Silvering Up

Documentary film which follows a team of four pylon painters who remain undeterred by the hazards of their profession.

[@pmbrowne8545]

RIP David Browne (1948-2019)

[@alanmacdonald65]

Sad to hear. I knew Dave, as well as Roger, Darren and Fripp. Darren is still on the brush and painting for me at the moment.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope the rest of the tower ( pylon) painting crew is doing well. Stay safe guy's. Your friend, John.

[@robinkewell1694]

I was cameraman on this film for Gwynhelek Productions and it is so good to see the film as I do not have a copy. Someone comments below saying that they hope the painters were well paid...well they were not, they worked on piece-work for a private company and the wages did not reflect or reward them for the work which was extremely dangerous. Not only dealing with high voltage power lines but climbing hundreds of feet to the top of the towers, with heavy cans of paint. There was one shot that the BBC cut from the edit, as it was a health and safety issue. I was out on one of the arms filming above the painter when he suddenly slipped, luckily he grabbed a bar with the other hand and saved himself from dropping 100 feet to the ground. The shot was in the first edit but it showed he did not have his harness clipped on, so the company would have been pulled up on that and the shot was cut. The reason the guys did not clip on their harnesses was that the caribiners clogged up with paint and did not shut properly and in fact was more dangerous. So the men relied on instinct and self-preservation. At the time of filming I think there had only been one death from a fall and that was due to one of the towers being a non-standard design. In my career as a cameraman I have worked in war torn areas of Ethiopia, dived with sharks and many other challenging situations but the 'Pylon Painters' shoot is one film I am most proud of. This was all shot without drones !! it required me to get up there with them. When I arrived on the first morning the painters looked at me rather suspiciously...but after a day with them up on the towers they paid me a great compliment (in a strong brummy accent), "eez a bloke, that Robin eez definitely a bloke" A great privilege to have shared some time with these hard working blokes...thanks, Robin.

[@Rdgr.]

Nice Job Rob, 👍🏼 Old faces & Memories. 🇬🇧 Rdgr.

[@Landie_Man]

What an amazing story Rob! I Absolutely love this film. It is so wonderfully produced and wonderfully shot. It really encapsulates all of the senses, a bit like AMSR! I’ve appreciated this film for a few years now, a nice, down to earth fly on the wall, covering loads of aspects of the job. You should be proud my friend! It’s great to see comments from someone so heavily involved!

[@orbitalforest]

I'm amazed the money isn't that good for having to do that , they must have balls of steel . Fair play to you for having the nuts to get up there to film it . Being a painter myself i'm twitchy at the top of a double ladder so i find it staggering these lads can do this , i've got so much admiration for them doing this work and i just wish they'd received the financial reward it deserved. Watched this a few times over recent years from my favourites list. Great little documentary .

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

You did a great job helping make this great documentary. It really means a lot to me because I served my apprenticeship painting high voltage tower's and substations year's ago. I know how hard the work is. I wish all the guy's the best, and hope they stay safe. Thank you, John

[@neilpazadian5231]

Hi Robin it's Neil. I remember when you first climbed with me and you said "do I go up first?" I said "no I do in case you fall and take me with you!" Tower humour and certainly gained our respect!

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

It's like I have a special connection to these guys, I've lived this life, I've done the work. So, I'm speaking from experience, and the heart. As I've previously said, I painted high voltage towers years ago, I served my apprenticeship painting pylons. Although there are differences, back then we never used any safety belts or no harness, no hardhats, that is basically because of new safety rules, but still so much the same. We rubbed down with vasoline each morning, it helps get the paint off your skin much easier, and we had to wear long sleeves, and rag hats, even in the heat of summer. So you sweat a lot, and it's hard work, believe me, I know. My hats off to these guys. You get close to your co-workers, more so than normal, not only because of the type of work, of looking out for each other, but, you not only work together, but you basically live together, eat together, so you get close. I'll never forget the sound of the high voltage lines, the humm, the sound the electricity makes, and, I remember the static charge, the zap, you feel at times, it gives you a little jolt. Especially if your not holding on good. I've actually painted in substations where we had so little clearance from a " hot" line we had to cut our brush handle off. Or, crawling out on the middle arm of a pylon, you had to stay down low, your knees sometimes on just the edge of a steel angle iron, a line above you humming, a line below you humming, the sound of the high voltage, quite an experience it was. And, even when the one guy started singing, brought back memories. We would occasionally sing, while we worked, not that we were any good at it. Or we would cut up and joke with each other. Play tricks on each other, such as putting a rock in their bucket of paint, they didn't know until they got down to it. And a more serious note of seeing a friend get into a huge hornet nest while up on a tower, he didn't see it, and hit it with his hand, they were all over him. The lady land owner in this video complaining about the tracks the guys made, some people, she just don't realize how hard these guy's work is. Over here the utilities actually had a right of way, so a farmer could not stop us from painting, or deny us access, but we tried to be respectful also. We painted pylons/towers that crossed hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, farm land, soybean fields, corn fields, cow pastures. I've walked thru shoulder height corn fields early in the morning and they would be soaking wet from dew, and we would be soaking wet right from the start. Yea, this video brings back a lot of memories, I've watched it several times. I have great respect for these guys, very few people actually know how hard this work really is, I do. Be careful guys! Your friend, John

