Vintage railway film - Day to day track maintenance, part 2 - Switches and crossings - 1952

[@cliffordison5004]

As a heritage railway volunteer I find these vintage training films enjoyable and invaluable showing us how it should be done. I was quite worried when they disappeared from another channel recently that we would not see them again. My thanks for putting these films up for us all to see.

[@GaryNumeroUno]

Even more thanks for not putting a stupid watermark through the middle of the film as well. Much appreciated. Thanks for posting.

[@Ghauster]

I agree. These are still interesting to watch. There was a vintage film showing the building of the tunnel under the Severn. I wish I could find that one again.

[@danielf1313]

Thank you for volunteering at a heritage railway and keeping history alive!

[@analogueman123456787]

Or alternatively, simply put your hand in your pocket and buy them on DVD...

[@peterbailey6305]

As a keen abandoned railway explorer this film is amazing. I can see where all of the track furniture and tools are used. I have found and collected many of the things shown. Brilliant

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

You should donate your finds to railway museums. That’s what I do here in the states. I find things rarely seen today, and I find them at abandoned stations, switches, and sidings.

[@FB-tq5ln]

How hard these men worked with their hands. Education was a must on the preeminent way procedures for safety.. Brilliant to see. Thank you

[@markh.6687]

No power tools or torque wrenches. How tight is "tight"? Well, that depended on you.

[@SDE1994]

this should be watched by everyone that works in the track gang on heritage railways

[@johnnycats5157]

I dont know why I find this so fascinating. Maybe it's the presentation, which is very good.

[@fernandogagliardo6618]

This is a bible for any railway enthusiast modeller, a huge amount of information from videos of the era. Absolutely fantastic! Would have a tenth of this here in Italy....

[@jasinere35]

19:59 is the darlington bank top layout facing north viewpoint from footbridge showing coal yard to left platform 5&6 along with signal box just behind gantry very top of pic to left is darlingtons powerstation cooling towers centre of pic haughton road behind that the crossing of the stockton & darlington railway centre right goods & engine sidings carter row(houses)to the right & lastly just out of view darlington railway plant behind houses this film was years before my time & a lot has changed since its making but the mainline & viewpoint is very much the same

[@rayc.8555]

Hard physical work but very satisfying . This film was made the same year i was born. I should have lived in that era.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

I like the way instructional films were made back then, very clear and easy to understand. For a volunteer on a heritage railway track gang this is a good way to make clear what is expected from him. But I was raising my eyebrows a bit when the worker was checking the gauge on the obtuse crossing, he held the gauge correct at a 90° angle to the rails measuring the distance in between, but when measuring the other side he kept the gauge in the same line and thus on an angle to the rails measuring in between, which isn't correct. The gauge always should maintain a square angle to the rails which are checked.

[@hovermotion]

Amazing workmanship and film.. I have a similar problem at 17:00 with my model railway junction double slips , I am rebuilding the worn sections with two part epoxy glue and reshaping.

[@davidsingleton7242]

Fascinating old films...thank you

[@johnmehaffey9953]

One of the first searches I did when I joined you tube was search for British transport films I certainly wasn’t disappointed but I hoped there would be lots more regarding building steam locomotives, it must be something about us of a certain age who grew up in age of steam

[@stephensmith799]

Now. Do all of this in a blizzard or driving rain and freezing fog...and get it wrong folks could be killed. Fascinating.

[@dct1]

Great watch. Amazing how primitive the railway is, many of these skills and techniques are still relative today, especially where these components are still found on operational railway.

[@chickey333]

As fun and back breaking as this job looked to be in nice weather... it must have been a scream in the rain and snow.

[@rogerwilliams4761]

It was.🥶

[@Ashley_van_Schooneveld]

Been doing it for years in all weather. +30c to -30c, rain, snow, day and night.

[@andyrbush]

I did some engineering work for Railtrack. The track workers really knew their stuff, but the managers were useless and disrespected the track workers. That was part of Railtrack's downfall.

[@markh.6687]

Too many managers never got their hands dirty doing the work; they often haven't a clue what it really takes to do a job.

[@stephensmith799]

I’ve heard another very senior experienced railwayman say exactly the same. He’d joined the railway as a booking office clerk and had a proper grasp of all kinds of railway operations and their interdependence. John Major was persuaded that what BR needed was graduate management trainees, half of which were utterly useless indeed. An intimidating amount of technical and operational knowledge is needed to run a railway. Indeed the amount of knowledge (and conscientiousness!) necessary just to maintain a switch is intimidating. Without it: the Hatfield crash. ‘Tighten bolts’ indeed!

[@johnallen7807]

@@stephensmith799 And we now have police and nurses with degrees! a "piece of paper" doesn't mean you can do the job!

[@Mull_Shapaad]

💓I love your channel💖

[@jozefbubez6116]

Looks like they knew their stuff in those days! I had no idea it was this complicated!

