Wash and brush up - British Transport Films - British Rail steam loco maintenance - 1950s

A British Transport Films movie detailing steam locomotive maintenance post nationalisation, during the 1950s.

[@rajabhausurwase5227]

Salutes to those scientists and researchers who invented such a gigantic engines and developed the skill to operate it. Thanks for presenting such videos for present generations to nourish and cherish to undergo hard work. 🙏

[@woobyvr9654]

I'm one of the few people in this day and age that still works as a steam locomotive fitter for a living, pretty much do the exact same stuff these guys in the video, although we use some different methods to do stuff shown in this video. Its a hell of a job to do and I cant imagine the turnaround these guys doing it back then had. its very different in this day and age, there isn't an infinite amount of man power like massive workshops used to have so exams and maintenance takes a lot longer. they used to have separate fitters, machinists, welders, tube sweepers, examiners, barmen, washers and dozens of other roles. Now days you learn to do ALL of it yourself, its a lot more daunting than what it once was

[@tompodnar3066]

Where are you a fitter? Im in the US in Cleveland.

[@woobyvr9654]

@@tompodnar3066 Victoria Australia

[@greenrosenz]

Hey Woody is this a full time job on a working railway or a vintage touristy railway. I'm sure it is daunting, I know the British Railways has a very large workforce but they were obviously needed to achieve those turnaround times.

[@woobyvr9654]

@@greenrosenz full time job as a fitter on operating steam locomotives

[@ChefEarthenware]

Nice as these steam engines are, I can see why they were replaced with diesels. That's a ferocious amount of maintenance.

[@judefernandez827]

Just a beautiful video , My father was a driver and my father in law was Boiler Chargeman in the loco shed in South India 🇮🇳 and my cousins were firemen and guards and yardmaster and station master . Cheers from Australia by way of India .

[@noorinoori3167]

All your ansisters and your elders serve indian railways man and what are you doing in Austreliya?Only telling stories to the childrens of Austrelia...

[@Holy_Bell]

😲

[@oscarchavira2497]

@@noorinoori3167 p pop pop

[@bootstrapbill9489]

Napier Deltic Animation

[@bootstrapbill9489]

Napier Deltic Animation

[@TheWhiteOwl23]

I had no idea these machines were so incredibly complex. Astounding.

[@xyz.ijk.]

Actually much more complex and elegant than this film shows -- imagine stripping one down to bare and rebuilding it, as required by code ... or the "firewheels" to "re-tire" a driving wheel. They look like one piece, but they're not!

[@kanjitard]

Exactly. I was thinking a coal fire under a water tank that produces steam when boiling, but nope

[@davidmarsden8008]

They were actually living things

[@gorporpio]

Also known as a contraption.

[@X3ABnew]

Please note how longlasting was the service in comparison to the working (on rail) time. The efficiency was so low

[@tismeagen684]

Fascinating footage, those old steam engines were very labour intensive to maintain and costly to run, but nonetheless they were an interesting historical engineering development.

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Yes, the cost of labour alone made steam financially impossible when diesels were available to do the same job.

[@KhatuYogesh]

An Era when there was a value for hardwork ,skill and expertise...not to money and consultancy!

[@scopex2749]

I uses to do all this as a volunteer on Severn Valley Railway! Raking out the fire, shovelling the smoke box out etc. I used to look like a miner at the end of the day! You could only see me at night when i smiled!

[@grandadgamer8390]

My god, the man hours needed to turn a steam engine around and back in service. Incredibly. I'm a diesel generation, as a kid seeing first HST at Paddington was incredible 🙂

[@richardbrown1189]

Looking at the amount of downtime and the sheer number of men involved in keeping a steam engine running it's no wonder BR were so keen to go over to diesel locomotives!

[@brianparkhurst1019]

What a wonderful film, reminds me of the old Walt Disney films about how things work. I don't what it is, maybe because I've made my living with my hands as well, but I can watch stuff like this all day.

