LMS - General Repair - 1938 - LMS Railway film

LMS General Repair, 1938. This film is a fascinating glimpse into the world of a steam locomotive servicing facility.
LMS Jubilee class no. 5605 'Cyprus', the featured locomotive in this film, was built in 1935 and eventually scrapped in 1964 as part of the phasing out of steam traction on British railways.
In the film, we follow the locomotive from first inspection through complete dismantling, lifting of the frame from the wheels, detaching of the boiler, inspection of parts, replacement and repair and then final reassembly. When the completed locomotive is ready to leave the factory it is taken to the paint shop to emerge almost as a new machine.
As a further point of interest and a major part of the history of the locomotive, on 18 May 1948, no. 5605 and another Jubilee, hauling the 11:45am down (St Pancras to Bradford) express, derailed along with 8 coaches of a 12-coach train, near Wath Road Junction, Rotherham, South Yorkshire. 8 people died and 56 were injured.

[@philipholt9112]

Hi , my name is Phil I did 50yrs on the footplate I started at edgeley shed on the 4th of April 1961 in 1962 I moved to Trafford Park shed as a fireman 1964 I moved back to edgeley I finished my time out at 9A as a driver Regard Phil.

[@jamesanderton344]

Phil, did you work steam, or diesel in 1962?

[@charliekilo8944]

Did diesels normally have firemen? Gen question lol

[@BlackMan12331]

Did you ever drive or hear the sound of a class 28 Metro Vick

[@t3chb0y67]

@@jamesanderton344 on nuclear

[@LordTantrums007]

This film is from an era when British engineering set high standards and was the envy of the world.

[@kurtmuller1861]

My mother was the secretary to a works manager at a LMS repair shop in Scotland. Now I have an idea of how much planning and paperwork was involved in her daily routine 👍

[@xr6lad]

6,000 people working in the work shops. There my friends is where all Britain's current issues have come from. We no longer really make anything, never design, simply buy, and maintain.

[@edet8147]

9

[@jp-um2fr]

I served almost 6 years as an apprentice. If a car starter played up you took it off and found why, if it was repairable you did it. A friend was giving his Landrover starter the once over and the son of his neighbour who had just finished his '3-week' apprenticeship said why don't you do it properly and fit a new one. The reply from my friend was just two words, the second of which was 'OFF'. £1.78 for new brushes or £68.40 for an overhauled starter. Now you know why your local garage charges so much and why our country is not what it was.

[@tango6nf477]

Being born and bred in Derby I am immensely proud of its railway heritage but it makes me weep to realise how much of our rail network has gone since this film was made. Thousands of miles of track, manufacturing facilities, thousands of skilled jobs. If only there had been the foresight 60 years ago to not only keep but modernise our railways how different, efficient, cheaper and environmentally friendly our transport could now be.

[@philipholt9112]

Hi , my name is Phil I did 50yrs on the footplate I started at edgeley shed on the 4th of April 1961in 1962 I was made a fireman I finished my time out at 9A as a driver but on the 19th of February 1973 I fired the flying Scotsmen from Manchester to derby works and on the 25th of August 1973 I fired lender from derby to Manchester it was red Regards Phil.

[@Cthulhu1970]

@ThePhilRivers Well, if what they are saying is true, by 2030 there will be no more fossil fuel powered vehicles on our roads. As I'm sure you realise, the range of electric vehicles is limited, and recharge times are long. It could spell the end of the long distance lorry, and perhaps the reopening of some of our lost railways.

[@RandomFabrication]

@@Cthulhu1970They won’t do anything if there’s too much push back/not enough money to gain. No matter what plans people think they have, money is gonna drive change. If engine powered machines are cheaper, that’s what we’ll stick with.

[@andrewcrawford1001]

It's worse most people don't know or care that britain strode the world of industry an inconsequential hell hole ruled by powers that despise the ordinary souls

[@Isochest]

I agree with you 100%

[@oliverbrelsford5472]

If only this sort of fast assembly time was possible in preservation...