[@colingraham1065]

If Railtrack and their sub-contractors had followed these proper procedures then disasters such as Potters Bar need not have happened.

[@peterdeakes1056]

Very intresting and educational

[@thomasmaroti9312]

Maintenance of Way rules! Track Dept. NYCTA, trackman & track foreman 14 great years working on the railroad.

[@shaunmarriott2918]

I found some old articles describing your track workers as Gandy Dancers, I think the name came from a company making rail equipment/tools..... Over here in the UK they were 'length gangs'.

[@sidneybowerman558]

I was left dazed after the first 5 minutes. I wonder how much of this is still carried out today.

[@SportyMabamba]

Apart from using more resilient fixings to reduce maintenance interventions a lot hasn’t changed. Except that now “Length gangs” are a thing of the past and the local depot staff will cover an entire area.

[@sidneybowerman558]

@@SportyMabamba Thanks for taking the time to reply. I still remember a steam train journey to London with my dad (I'm 76) when I was about 9 years old. I swear sometimes I can still smell it.

[@welshpete12]

I worked on the railway all my life . But I didn't work on the P-way . They still patrol the line every 2 days , checking the track . Lest they did on lines I worked . There was always something that needed fixing.

[@ianjones4116]

Very little Shovel and Bar work nowadays,, Tampers, Hobc, high output ballast cleaner, a whole train that removes cleans and replaces the ballast. There are even whole train to completely Re-lay the track. These guys would stand and stare in disbelief !! I used to do it same way as them in the 90s . A lot of men and skills lost . 😎👍

[@jonathanbutson1385]

there are very few bits of S&C these days that are bolted together like this vid, they are mostly in sidings. Most are constructed of common or obtuse crossings cast from special manganese steel (Very hard wearing) these are welded to the normal rails via stainless steel inserts (The manganese steel won't weld to conventional rail steel) there is a new design of stretcher bar that come in after the train crash at Grayrigg, caused by a lack of maintenance of a stretcher bar/ S&C. The new design doesn't vibrate apart so easily. They look like yellow plastic tubes rather than steel bars as shown in vid. The manganese steel is a lot harder wearing than conventional rail steel shown here. It takes a lot longer to wear out and doesn't need as frequent inspection or maintenance like the old style bolt together. The bolt together crossings etc tended to shake themselves apart under heavy traffic, so the new type is a lot better. Not mentioned here is cracking, that's another story........

[@joelharris1335]

The junction layout featured in this video is the same as the layout at Speke Junction at, for example, Liverpool South Parkway - where the CLC line to Manchester via Warrington Central diverts away from the LNWR main line to Weaver Junction via Runcorn.

[@thomasthornton2002]

Joel Harris just based on the motive power I’d say it’s likely somewhere on the east coast mainline

[@joelharris1335]

Not just the east coast main line, but the west coast main line as well!

[@frenchsteam7356]

90067 was a Stockton/Hartlepool loco, these are goods lines as some of the points don't have Facing Point Locks.

[@Richardsrailway]

Blimey , I was a patrolman on the length gang on Wessex and I never got a possession during traffic hours to adjust or change a distance block on a crossing ! 🤣 the S&C on my section was often in bad nick , had nothing to do with manpower , it was the section manager who didn’t look after the job and get the faults done properly, the norm was waiting until the crossing developed a crack on the nose and a ESR went up . BR days people took pride in their section .

[@johnbrown9092]

Fascinating vid😊

[@hornet1068]

Going to guess, a lot of these chaps were either Ex forces, or BR had a good deal going with Army & Navy stores, check out the Khaki's, Beret's & Boots. Mainly ex military. Either way, true unsung heroes of the railway. Love these films, so informative and shows how this most basic of work used to be done. By hard graft. It would kill us now!!

[@andrewoverton5170]

You seriously think BR provided workwear in those days! The blokes bought it themselves from the army surplus shops, it was cheap and plentiful after the war.

[@Ashley_van_Schooneveld]

I'm sure Bob was an ex-military

[@jorgemuito5124]

I love my friends in England from long time

[@evelynjiles29]

Two films in one day wow

[@Flubbydubbydoodoo]

If I was working on this, I’d say “close enough” and leave it as it is!😀

[@train4905]

Fasinating

[@kevinjbakertribe]

1:13 Director: "After the train passes go on to the track and look busy" (Either that or the crossing was falling apart...)

[@joelharris1335]

However, as modern high speed trains can run up to 125mph, modern switches and crossings have to be designed in such a way that it can very fast trains without breaking apart and causing an accident.

[@anthonytidey2005]

On high speed rail the points are different usually longer and the curve is also less but the principles are the same in the 67 years the materials have also improved e.g. the steel, insulating materials also the rail clips and chairs

[@joelharris1335]

As well as that, modern track comes in sections, which are liflted into place, instead of being in laid individually.