[@mohans287]

Hard work, total dedication and precision at every turn. Good old timers. Salute you.

[@barbaramoran8690]

These guys loved their work..73020 is so cute!

[@ShannonFreng]

This film is a good motivation to go to university.

[@selvarajabraham9608]

This was the system back then when I travelled by train, hardly adware so much made the speed and success of our happy train journey! Hats off to those who went through the ordeals.. served us happily, God bless their posteriors

[@sanjeevpereira8141]

Great vedik Team work British quality and craftsmanship to its core Awesome just too great Love fm Goa India

[@Otaku155]

One thing this video does not really show is how heavy some of this stuff is; the smoke box locking bar alone weighs about 250 to 350 lbs depending on the locomotive.

[@MGDumasia]

Salutes to the designers of steam locomotives and to the dedicated workers. No whistle of the modern locomotives like old one, shrill tone fill the thrills in the skin.

[@eliodavidoliva4042]

Good Job guys , It makes me remain to my grand father ..he was an steeam locomotive driver here in Argentina

[@galefeynman9796]

I totally understand that tapping the stream pipes with a hammer is probably the only real way to check the pipes for rust, but the amount of anxiety watching him do it gave me could probably provide enough energy to run five stream engines alone.

[@arthurdanielles4784]

My brother always watched the steam trains pull into the station from the bridge nearby. "A magnificent sight to behold, a true majestic beast in all its glory puffing away." My treat later on in life was the visit to the rail museum in York (UK) It was truly memorable. 😀Thanks for giving us an astonishing oversight of what it took to maintain such a beast. #Respect for those who toiled on the railways in its hey day of steam. We Brits invented the railways but sadly this is a reminder that we failed in so many ways to innovate and create whilst so many other countries took rail and transport to such levels that left us trailing behind. You only have to look at Japan and China with their high speed super trains, the infrastructure, the innovation and creativity to realise how much we have lost when we should have been ahead of the game... from the off. Stay safe whoever, wherever you are. 😐👍

[@truthful3777]

You be surprised that China operated past year Y2K on steam trains. They still built steam trains up to 1998. Imagine having steam trains and MagLev operating in china country in the same decade.

[@arthurdanielles4784]

@@truthful3777 I actually witnessed the steam trains in both China AND India (the Maharaja's ?) I think the Railway museum (York ) had one of the China steam and carriages trains.. Still got pics somewhere.. 👀

[@victorhillyar7309]

A problem in the U.K. is that we needed short distance trains so having to build special long distance lines really was uneconomical when You can run trains bypassing the local stations at 125 mph+

[@xr6lad]

8+ hours from cold to get up enough steam. All you need to know as to why, despite the romance, steam had to die on the railways. 8 hours vs 10 minutes flicking a switch.

[@MrDavil43]

You can see why steam had to go, all those people and all that time needed between revenue earning usage. But how magnificent they looked and sounded.

[@StonyRC]

Davil - Yes indeed, very labour intensive, but in those days coal was VERY cheap as a fuel source and there was a need for a lot of jobs in the post-war era. More importantly though, the ash and burn products in the engine were WILDLY carcinogenic plus the dust caused horrendous lung disease for the poor buggers that climbed in and out of the fireboxes! But it was indeed a most wonderful sight to see an engine in full steam. I'm old enough to remember seeing the last of them in the 1960's and travel on them with my parents.

[@K-Effect]

The railroads used to make a gobs of money. They could spend money like water, look at the old railroad stations. When business dried up because of vehicles and airplanes efficiency and cost cutting became very important. Look how many railroad companies have died off in the past 80 years.

