working on the railways

[Steven Hill]

Hi
I started working for British Railways during the 1970s, my first working day come as a shock I imagined that I had gone back in time.
The workshop was a old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway building, formally used as a warehouse, you could even smell the horses, that had been stabled below the workshop until the 1930s
I climbed the stairs to the main workshop; this was split into three for different trades, when you entered the room it hit you the walls were all whitewashed and the room was illuminated by gas lamps. There was a large stove in a corner trying to keep this large room warm.
Twice a year we were read all the rules and regulations, it lasted for four hours, it was not so bad in summer but in winter it was so cold, there were around forty of us sitting round a Cast iron stove trying desperately to keep warm. We fed this stove coal like there was no tomorrow. I have seen it glow bright red.
I worked for the Divisional Engineers department; we did everything from working on the track to working in tunnels. We would travel to each location and have breakfast before starting work, in some places we could walk up to three miles to the job we were doing that day.
The one thing I will not forget is having breakfast in a platelayers cabin, having bacon, sausage, and eggs cooked on a coal fire with cast iron frying pan. You had to lift this pan off the fire with two hands, not because it was too hot but because it was so heavy.
Steve

[samantha76]

you want to see the rules and regs now, believe me it would take more than 4 hours. I work on track myself im a relay supervisor, so i know about the long walks to sites and we still work in dingy tunnels

[Ron Leech]

Twice a year we were read all the rules and regulations, it lasted for four hours,

They had to be read because not everyone could read or write.