[@Landie_Man]

john g I love your comments just as much as this video! I don’t think they use their harnesses. This was 1997 so not a hugely long time ago. I expect they were supposed to use the harness!

[@Techy4130]

Hello there greetings from bulgaria i have a question for you I worked one season the same job everything writen by u is the same Here in bulgaria Why u stop working this ?

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

@@Techy4130 Hello and greetings tower painter. I served my apprenticeship painting high voltage towers, substations, microwave tower's ( red/white, actually called international orange) and I had to travel around. Although I really, really liked all my co-workers, we became good friend's. Like I said, we worked together, ate and shared hotel rooms to save money, we partied together, and had so much fun. But, after while, I kind of got tired of traveling all the time, staying in hotel rooms and eating in restaurants all the time. I wanted to be close to home, in Indiana. So, I transferred my union book to IUPAT local 118 in Louisville, KY. and basically started doing mostly industrial painting. Spray painting with an airless, ceilings in big plants, like Ford, GE, UPS, etc. Using a conventional spray gun, sand blasting tanks. Still, rough, hard work, but pretty good money. Several year's after I left the tower painting outfit, one of my good friend's got into a high voltage line in a substation. Somehow, luckily, he survived, but was very disfigured by the electrical burn's, very badly. I went to see him in the hospital. It was very touching for me. I liked him so much. The company where they were working at the time, took him to court and fought giving him a settlement, although he could never work again. He eventually, maybe 1 1/2-2 year's later, won a settlement, he never could work again. You get close to your co-workers on job's like this. You need to be close, because, you need to watch out for them, and then watch out for you, it's best to have this bond. This was many year's ago when I did this work, cooning tower's. I started out making $3.50 per hour. I would carry paint in, up the big hill's, a 5 gal. bucket on each shoulder, mix, or box, the paint, climb up and refill their bucket's. Until they thought I was getting good enough to start painting, at the bottom at first. Height never bothered.me back then, so I caught on quick. Within a couple of months, I was painting top to bottom, we called certain parts by name, the box, the arm's, the goat head, the ass ache, etc. Average size tower's, if I remember correctly took 8-10 gallons per tower. We worked on some really big tower's that one arm took that.much paint. Tower's never bothered.me so much. Once I stepped on an angle iron that was missing a bolt on one end, and it bent down and gave me a little scare. Probably the worst though, was we would get laid off in the winter, unless we wanted to go south, and work for another company, which I did once, I think In late 1977 or early 1978, we went to Houston Texas for a company out of St Louis I think. They would push safety too much, especially in substations. This is the same company my good friend worked for when he got into an engerized ( hot ) line. The clearance was so little, we would cut our brush handle's off. We should have never done this, it was too close, way too dangerous. But, we did, and nobody was hurt, at least while I was there. Are you still painting high voltage tower's ? Did you also work in electrical substations painting? Sorry to ramble on so much. If your still doing this work, just be careful. Don't let any company force you to do any painting without proper clearance, like cutting off brush handle's. It's not worth it. I seen what it did to my friend. Be safe, watch out for your co-workers. Thanks, John

[@tombenfield1002]

As a former steeplejack I can really equate to these fine men. A lot of our work included Toshing and I can still taste the Bitumen that we got covered in on those high wind days. Loved the friendship that comes from dangerous work and still bear the sadness of dear friends lost. Also loved the "away" jobs, going to so many different places and meeting so many great people from Cornwall to the tip of Scotland. Yes, we were foolhardy at times, but thats the mantle of young men and our strength and fitness kept us pretty safe. Respect to all those who head for the sky, stay safe and always go home to the wife and kids. A lovely film. Steeplejack Tom.

[@dawiglaf]

Probably one of the most unsung of all documentaries. This has a warmth and sincerity that is almost unprecedented. Brilliant. A must watch. John Grierson would have been proud.

[@soundseeker63]

Proper men, balls of steel! No way would I do this job. Props to them for keeping the light on for the rest of us!