[@phwbooth]

Most interesting.

[@Ashley_van_Schooneveld]

BS113 rail. Still widely in used today on Network Rail

[@grantbeerling4396]

Word of the day is; 'tight', that's right, 'tight'.....

[@32582657]

Would think that a worker seeing this film for the first time would have trouble committing every detail to memory.

[@JohnSmith-un9fy]

Alright. I am ready to get to work. Where are the 1950s?

[@maxan2006]

Доходчиво сделан фильм, понятно без звука.

[@christopherbentley5216]

It was poor maintenance that caused the Grayrigg accident in 2007.

[@johnmcdyer7297]

Why is the spanner such a poor fit on the square headed bolts / nuts etc and don’t answer wear

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

Not a hard hat or high viz vest in sight ah those where the days, liquid lunch and you still got the job done on time. To much crap and red tape today.

[@billpugh58]

philip mc donagh yes, and less death and injury. Ahhh the good old days.

[@jimthorne304]

@@billpugh58 I made this point to one of these old buffers who make these comments and reminded him that the level of accidents among pw staff was now much lower, and he accused me of using statistics like Josef Goebbels!

[@ianjones4116]

@@jimthorne304 because there are a lot Less Pway staff to have an accident lol. Our Pway Engineer from Crewe, came onto our job site asking what was 'that machine's a Tamper I said 'Oh, what does that do'? Clueless. But hed done his time in University,, I had done mine on the Shovel. 🤬😂👍

[@garymingy8671]

The announcer ,the worken dudes ,- it's the same as the French resistance film- some sections just run back wards

[@paulgriffiths3082]

They should be wearing protective gloves to shield them from the dirt and grease

[@john1653]

Dirty, greasy hands were a badge of honor. What supervisor is going to believe a man with nice pink hands at the end of his workday? And if he goes home with pink and soft hands his wife is not going to believe he was at work all day. I recall as a boy holding my father's hand in church, and seeing the scars, the calluses,, the embedded grease and dirt that would never wash out. One can always tell a working man by his hands, and I was proud of my dad.

[@karlrovey]

@MusicalElitist1 Like it or not, this used to be the attitude people had. Some people still have this attitude even though we now know the health consequences of such actions.

[@richardd5695]

Are you president of the snowflakes society? 😆

[@rogerwilliams4761]

Main reason for not wearing gloves, loss of dexterity. Rightly or wrongly.🙄

[@ianjones4116]

The 'Calouses protect your hand, after a week of using a shovel, your hands toughened up. Mine did. Blisters on top of Blisters. Loved every year of it, all 10 of them 😀👍😎

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Network Rail 2020: That's too much hassle! Take out ALL the points and switches and crossings.

[@noisebeats]

gold

[@simonsadler9360]

Must have been in 1960 watching from Clacton recreatio ground Britania pullin out , way across by the Engine shed saw a loco creeping down a sight slope wherre crews were having a fry up, jumped over the fence ran across the track boarded the loco & screwed the brake on , Oiy you what the hell are you doing !!! Wnen they saw I'd saved their lives , had a cuppa & some of their dinner , waited till the track was clear & lead me back , 10 dats in Essex no time to visit wanted to know if the shed & turntable are still there ,

[@Silvergt333]

Nice

[@AndreiTupolev]

Interesting, an actual J94, not an Austerity in disguise (well ok, they were Austerities too of course, but I mean an actual ex-LNER one.)

[@stevef9530]

My favourite small loco, because so simple and clean lines. It seems austerity is not necessarily bad. Also love the Q1 on Southern.

[@neilwhite9507]

This J94 has an extended bunker, different rear cab spectacles and extra footsteps, so is a BR modified LNER . Looks like the location is in the north east! Does anyone know where?

[@Synthematix]

Brill quality

[@Ass_Burgers_Syndrome]

Benefit of film. Better than some 80's and 90's videotapes.

[@floor993]

These “gangs” had hard and underpaid work.

[@chriswaring5565]

I THINK THEY USE BOLT TIGHTENING MACHINES NOW

[@mohameds5973]

ماينفعش يترجم للعربية وشكرا

[@boyo_bryan69]

Yay I'm second to comment

[@greghilton7797]

Give that boy a knuckle bolt.

[@boyo_bryan69]

Oi

[@jamedbond]

Thomas and friends

[@padiedo7213]

GHOSS that was pants WOT WOT😤😤

[@S13WA14]

2+2=4

[@justarandomuser7937]

What does _this_ have to do with the video presented here?

[@u2mister17]

SAE not Metric

[@williamschlenger1518]

During the great depression. No safety equipment, no work boots. Just go to work.

[@LiLi-or2gm]

Except this was 20 years after the great depression. And they were wearing boots.

[@Choober65]

Aye, Permanent until the bastard Breeching took an axe to most of them.

[@jorgemuito5124]

Thats job is very danger