[@branchlineflyer7244]

We can only dream

[@OlanKenny]

Don't have the manpower nowadays. Rileys seem to have the fastest turn around time and that's because their locos get a relatively frequent amount of heavy maintenance.

[@Therailwayenthusiast4real]

I prefer the preservation era better:)

[@Sterlingjob]

I guess it could be if there was only one workshop in the uk!

[@barrycant4153]

Probably not using the right music!

[@104gramophone]

It might have been said before but I love the music, eat your heart out Bick Barton

[@jimstrainsandstuff9539]

They knew what work was all about then, and like all of my Dad's generation, and certainly weren't afraid of it. ( My dad was still swinging a big Stihl chainsaw at 78! Tough ol buggers. )

[@francisseal573]

And not one obese fellow to be seen.

[@willb1157]

When you are born and bred in England, it's easy to see the demise of the railway. But when you then move to another country, as I have, it is STILL something to be proud of. Railways just can't be "added" in other places - too expensive and no space. At least we started with a planned rail infra structure we have the track space already. lovely upload.

[@57dogsbody]

Absolutely incredible, and such hard work. I know of men in thier '20s who take a punctured bicycle wheel to the bike shop for repair.....that is so sad.

[@IndianaNorthWestern]

I know of men in their 70's who take a punctured bicycle wheel to the bike shop for repairs. It's almost like if someone has the expertise and skills to do a job properly and efficiently, you should have them do the job rather than doing it yourself and risking breaking something because you don't know how fo do the job or have the proper tools.

[@JeffreyCombs_is_hungry]

@@IndianaNorthWesternRight. It’s like how about you pay the money to the hard working man who’s job it is to make your life easier. It doesn’t make you weak, it gives you more time to bust ass.

[@davidcousins3508]

⁠@@IndianaNorthWesternI think that you’ve missed his point ..nothing wrong with paying for expertise where needed ..but repairing a cycle tyre is hardly a high tech enterprise..as kids in the 60s/70s we all repaired our own punctures ,and other bits on our bikes ..with a bit of help from my Dad if anything needed welding.

[@dinshawmuncherjee5123]

My Dad, a Mechanical Engineer, was sent by The Indian Railways for his advanced training to England where, as he said, he was put through the grind for 5 years, mostly up in Scotland. On return to India in 1932 .he moved up the ladder and then commanded the largest Loco shop in Asia at Bombay. Like the shops at Derby, as a kid I've seen big 2-8-2s and beautiful 4-6-2s going through this routine. Only they took about a month to emerge a gleaming new engine with the allotted driver's personal touch to it. Those wonderful days when everybody took immense pride in their job, however menial. even their young brats did too!

[@carlzeiss4871]

The thing that strikes me with all of these videos is the apparent unconcern with health and safety. My Grandfather worked at Derby loco works for 50 years. After a short retirement he died of asbestosis gained from his work lagging steam engine boilers. I went on to work in a BR workshop after leaving the navy in the late seventies. The machine that I worked on, boring Con rod bushes, was first used in 1887. Even at this times workshop accidents and injuries were prolific, I’m hoping that there has been a big change in railway workshops now !

[@davids8449]

There is all parts are probably made in china

[@garysmith2450]

Watching this makes me feel like we have definitely lost something as a nation. The skill even down to the lining in the paint shop is something that is missing in today’s railway depots.

[@vangledosh]

Not missing. Just not needed anymore, it really is as simple as that.

[@Mildcat743]

​@@vangledoshit wasn't 'needed' then, either. The lining did nothing to help with the running of the train, it was an affectation. But it was there because companies then cared about the quality of the service they provided, and spared no expense to give every traveler a sense of luxury. Nowadays, railways care about their bottom line and their bottom line only, so any expense that can be cut will, because they don't have to care. The world was better when these large companies cared.

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Absolutely wonderful! Not only in terms of huge skill, but also in regard to astonishing precision of organization.

[@ajidamarjati]

Lovely & beautiful Jubilee!