[@ferroxglideh5621]

I found this doc from a link from "pylon of the month", and it really moved me. This is a very necessary job that very few are aware of. Full respect! The physical and mental challenge these guys face to maintain the flow of electricity for the rest of us is nearly heroic. The next time that I'm working on a tall ladder or up on a steep roof and begin to get a little weak-kneed, I will remember them.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

I added this video to my favorite list. This video was very touching to me, I use to paint high voltage towers ( pylons ) years ago, in my younger days. The guys I worked with , were a really bunch of good guys, we became really close. We not only worked together, but we shared a room together, ate with each other, and went out drinking together. Just as they did in this video. Really brought back some good memories watching this video. There were some differences, but basically the same hard, dangerous work. We never wore safety harness, or hard hats. We couldn't use ropes to pull paint up. But, the biggest difference is we painted high voltage towers while they were " hot ", or energized. The middle arm was kind of hairy, you had a hot line above you, and one below. Every person had a certain part to paint. We would rub down with Vaseline also, it made the paint come off easier. We wore rag hats, t-shirts, to keep the paint out of hair and neck. long sleeve shirts and pants in the hot of summer.We used semi-oval brushes only, no rollers. My closest scare came when I stepped on an steel angle, and a bolt was missing out of one end, but I caught myself, and kept painting. Years after I transferred my book closer to home, and regular industry painting, a good tower painting friend got into a "hot" line while painting in a substation. I appreciate the video, it really brought back some old memories.My hat's off to you tower ( pylon) painters. I have great respect for guys that work hard, dangerous jobs each day. Good luck guys, stay safe! Thanks, John from Indiana

[@Landie_Man]

john g john g what an awesome comment. I found this documentary absolutely fascinating. I would never be able to do this job, but hats off to these guys. This was filmed in 1997 and I expect their methods were frowned upon then by the safety departments. They would never happen now! How interesting to hear from someone over the pond speak about his experiences. I’d have been 7 when this was filmed. But to me, it’s such a humbling programme about normal guys, real reality tv, not crap reality tv.

[@redrobbo1896]

john g what local?

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

@@redrobbo1896 I just seen, It was many year's ago, a small company out of Indianapolis, I think it was 1825, but I'm not sure. Then I transferred my book to IUPAT locally, where I retired from.

[@IanConcannon]

Saw this on telly, i think when first shown. Captivated by it then and now. Thank you to all involved.

[@IanConcannon]

One day soon, I'll try to stamp the lid off a tin of paint. I'll have it full of water though.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

When we painted tower's that were planted, either corn, soybeans, or whatever, we had to walk in, if it was a pasture with livestock, cow's, we had to erect a temporary fence to prevent the cow's from licking the paint, and dying. The farmer's, or landowner's, could not prevent us from accessing the towers, pylons, because the utility had a right of way. Very seldom did we have any issues though. We use to play tricks on each other at times. Like, put a heavy rock in somebody's paint bucket, or cut the bristles off their brush. It was damn hard work, so we had to have a little fun Like I said earlier, back then, many year's ago, we painted every tower while it was " hot", energized, we would crawl out on the arm's, especially the middle arm, a hot line over you, one under you, humming. At times, we would get a static shock, it didn't really hurt, it just reminded you, to be careful. I know what these guy's go thru, it's hard ass, dirty work, but I enjoyed it, I liked the guy's I worked with, and I was much younger then too. Be careful guy's. I hope you all are doing well. John, Indiana

[@sueboyle4379]

Brilliant, eye-opening and moving. A wonderful documentary. Would love to see more work by this film-maker.

[@formonthills]

Thanks for the video. Very dangerous job, that most people take for granted. I had the pleasure of meeting Neil this week, and what a top bloke ! Cheers - George from Scotland ;-)

[@Landie_Man]

Neil from this?

[@NeilSpencerBruce]

Fantastic I've been searching for this documentary for ages

[@tomstickland]

Great upload. Now that is a dangerous and unpleasant job. They all have harnesses but looks like no one bothers connecting them to anything, Look like a good bunch of guys.

[@walterfrancis1155]

Loved this job all the men watching out for each other brothers of the brush

[@Rdgr.]

Old Memories Old Faces Remembered.

[@Landie_Man]

Rog are you on here?

[@fosie100]

Cant believe I stumbled across this video. Worked with Roger and frip, top grafters.

[@davidmcclinton895]

Did this job for two days and then jacked. Could not hack it respect to these lads.

[@JudyPenning]

The bravery of heroes. I never knew until seeing this that pylons actually need painting! I always thought that they were so rugged that they just stood there without such maintenance. All the same, why paint them? The metal thickness will mean that they will remain structurally strong for decades without paint, or am I (obviously) mistaken?!

[@jcb8014]

An a amazing documentary

[@leefield2402]

Hiya Neil,top documentary.

[@turboslag]

That's a proper hard job, I know I couldn't, wouldn't do it!! Not much fat on those blokes!! How frequently are they painted?