[@manga12]

@@K-Effect right but, there are advantages of steam that it can use anything combustable and makes more power the harder you push it, though lots of the work in theory could have been trimmed down, if you look at what Argentinian engineer Livio Dante Porta did with steam locos, its fascinating he got lots of the maintenance down, and combustion much more efficient with a gasmaker firebox, and using better pistons with diesel quality sealing, you also have the exhausting system, he made advancements in that as well, please read up on what he had to say if you are interested in steam power, he died in 2003, but he wrote many treatise on steam and thermal dynamics once that was applied it did wonders, and he had several that followed his footsteps, like Davidson Ward though, and many took from the lessons he taught. sure steam is labor intensive but it was one of portas engines that produced the highest power to weight ratio even more then a diesle electric engine, and lots of the down time could be taken out with the things porta talked about, and though in theory they could develop even another generation of steam locos, that used techniques and advancements that had yet to be reached, as even his engines and advancements were only generation 2 at least at the time of his death. but please read up on him, he was a no bull kind of fellow but said by one person I know at the historical railroad I help out at to be just as nice a person as he was good at engineering.

[@barbaramoran8690]

manga12 I heard that the man could have developed steam engines more efficient but still looking like the beautiful traditional steam engines like 73020 .Wish there were engines like that in USA .I’d love to hang out with one like I did several times with Union Pacific 844 who they keep as a pet.A place like Sodor would be paradise for me !!!!

[@willpederz3464]

yeah and now we have got all these people unemployed claiming benefits while the yuppies run the country

[@petedube9367]

I rode on one of these steam trains in 1959 from Kettering to London . Stayed in London for a few days and took a train back to Kettering . Never did marry that girl .

[@howardlitson9796]

So many undergraduates student in period of university get married from age 20 to 30, and then after bachelor degree and master degree graduation, they worked in factory. Their age were 30 years old. It's factory internship employee training and apprenticeship.

[@howardlitson9796]

Pete Dube maybe you didn't know about situation.

[@howardlitson9796]

These people have family.

[@chrisfisher5960]

Never mind, you took a train ride!!

[@TheMartinchostar]

Detailed step-by-step old school steam engine maintenence. Bravo!

[@mauriceupton1474]

Very labor-intensive but at least everybody had a job.

[@MrStarfishPrime]

And with that job you could raise a family

[@larmar]

Today nobody would do that work, what work? Surely your not talking to me!

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

@@PreservationEnthusiast in your dreams bud

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

@@PreservationEnthusiast oh really? If so then apparently preservation doesn't exist then

[@beagle7622]

Never mention Asbestos it’s everywhere. Just making a point, no eye protection,ear muffs. No workers comp if you get sick or injured. Terrible dirty working conditions.

[@ttm2609]

A facinating capture of history, thank you for posting

[@richardgriffin9676]

I always find this film so amazing that ' it takes so meny men to look after a steam engine

[@ele4853]

I had no idea about how many different tasks it took to make a loco runs! Super labor intense! Amazing how they used to do this and nobody even thought about it!

[@beeble2003]

People thought about it a lot -- that's why the lococomotives were designed to facilitate the cleaning processes. It's also why diesel locomotives so quickly replaced steam.

[@adrianbabino8580]

I thank You so much for this "vintage" information!! My (now ex) wife´s Grandpa worked in Casilda´s locomotive yard in Santa Fe, Argentina. In those times all railroad material

[@sandeeppaunikar]

It's really great to watch such video documentation. Sheer team work era, I wonder even inspection guy was involved himself thoroughly. I understand why it calls good old days.

[@blmeena1376]

Very Good video

[@SR-fx5sm]

Nothin good about it..these men had it rough.

[@shetijay]

Oooh i wish i was born during this period,i love the workmanship.

[@thomashenderson3901]

Keep coming back to this, very enjoyable.

[@ctecrwp]

Never noticed this engineering masterpiece....thanks.

[@adrianbabino8580]

was english. Now after so many years I know what this good man did in his maintenance job. The steam locomotives were know as "Caprottis" but their real class was "Pacific" Thank You !again!!

[@beeble2003]

Not sure what you mean. This locomotive is a 4-6-0, not a Pacific (4-6-2) and it doesn't have Caprotti valve gear (a few members of its class were fitted with it, but not this one).