[@beeble2003]

Ah, those innocent days in which a man with a terribly proper voice could talk about stripping in the erection shop for over a quarter of an hour and nobody would bat an eyelid.

[@derekmills1080]

I had a friend, older than myself, Arthur, who worked at Horwich Locomotive Works round about the time of this film. He was involved in the refurbishment and assembly of the connecting rods &c. (The name is pronounced 'Horrich', not 'Horwidge'). Some six weeks BEFORE war was declared, all unfinished locomotives that could be, were shunted to other destinations and the rest broken up and rolled out onto adjacent land on temporary track, and buried (now Middlebrook Retail Park with Bolton Wanderers stadium). Similarly, most of the tools scrapped and buried under concrete in the huge inspection pits. Everyone of the thousands of employees then assembled trainloads of new machinery, including huge Cincinnati lathes and milling machines (my friend thought these were wonderful). Very early in the war, Horwich was assembling American light tanks, British tanks and other vehicles, weapons and machines for the War Effort. Postwar, Horwich never recovered - the huge brick buildings had little maintenance and, after a brief period of industrial units in the 1980s - it's all gone. An 18" gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive used for shunting parts around is in pride of place at the National Railway Museum, York.

[@johnmehaffey9953]

Thank you for highlighting the how hard working and diligent these workers were

[@derekmills1080]

@@johnmehaffey9953 You are welcome. 👍

[@martinpattison4018]

Like in the comment below, I am also amazed that it took only 12 days to rebuild a Locomotive of that size and all done on time. When you take the 5 days off for the Painting, that means the Engineers, turned that Engine, around in only one week. The railways were losing money even then, but they still kept the workforce busy and then along came the war. Then they were even busier. then. I spent 30 years in the British Motor industry. 20 of them as a company with 7 employees and there is no way we would have done what they did in this video in a week. Martin. (Thailand)

[@Cthulhu1970]

The Great Western Railway once famously built a whole locomotive in 16 hours. Probably a pannier tank.

[@AustNRail]

A shame 5605 was cut up at Crewe in 1964.

[@twistedaxles9126]

Can we talk about the absolute badass lighting a ciggy at 9:35

[@OTIB1]

Standard procedure then.

[@leroydewitt6447]

Starring Ben Kingsley as the crane operator

[@Aengus42]

12 days and could be seen, at a glance, how she was doing. Just the basic data handling, materials under a quid, efficiency 10 times what would happen today! There'd be offices, computers, data storage, outsourced project management costing thousands upon thousands of pounds! When between the wars it took a piece of card with "5605" written on it and an engine repair shed full of guys who were paid a living wage and who were respected by their bosses and who had pride in their work because of that! When I think about what we've lost I could cry! We were getting there again, within Europe. We were rebuilding our pride by working with our European brothers. ESA, the Large Hadron Collider and Airbus for instance. There was much more that we were involved in. All thrown away by the tories. Brexit ruined our rise back into manufacturing! We threw it all away! We were doing so well! Buy no more... So sad! Such a waste.

[@nigelpearson6664]

By reputation LMS were not the best. However LMS designs went on to inspire the last BR steam locos. 8F class my favourite. GWR most likely thought they were better. Shown here LMS knew their trade. 8F showed 60 MPH was enough and could work on the S&D.

[@3xfaster]

So they had journaled bearings, if I’m correct. I can only imagine if these locomotives had actual roller bearings in certain key components would they had a longer service life and less wasted energy to friction.

[@atharchaudhry5725]

Only in twelve days, the giant has been repaired, rebuilt and painted ❤ Only the work schedule of this workshop shows why Britain ruled half of the world 🌎

[@johnstudd4245]

They did well and had the routine down to a science. But compared to a modern diesel.....change out the bogies with new traction motors... a half of a day. Replace the whole main engine....I'm guessing a day, maybe two. Then back on the road. Not to mention much more time between major overhaul. I've heard figures of a million miles stated. It's not hard to see why steam locos disappeared quickly once decent diesels became mainstream. Much less downtime.

