffiti flourishes exhibited that showed of a lack of comprehension of the two-letter word "of" by the substitution of the Slavic possessive suffix "ov"...
HaggisBotherer
Member
- Joined
- 25 Sep 2018
- Messages
- 253
I prefer 'stoatface', as per the legendary site with photos of train spotters which was (rather regrettably) taken down a number of years ago.
Shave it...
DavidGrain
Established Member
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2017
- Messages
- 1,236
I admit to being a gricer on the definition of one who likes to travel on unusual lines. Last year taking advantage of some diversions I managed to complete every line within the Birmingham city boundary. It is only recently that I have heard it meaning anyone exhibiting an interest in railways generally. I have never been a trainspotter or as I call them, a number taker, although in my youth, I spent many hours at weekends on both New Street and Snow Hill stations in Birmingham just watching the trains.
There is a thread on this forum entitled 'Micro Gricing at the Quail Level' but that in my opinion is taking things a little too far.
A few years ago, when spending sometime on the Harz, my travelling companion introduced me to a new term, 'Buffer Kisser' This is someone who when on a rail tour which might include sidings and other track not normally available to the general public will go right to the end of the train to show that they have travelled on as much of the track as possible. My friend who was in the front carriage on one such tour tells me there was a queue of people wanting to experience being at the front of the train.
I will also admit to being quite a bit of a gongoozler in my time. That is someone who stands and watches or walks along canals
There is a thread on this forum entitled 'Micro Gricing at the Quail Level' but that in my opinion is taking things a little too far.
A few years ago, when spending sometime on the Harz, my travelling companion introduced me to a new term, 'Buffer Kisser' This is someone who when on a rail tour which might include sidings and other track not normally available to the general public will go right to the end of the train to show that they have travelled on as much of the track as possible. My friend who was in the front carriage on one such tour tells me there was a queue of people wanting to experience being at the front of the train.
I will also admit to being quite a bit of a gongoozler in my time. That is someone who stands and watches or walks along canals
ChiefPlanner
Established Member
The NYC subway employees use the term "foamers" , which is self explanatory really .....
ChiefPlanner
Established Member
Excellent - now who can recall the term for "DAA Railtours" ?
Dr Hoo
Established Member
Ah, the Diesel Appreciation Association, of course.
HaggisBotherer
Member
- Joined
- 25 Sep 2018
- Messages
- 253
I think that's a case of a retrogressive acronym, in the same way that some people believe that chav is an acronym of council house and violent. It isn't - the word was around for decades before the alleged 'explanation'.
I have only come across this term once, that being on a railtour a couple of years ago or so which visited Drax. We all had to remain seated whilst within the Drax boundary, apart from when we had stopped in the Flue Gas Desulfurisation branch when an announcement was made saying photos out of the droplights were permitted and if anyone wished to "buffer kiss" they could do so.
eastwestdivide
Established Member
aka back-formation.
One of the first railtours I ever saw was the DAA's Electro-Diesel Grice. See http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/790120da.htm
Also a bit more on DAA here: http://www.barham-kent.org.uk/room_84_show/R84S DAASpecials.htm, a site from people involved in the Southern Region (Central Division) Special Traffic Office. It suggests various derivations of DAA, including Daft as Anything or Diesel Abatement Association.
See post #2
The account I've heard, re "gricer / gricing / grice", concerns the Ian Allan (if I'm right here) "Spotters' Guides" of the late-1940s era: said little books included as part of a "preface", a guide to interpreting town street-maps re how to get on foot, to the loco shed: said guide incorporated a map of a fictitious town, whose loco shed was situated on the town's "Grice Street". (Will admit that this might be an urban legend.)
My greatly-loved DAA derivation: a little over sixty years ago, a bunch of railway enthusiasts were travelling on a regular-service steam-hauled train (most popularly, on the Waterloo -- Bournemouth line in its latter months of steam). They were rushing up and down the corridors, opening the windows and leaning wide out, taking photographs wherever they could -- a "real and normal person", just travelling from A to B, observed their antics and -- genuinely bewildered -- asked them what they were up to. The enthusiasts explained, as best they could; the normal person thought for a moment, and then observed: "well, if you ask me, you're all as daft as arseholes". Enthusiasts -- with IMO often, endearing ability to be self-deprecating -- loved this tale, and abbreviated the chap's characterisation, to "DAA"; and pretty well adopted it as a badge of honour.
My greatly-loved DAA derivation: a little over sixty years ago, a bunch of railway enthusiasts were travelling on a regular-service steam-hauled train (most popularly, on the Waterloo -- Bournemouth line in its latter months of steam). They were rushing up and down the corridors, opening the windows and leaning wide out, taking photographs wherever they could -- a "real and normal person", just travelling from A to B, observed their antics and -- genuinely bewildered -- asked them what they were up to. The enthusiasts explained, as best they could; the normal person thought for a moment, and then observed: "well, if you ask me, you're all as daft as arseholes". Enthusiasts -- with IMO often, endearing ability to be self-deprecating -- loved this tale, and abbreviated the chap's characterisation, to "DAA"; and pretty well adopted it as a badge of honour.
- Status