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

I remember my last steam train journey in 1966 or so, from Riverstone to Blacktown and back. Different from today’s stuff, rickety wooden trestle and, black sooty smoke, the lot.

[@vai92pat]

Wonderful explanation of the steam locomotive maintenance works. Good job 👍

[@suryaprakashbellary8773]

Very informative and gives an idea about the dregery involved . Hats off to these men who ensured the condition of these majesti c engines to the best possible condition.

[@MrPete1x]

Next time you hear a politician say "we've worked very hard" remember these guys and think to yourself "no you didn't"

[@sarathchandra2285]

I am very glad to see such videos.

[@D.Salter]

I had to do this today on an Andrew Berkley Engine. It's quite complex and very dirty! We don't have jet powered machines. We have this long brush on a stick; and you have to remember to turn it clockwise other wise the brush twists off, then somebody has to squeeze into the tiny firebox! Never realised how complex it was until this morning when I arrived.

[@robertwilson123]

And that ladies and gentlemen was why diesels engines were brought in. An enormous force of men to every couple of weeks give a steam engine a huge overhaul... Diesels just switch on and start up and occasional servicing.

[@parthabiswas2952]

MARVELOUS JOB.

[@alpeshrathod7524]

Really very nice information and hard work of team that they maintained a Loco very well. Enjoyed this video and got facts about steam engines.

[@aspjake123]

Completely fascinating Thank you!!

[@simonf8902]

The lock looks remarkably clean after several days in service !! Good stuff.

[@simonsadler9360]

Just been talking with the Mayor in the healt center in Gaianes , as a young boy remembers using El tren de Las Inglesas steam , & later in Spain many steam voyages when diesel was coming .Was on a trip on a Deltic for Cromptons years ago , crunch bang no lube in gearbox that was what broke our electric motor shafts , oh the embarrassment towed to Derby by a King class , we got back to Chelmsford by steam ,.the noise in the Deltic correct had earmuffs on plus all ourAmmeters !

[@grumpyg9350]

Great video. Wouldn't change a thing. 👍👍👍👍👍👍😷

[@rapturebound197]

Great detail and photography. This was hard heavy work. Thanx for the show 👍

[@opdrvr]

Thank you. Great video!!

[@arbjful]

Very nice. Brings back memories of going off on vacations on trains.

[@traktorworks3200]

this is the other side of your fun and games on your vacation. a lot of hard working people making your vacation happen. i hope you think of this when you recall your vacation times. heaven forbid the amount of hard tedious dirty and oft unsafe work these men had to do just to earn a wage. i would bet not one of them was unhappy to see the end of the coal trains and all that went with it.

[@davestrains]

fabulous video, thankyou for sharing it!!!! cheers,dave

[@BennettBrookRailway]

No worries!

[@basiraza740]

Ok

[@robertharwood1012]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@1JUSTGOTLUCKY1]

Great video...very informative!! Thank you for the post!

[@markbarber7839]

Thanks for the video.

[@syedabidnri5999]

Thanks so much for all

[@BustedDrunk]

Superb video, of great interest to anyone involved in modern boiler operations also.

[@PeterPan-iz1kk]

Excellent video. Thanks! :-)

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

Nice to see the process ,I never knew any of this stuff before or even wondered about it

[@jhonmerrick6038]

⁰

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

@@jhonmerrick6038 Comments like yours makes You Tube what it is today

[@sarahemerson6567]

That animation is outstanding for it's time!!

[@edwardgray154]

when you worked on 1 of these steam locos you will know you put in a hard days work.

[@jimc4731]

It is said for every hour the engine spent on the rails working it spent two hours in the shed undergoing maintenance. JIM

[@SimonWallwork]

Wonderful film.

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

I wish BR never retired steam for good, seeing mainliners such as the A4, A3, Lord Nelson Class, and others still in revenue service today would be so grand.

[@tompodnar3066]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2XVZoahocyAebc

[@beeble2003]

But they wouldn't still be in service today, just like most of the diesels that replaced them in the 1950s-60s aren't still in service today.