[@hannahsmovies5612]

9:33 he lit his cigarette with the hot bolt 😂

[@philaypeephilippotter6532]

It was common for people to smoke then.

[@grahamstretch6863]

Hannah's movies Except it’s not a bolt, it is a rivet!

[@GuitarandMusicInstitute]

@@philaypeephilippotter6532 you’re missing the point....

[@philaypeephilippotter6532]

@@GuitarandMusicInstitute No, I'm not. I have done the same thing myself though I lit my pipe from a pricker.

[@bigwezz]

@@philaypeephilippotter6532 She wasn't getting at the fact that he was smoking, it was the way he lit it ffs.

[@shinvelcro]

at 12:11, swinging the sledge right next to the other guys face. All that work done to such perfect timings

[@chrisdale7492]

Noticed that too ,hats off to the hard work and precision, love the moment where he lit cigarette from the red hot steel

[@p.istaker8862]

And not a single item of crappy hi-vis clothing in sight

[@omepeet2006]

These had not been invented yet. And before you ask, the same goes for ear defenders...

[@lesreed9269]

@@omepeet2006 Ear-muffs?

[@omepeet2006]

@@lesreed9269 Yeah those.

[@beeble2003]

And how many people were crushed by heavy machinery because the operator didn't know they were there? Yes, there are lots of ridiculous applications of hi-vis these days (school children walking down the street, FFS) but this is exactly the sort of place where it's actually useful.

[@omepeet2006]

@@beeble2003 You're not wrong mate, but how can you use something that hasn't been invented yet?

[@stefankassbohrer2765]

The home of the steam engine ... well done ! Great, hard work of a Work team.

[@rjds1800]

“I’ll just light my fag off the rivet on camera”

[@derrickgreen9020]

.....And then these brilliant blokes had to start making warplanes😢...

[@philaypeephilippotter6532]

The *Great Western Railway* workshops at *Swindon* were already working to finer tolerances than the WWII aeroplane manufacturers.

[@derrickgreen9020]

@Anthony Wright such skill…of course…Phil…

[@petermcneill80]

Those guys put the great into Great Britain ! I’d love to have worked there , I work in a reasonable sized fabrication welding shop with a machine shop on site too and our guys couldn’t tie these guys shoe laces now unfortunately

[@tammmacdonald7723]

Good to see Health and Safety at work.

[@herrlippsgartenbahn6093]

Is it just because of 5605 being the star of this educational film, Bachmann has made a special release of the very same number?

[@stonehartfloydfan]

no idea but I do have a few of their Jubilee class and just added 45575 'Madras' to the collection.

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Entire rebuild every 120K miles? Yikes. No wonder they liked diesels.

[@richhoffman9520]

Those were the days! No hard hats, respirators, gloves, glasses, hearing protection, steel toe shoes. Just hard work. I think I was born 50 years too late. anyone have accident statistics?

[@marioficcio7008]

Hermoso documento ¡¡¡¡ me hubiera gustado vivir aquellos tiempos , con poco eran más felices y se vivía mejor

[@silasfatchett7380]

4:37 When the men had removed the connecting rod and placed on the ground, I thought they were going to bow.

[@zippy5131]

12 Day's ........ a minor servicing on Typhoon jet fighter is 100 days... were did we go wrong. The skills and craftsmanship amazing. Never sadly to be seen again.

[@timwingham8952]

Where

[@zippy5131]

@@timwingham8952 Taif Saudi .. Though not there anymore, back in Blighty..

[@pgtmr2713]

A fighter jet must not fail, lives are at stake, and they operate at extremes. Really high altitude and sea level. They also break the sound barrier, pull 9, 10 G's, some slam on metal decks then later flung off with double their weight. They have to work upside down too. Thousands of psi in the hydraulic systems, mutiple backup systems. Modern aircraft, can be stripped down faster than this train. Putting em back together involves, fixing, checking, rechecking. Every fastener wire tied to another where possible to prevent it from falling into the cockpit or engine intake. sometimes the engines need to be spun up for the check, so you might need to wait on fuel or another piece of equipment for testing, or the people qualified to test and turn. The closest thing to working on these trains would be jet aircraft or F1, or Nascar race teams. These guys have cranes too, a fighter jet, you're jacking that up by hand with multiple jacks. Not to mention all sorts of explosives to mind with weapons and ejection seats. ;-)

[@nealk6387]

Makes me wonder how many guys were hurt trying to meet impossible deadlines.

