Roll-paper Rubbing the Deltics

[Karl]

Where were the days? I used to turn up at York station from over the other side of the Pennines. Preston. We always loved a trip out East to see other traction we didn't get on the West Coast Main Line.

A £0.90 cheap day return to York was our choice. 1973 I think. I was 13 then. A class 104 to Manchester Victoria where we would change to a loco hauled to York. It would be a a class class 46 or one of Gateshead's Generators class 47's?

We didn't have a clue what was up front. Anyway, Leeds approached. Our first time across the Pennines. Our 'Sheddy' empty of east coast locos we approached this new location. First cop was was Alycidon stabled. 9009 I believe? We were mental! Little did we know what to expect next. York was out next destination. The place echoed with Deltics. Crepello, Ballymoss and then St Paddy. We diddn't know where to look! A couple of type two class 20s rumbled through the station. These were new to us too.

On arriving at York we saw young teenagers with wallpaper rolls rolling them out across the Delict's nameplates and making rubbings with wax crayons. Whatever happened to those rubbings?

Spent the rest of the day at the ends of the platforms just adding all the locos to our sheddies. We returned home to Lancashire and an excuse to Mum to where we had been all day and what we'd been up to. We never told her and she'd've never believed us!

Those were the days.... Were you there?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Yes. However, I never took rubbings. Also, there used to be a Class 03 but not called that then D2000 series I think as York station shunter and also Brush 2s now known as Class 31s. But I too lived in Preston and seeing D400ers all day now known as Class 50s those Deltics were a wonderful sight on a trip to York.

 

[xotGD]

Taking nameplate rubbings lasted at least into the 80s.

I remember one lad at Newcastle getting himself a fake rubbing of 'Hood' when Duff 'Robin Hood' turned up at the Central.

Does anyone still do it today?

 

[greyman42]

Taking nameplate rubbings lasted at least into the 80s.

I remember one lad at Newcastle getting himself a fake rubbing of 'Hood' when Duff 'Robin Hood' turned up at the Central.

Does anyone still do it today?

You would not be allowed to do it in this day and age with health and safety.

 

[tbwbear]

Yes. However, I never took rubbings. Also, there used to be a Class 03 but not called that then D2000 series I think as York station shunter and also Brush 2s now known as Class 31s. But I too lived in Preston and seeing D400ers all day now known as Class 50s those Deltics were a wonderful sight on a trip to York.

Yep, I am another one - Almost exactly the same. I lived on the Fylde coast, but my regular haunt was Preston.

Pretty much the same experience. Did the trip described via Manchester to York many times in the late 70s.

Saw the lads with the wallpaper rubbings on the Deltics a lot too. Never saw it on anything else - But back then before the change of policy in 1978/9 there weren't too many locomotives named.

Did they do it on the Westerns - I wonder ? Would have been easier to copy and cut and paste the first bit on those

 

[Karl]

What I want to know is where did they get those big fat crayons from?

 

[Zamracene749]

I wonder if they gave up paper rubbing as a bad job when 37717 kept rolling in with new plates in the mid 1990s

 

[tbwbear]

I wonder if they gave up paper rubbing as a bad job when 37717 kept rolling in with new plates in the mid 1990s

That would certainly have needed more big fat crayon than "Meld"

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I wonder if they gave up paper rubbing as a bad job when 37717 kept rolling in with new plates in the mid 1990s

Yes, I see what you mean ....

	Berwick Middle School Railsafe Trophy Winners 1998	02/07/1998	30/04/2001
	Maltby Lilly Hall Junior School Rotherham Railsafe Trophy Winners 1996	15/07/1996	15/07/1997
	St Margaret's Church of England Primary School City of Durham Railsafe Trophy Winners 1997	16/07/1997	01/06/1998
	Stainless Pioneer	01/08/1992	01/07/1996

Imagine getting to the word "Winners" and the engine pulls away!!

 

[tbwbear]

There must be someone out there with a rare rubbing of Maltby but ending in 1998 instead of 1996. Could be worth a fortune.

Seriously, someone must have a Deltic rubbing still hanging around - show yourselves !