[@Quebecoisegal]

Beautiful machines.

[@dennisneo1608]

Great old days. Sad all these men are long gone.

[@cscsamsung9749]

งานดูแลเครื่องจักรไอน้ำให้ทำงานเป็นปกติมีความสำคัญอย่างยิ่งยวด ต้องเป็นผู้มีความเข้าใจในชิ้นส่วนท่อทางอากาศ ไอน้ำ เชื้อเพลิงแข็ง เถ้าถ่าน หล่อลื่น เป็นงานหนักเลอะเขม่าและลมหายใจ ขอขอบคุณช่างซ่อมบำรุงทุกนายที่ทำให้กลจักรไอน้ำมีอายุยืนได้ชื่นชมความสามารถของผู้คิดออกแบบ การผลิตชิ้นส่วน การประกอบชิ้นงานเป็นแสนๆชิ้น กว่าจะมาเป็นรถไฟอันงดงามน่าทึ่งให้เราเห็น ขอบคุณกับสารคดีการบำรุงรักษา รถไฟไอน้ำ.

[@MARKETMAN6789]

Thank you for a very informative video

[@eoj2495]

Wonderful film, very interesting!!

[@ap42869]

timeless and authentic sir 👍

[@rayc.8555]

I had no idea just how labor intensive the old engines were.

[@theoccupier1652]

They were labour intensive but lovingly cared for ... Not like the boxes on wheels where they just swap out parts or just scrap them

[@austinniederjohn9813]

Most of the men who worked on them did it out of love for the locomotives

[@xr6lad]

@@austinniederjohn9813no. They would have starved if they didn’t work. Don’t suggest some nobility here.

[@rameshsastry6779]

Very interesting.👏👏👏 , how well the team works. And they their work. Perfectly. Very good.

[@narenderpal8995]

So nice hard work and all of have cool work...still awaited today life.

[@anthonybutler3157]

No wonder these previous generations looked older. Skilled, dirty and toxic work

[@F4EPU]

Very interesting, thanks a lot! 😀

[@tyrel7185]

Good work team!

[@himanshusharma5141]

Superb documentary

[@charlie8970]

I'd rather live in those times and work like these men did than these sick times

[@davidgray2653]

I agree whole heartedly these are sick ti.Mrs no more jobs for life

[@WhiteCamry]

Call your Gallifrey Travel Agent today!

[@barbaramoran8690]

I’m sure working with steam engines was fun .The engines were cute and loved the men back .I met Union Pacific 844 and got to hang out with him several times .Real diesels are inanimate and not like in the Thomas series .but Steam engines are half human .844 is .I would have loved it if there could have been some engines like 73020 in USA .He is so cute in the video .You can tell that he hated flue cleaning and washout . Engine wasn’t smiling when his face showed.He looked unhappy .When face showed later after screens were put back and was closed ,Engine looked like he was glad washout was over .Parts needed for seeing eating and breathing swing to left when smokebox door open remain intact and engine remains conscious .I’ll bet that film they didn’t use showed engine crying during flue cleaning and washout .The rids day high pressure sprays looked quite unpleasant .73020 was young .Born in late 1951 and movie in 1953.; I’ll bet with the movie crew there he behaved as badly as he thought he could get away with ..”I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE X DAYS !!! “Who could blame him. I felt culture shock when I saw what the engine had to go through twice a month . It looked a bit like torture although it was medically necessary and he had to hold still and take it .Once the washout was over ,they would have dried his tears and later given him a treat . Choo choos have mouths and they probably eat people food .After his dinner I think they gave him candy or ice cream .Engines can eat ice cream when not in steam.

[@gerrard1144]

@@barbaramoran8690 i like your imagination.

[@gerrard1144]

@MusicalElitist1 if someone cannot type, they're not a boomer. Geez. Can't believe some people these days. What if english isnt his first language? What if he is just a kid? What if you were in that situation, baby boomer?

