Nicknames
This locomotive has a certain cult following among railfans, and is referred to by several nicknames, usually derived from its Soviet provenance:
- Gagarin in Poland - from the space flight pioneer
- Iwan or Siergiej in Poland or Czechoslovakia - from two popular Russian names
- Szergej in Hungary – from a popular Russian name
- Taigatrommel (Taiga Drum) in Germany – from the amount of noise and vibration the locomotive produced.
- Stalin's last revenge in Germany - for the same reason.
- Mukha (Russian: Муха = fly) in Belarus.
- In the Soviet Union the locomotive had one widespread nickname — Mashka (Russian: Машка) (diminutive of Maria, a reference to the "M" designation).
Read more about this topic: M62 Locomotive