[@rat-matt-miniatures8705]

I'd have loved this kind of work, dirty, proper graft and order to the chaos. And the job satisfaction would be something else too.

[@neilcowmeadow3551]

Absolutely fascinating - thanks for posting

[@neilfurby555]

Scheduling is extraordinary..I think we call it just in time (jig) today !

[@willygoat9390]

Wait, LMS invented Kanban????

[@pcmasterwraith7676]

4:46 omg its him!!

[@peterashton1508]

That is so impressive and not a computer to be seen.

[@billy4072]

The romance of steam ..

[@acehandler1530]

Excellent video - thanks, now I can do my own steamer rebuild thanks to those fine detailed step-by-step instructions, Cheerio! 💖 🇨🇦

[@dominicborrayo4112]

Me: So that’s you engines are maintained everyday. Thanks for demonstrating the process Cyprus! Cyprus: Oh believe me it was my pleasure. Must get going now see you later bye! Me: 👋 bye Cy! He’s a nice big fella ain’t he?

[@stephenlang3135]

Such craftsmanship.

[@anthonytidey2005]

It seems to me that this may be the first use of just in time manufacturing JIT? Like these old films of the railways. You ca see that electric locomotives are far more efficient. Thanks for the video.

[@adamwoodward2003]

Imagine what could be achieved in the modern day if all workshop workers worked to a timescale so precise and efficient as it was in the 1930's. Workers today want to get paid for doing as little as possible, most take no pride in their work. The modern day repair/ maintenance workers could learn alot from the example that was set many years ago. Mankind has learnt through experience and what was done in the past, and I think that is forgotten sometimes.

[@garryferrington811]

7,678 engines! And that's just the LMS! How many diesel and electric locomotives are running today? Not even close, I'm sure.

[@enedenedubedene4811]

Meine Hochachtung, eine tolle Leistung.👍👍👍😀😀😀😀😀 Viele Grüße aus Germany

[@royyoung3104]

Thought the chargehand was superb... excellent whistle blowing....👌

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

This video is very satisfying to watch

[@joshwilliams0391]

This film would give a modern-day health and safety inspector PTSD

[@johnmehaffey9953]

I’m nearly sure this locomotive was in another transport film about the driver and fireman and a day working on the road

[@marcdelente2456]

Les conditions de travails était extrêmement difficile mais ils fesaient le boulot. Puis quand arrivait la retraite beaucoups n en ont pas longtemps profitez. Aveç l amiante le charbon les décapants la graisse et j en oubli mais les médecins du travails disaient vous êtes en parfaite santé bon courage.

[@davids8449]

I will be the chap with the whistle . Excellent film showing all the skills Britain has lost

[@nufc40]

No computers here! All done by hand, eye and ear. All these skills lost forever!

[@jawtooth963]

Modern technology at its finest! What will they think of next?

[@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858]

Proud times for British industries Bloody hard work

[@charlesfrancis6925]

A By gone era, we miss these skilled technicians 😢

[@1pjodan]

At 9:10 is that asbestos lining the cylinders

[@omepeet2006]

That is asbestos indeed.

[@mangun08]

is no one talking about that someone used a hot piece of metal to lit a cigarette 9:32

[@COBBETT1215]

Lighting your ciggie on a passing red hot rivet! that was cool before the word was invented. These were mighty men!

[@chrisdale7492]

Absolutely

[@willb1157]

Also 130,000 Miles. Amazing. 130,000 miles.