[@harriex3574]

complex indeed, admiration for these pioneers in the industrial revolution. we have big big probs because of this, but the individuels are great.great stuf to watch n learn.

[@johnroberts7924]

Awesome!

[@RaimundoNonato-nk9sc]

Emoção pura quando nós,da termodinâmica, nos deparamos com essa preciosidade!!

[@nunyabizness199]

I think this is one of the most interesting videos Ive seen on this subject, and I worked for the railroads...👍

[@alubhaichopda4773]

टटंटंटंटंबटं

[@marksmith-gc5yo]

very interesting to watch

[@Predikant]

The graphics created at the time were excellent considering that the technology wasn't what we have at our disposal nowadays.

[@TheAndrew3777]

Super to była lokomotywa i nadal jest jako retro Andy 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@starvingartist6754]

My grand dad worked on freight train engines from 1901 til the 30s , he invented two parts for the engine, but I'm not sure what they were !

[@EKPUREDESI]

16:12 tattoo designs were hot in 50s too..

[@michaelburns189]

I'm betting he got that from serving in the navy during WWII

[@orangutan7294]

hello great vid

[@vishwanath6732]

Grate work 🙏😇🙏🏻

[@simongleaden2864]

This engine was still quite new when this was filmed, only a few years old at most. BR built hundreds of new steam engines in the 1950's, but there was no shortage of decent British coal and any oil imported for fuelling diesels would have had to be imported, using scarce foreign currency.

[@lorumipsum1129]

I believe 73020 was scrapped in the early 60s unfortunately. Would love too see a modern remake of this vid with the same engine

[@beeble2003]

@@lorumipsum1129 Late '60s -- withdrawn from service in 1967 and scrapped the following year.

[@LibertariosAlGobiernoMilei2023]

La Máquina a Vapor cambió la Historia, no hay duda de ello, eran máquinas realmente extraordinarias, muy complejas y nada fáciles de mantener y funcionar, auténticas maravillas tecnológicas para esas épocas. Magnífico vídeo.

[@davidford2169]

Wonderful 👍

[@ashischaturvedi5407]

Maintenance staff always working hard ☝️

[@johnkolassa1645]

Some of these jobs must have been very hazardous. I'm glad the industry is safer today. I'm surprised that mechanical stokers weren't the norm in the 1950's.

[@xr6lad]

I'm surprised they were never converted to oil burning like many countries steam engines.

[@exadorthecat3346]

Best coal in the world was in Scotland. Why import oil.

[@geekyboringfilms233]

Mechanical stokers need finely-crushed coal rather than big lumps, otherwise they seize up. This means that the draught on the fire draws a lot of coals through the boiler and out of the chimney, making mechanically-stoked engines dirtier and less efficient.

[@johnkolassa1645]

@@geekyboringfilms233 Thanks.

[@matekochkoch]

@@xr6lad Running a steam engine on oil makes no sense for a country with diesel engine industry. In that period Britain had to import almost all oil and the coal mines were still in operation, so there wasn't an incentive either. It was simply cheaper to build newer more efficient diesel locomotives, than converting them.

[@robertpyt4835]

Super filmik. Uwielbiam parowozy

[@Snakeytown]

Love this film….

[@JohnPlant90]

Interesting "Work Wear" and Personal Protective Equipment!

[@edwardeverson7039]

Nice !

[@Louis-kk3to]

One of the most important aspects of high technology

[@Highland_Moo]

What a total embuggerance! Brilliant to watch though and I enjoyed it very much,

[@ultralaserblast381]

this is like Charcoal BBQ vs Propane BBQ.... charcoal cooked meals are more appealing for me but the ash and cleanup is extra work.

[@davidsteer8142]

Lol. If my Weber required this much maintenance, I’d seriously consider giving up charcoal for gas. But charcoal bbq’s taste so much better.

[@hadzicana1]

video fantastik sve detaljno objasnjeno