I would be interested in seeing a photo

 

[lancastria]

I travelled several times from Manchester to York to see the trains and the NRM, enjoying class 40, 45 and 47 haulage over the Pennines via Huddersfield and also the Hope Valley Line.
I remember Bank Holiday Saturdays at York in the late 70s with northbound Deltics arriving every hour it seemed. There was quite a posse of spotters at the platform end.
Crew would sometimes allow spotters in the cabin, and some like me used the wallpaper roll and large wax stick to rub the nameplates. It was quite a physical experience, because you were stood below one of the vents out of the engine compartment so you were being hit by hot diesel fumes.
I took the habit back over the Pennines and did a few named class 87s at Piccadilly, but it wasn't the same. A terminus station lacked the drama of York, and there were fewer spotters trying to get a nameplate impression, which was competitive at York!

 

[tbwbear]

Lancastria - excellent stuff - !

Such nice memories and so well described. I remember it all as if were yesterday

 

[kjsway]

I confess - I was a teenage nameplate rubber! I can't remember where the idea came from. A roll of wallpaper backing, a lump of blue tac (getting more and more oily), red and black stubby crayons from an art shop. It seemed a bit bonkers even in the 80s, but occasionally I'd be on a train from Redruth to Penzance on a Saturday to see what was accessible in the stabling point. I think my paper treasures were thrown out at some point (there are photos), but I had a collection of 50s plates, the odd 47, one or two of the original 60s names ones (Odin, Atlas etc, but not George Jackson Churchward!). Never rubbed a peak. Who wants to be normal?!

 

[tbwbear]

We have our first confession. well done Kjsway ! (who wants to be normal / Not me, normal is totally overrated)

if you have photos - post them ! This is wonderful nostalgic stuff. Thinking about it, I think I saw a photo of the nameplate rubbing being done to a Deltic at York in a magazine a while back but I can't seem to find it.

 

[Welshman]

I know of brass-rubbers in churches, but I've never heard of Deltic-rubbers!
I suppose the former could be more relaxed - not having to keep an ear open for the starting whistle!

 

[Ashley Hill]

You would not be allowed to do it in this day and age with health and safety.

Its not so much H&S its just having the balls to do it .

 

[Karl]

When I look back it did look a bit sad. Only the proper anoraks had the balls to do it! However, I'd still love to see if anyone's got any photos of it happening.

 

[xotGD]

I know of brass-rubbers in churches, but I've never heard of Deltic-rubbers!
I suppose the former could be more relaxed - not having to keep an ear open for the starting whistle!

There used to be some frantic efforts to finish the rubbing just as the train was about to depart!

Ideally there would be a team of three. One to hold each end of the paper and the third brandishing the crayon. I never rose above the rank of paper-holder.

Of course, if you wanted to make yourself a replica nameplate our of wood, a rubbing of the original would be a perfect template.

 

[Czesziafan]

Yep, I am another one - Almost exactly the same. I lived on the Fylde coast, but my regular haunt was Preston.

Pretty much the same experience. Did the trip described via Manchester to York many times in the late 70s.

Saw the lads with the wallpaper rubbings on the Deltics a lot too. Never saw it on anything else - But back then before the change of policy in 1978/9 there weren't too many locomotives named.

Did they do it on the Westerns - I wonder ? Would have been easier to copy and cut and paste the first bit on those

Yes they did on the Western. I remember them doing it to the Westerns at Paddington and Reading. I had a go myself once but the results were not impressive and eventually disappeared into the waste bin. The rail staff at Paddington were always very helpful and if you asked them politely would get you used paper window destination labels before the carriage cleaners threw them away. One even gave me some uniform badges which started a lifelong interest in railwayana.

 

[MP33]

Brass rubbing in Churches was very popular with young people many years ago, but now appears to have died out. Something else that has also died out thankfully is egging. That is stealing birds eggs from nests. At one time the RSPB used to keep nest locations for certain large birds of prey secret for this reason.

In the James Bond Book, OHMS. The man Bond is to impersonate announces that he is going on holiday brass rubbing in obscure churches in Northern France to make sure he is out of the way.

 

[Rover]

Those were the days!