[@roberthuron9160]

In the US,the AAR/ICC had a 5 step program of locomotive overhauls! It started with depot inspections/ light repairs,to total rebuilds! Plus that was done on heavy Mallets and other far bigger engines,i.e,4-6-4's,4-8-4's,but that also went down to 0-4-0's,and even 4-4-0's,as those engines existed right up til the 1960's! The system was intensive as well as extensive! Thank you for your attention ☺️! Thank you 😇 😊!

[@mountainmantararua8824]

The amount of paper work generated. good old British civil service. Hasn't change a bit. I feel like I could take an engine apart and put it back together in an hour after watching this.🤣🤣. No safety gear, ear muffs, high viz vests etc, just lots of common sense. Who needs a hard hat when a cloth cap gives you plenty of protection. Where did we go wrong ?

[@barryjgalbraith2635]

Brilliant skill and organisation- and not a computer in sight -just bits of cardboard and sticks of chalk!!!

[@RacingCarWannabe118]

Those were the days

[@BruceWhitworth]

Brilliant video. Shows how great this country was. These men were amazing and so professional.

[@johnroberts7924]

Wow!

[@Bassmasterwitacaster]

Sometimes I just eat human feces

[@yateendrasingh2369]

Good , if you take care of your clothes, by washing iron they glow a human personality. Like wise if we take of machine the chances of accident is minimal.

[@mattapacca]

To put it into perspective, a class 66 is designed to go a million miles between rebuilds!

[@basichistory]

What a fascinating film of the past. They don't make trains like that anymore!

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

"Always exactly on time" LOL. Doubtful....

[@stuartadair]

Not the job for me. Too fat to get through that boiler opening :-)

[@MrMKH2010]

26 Thumbs down. They must’ve been Beeching fans!

[@steam1303]

Men didn't even make or miss a flaw 5605 had a smooth repair

[@asripjayadi8209]

Verry good i llike you have vedios thank🙏👍👍👍

[@davidgray2653]

No longer do we have these skills an d jobs just low paid trash at agencies and warehouses and Mon wage

[@geoffreyking1634]

Ceylon with a fowler tender look a lot better with a stander tender..but lovely locos were the jubilees

[@ernestoguevara8930]

They did not fuck about in them days, downloading apps and shite like that, they just got on with it!

[@michaelperkins5746]

PROPER RAILWAYS

[@davidreay5911]

And a skilled worker could earn £31 7s 6p p/w. Although a experienced whistleblower was a coveted occupation. On a serious note what has been lost , imagine if the Internet goes down would we be able to revert back to using the ingenious card systems with management who started on the shop floor and knew what was required? HSE would have a few things to say.

[@ianjones4116]

No Internet,,, there World would End ,,, lol. Never mind using the old coloured cards. 😂

[@weepair2]

This was great. I wonder what happened to 5605 eventually, scrapped or restored on a tourist attraction somewhere. You feel these engines are alive. Brilliant stuff.

[@muttley8818]

She was built in 1935. Renumbered 45605 in 1948 after British Railways was formed post war. Unfortunately, she wasn’t kept as a tourist attraction. She was scrapped in March 1964.

[@aliceneale5244]

Wonderful

[@eoj2495]

The music reminds me of the old silent films where the villain ties up the damsel in distress on the tracks, train coming, etc.

[@paulwilliams9365]

12:12, Could you do that with today's H&S?

[@sirreptitious6645]

And we think “just in time “ is a modern invention.

[@memofrf]

7 day rebuild. Incredible. 5 day paint job?

[@johncooper7400]

No ear defenders for the riveters I notice

[@upthebracket26]

6.50: 'MORE COWBELL!!'

[@ephphatha230]

12:27 blimey

[@Kocur_z_ur]

Great!

[@garethparr9482]

All that done in under 14 days. Would take 2 months these days because of the risk assessment requirements before every move. In those days people got by in common sense and being well organised and if you got hurt so be it. Have we really progressed? This is when Britain was the envy of the world in engineering.

[@charliecroker7380]

I would say that less injuries and deaths in the workplace is progress.

[@garethparr9482]

@@charliecroker7380 yes of course it is