[@KirkHermary]

Wearing a harness, attaching a lanyard, but never tying off... what's the point?

[@doggiemouth8514]

Great little doc. Thanks for sharing. Two questions; what happened to these lads 20+ years later? How are things done different today?

[@Landie_Man]

Doggie Mouth I found someone and we were speaking of the programme; turns out he works/has worked with some. The young lad, 29, the ex soldier is still doing the job, and I think 1 or 2 of the others are still doing it From what I’ve heard it’s the same, but they use slightly better harnesses and high viz

[@funkyhandyman1294]

Whats the point of wearing a safety harness if your not connecting it to anything while your up there?

[@drawingboard82]

Excellent, very moving.

[@eddiephillips2000]

Tough way to make a living! Thanks for sharing with us 'Earthlings'. :~) Hope each of you find that special rest in life (Retirement?) someday soon.

[@mickeyp5122]

Great Video . These lads have nerves of steel. Does any one no when this film was made. I'm thinking mid 90s ?

[@pmbrowne8545]

1997.

[@MrJonah53]

When I was a kid some of these were erected next to home. Fantastic climbing frames, before they went live of course. Mother used to go mad if she caught us. It did get me hooked on steel frames though and I spent my working years erecting. My moto, you can't fall, there's too much to hold on to.

[@basilguts1786]

Proper grafters them lads.👍

[@kobusvanboxtel5322]

I dit this job for six years in holland i really liked it ,we dit use other brushes but the rest was exactly the same

[@womersleydanny1178]

many thanks.

[@boomleaf]

paint like piss and bumping bear steel, great work lads :)

[@procta2343]

Great job! I never thought how tough it would be paint these! Some people who wont get a job should be shoved on jobs like this! They will sharp find other work! I do hope these lads are paid good for the job they do,

[@t-rex4211]

Are they still painted this way and how often?

[@likatwaaaaaaaa2466]

great britains astronauts

[@pyewackett3822]

I wonder where they all are today?

[@pyewackett3822]

Good on you feller, hope all is good. Watch out for old bags and their dogs!

[@toshisba]

+neil pazadian Great documentary, mate. My Missis has been asked if she wants to be a pylon painter (she's no ordinary woman; she's an athlete) by a local pylon painting company who want to recruit a female. Have you ever seen a woman do this job before?

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

neil pazadian Hi Neil, I left a comment with the video. I use to paint high voltage towers ( pylons) here in the States. This was years ago, but the memories are still very fond. We guys that painted together, were very close. I just wanted to say Hi, and for you to be careful. I really liked the video. Be safe man. John from Indiana, USA

[@NorseCode.81]

what year was this film made >?

[@09weenic]

1997

[@JeremyDStrong]

Can someone tell me what the green/white bracelets were for?

[@neilpazadian5231]

Each bracelet is a colour code. Each climbing leg has a colour code and your bracelet has to match to show you are on the earthed side. Regards, Neil.

[@Landie_Man]

@@neilpazadian5231 are you Fripp from this documentary?

[@neilpazadian5231]

yes mate@@Landie_Man

[@neilpazadian5231]

@@Landie_Man yes mate

[@linehandibew6205]

I love that they have harnesses but don’t use them. I bet it would slow them down and the boss would t like that.

[@orbitalforest]

Watching this again , surely one crew can't paint 9 or 10 towers in a day ?

[@ka5269]

Music by Holger Zschenderlein

[@BritishEngineer]

10:31 10kV however naff current, that voltage would soon drop.

[@deezelfairy]

Still not sure I'd want it whilst 100ft in the air while steadying myself with one arm 😂

[@glennbervoets8204]

👍

[@railgap]

I've never seen a pylon being painted in my life. Ours are galvanized.

[@orbitalforest]

Bloody hell that's proper graft .I hope they get paid extremely well for doing that. Total respect. i'll stick to my "normal" painting job thanks.

[@tychothefriendlymonolith]

Anyone else here from Galloping Conductors?

[@CraigMacfarlane-r3m]

Just came across this video. I remember watching this on tv back in 1998. Excellent

[@rosco4659]

'Keep the head and change the body' I work with a few old towers lads on wood pole and they all suffer with broken bodies and are in pain all the time. This has been an awesome watch!

[@snoozert3402]

@20:00, "what 2 coats" yes that's why they are painters by trade and she isn't.

[@DavidHopkinson-l8j]

Looks like a prick of a job...

[@mickm234]

Kick the lid off the tin of Micacous Iron Ore…

[@BritishEngineer]

It’s amazing to see the class deviation between electrical engineers and the linesmen/painters involved. A comparison between the white collar and blue collar workers. Deviation between the ones who design these systems, where their personalities of dealing with the physics are embedded in the cables and pylon structures.

[@bigears4426]

Whatever these men get paid it's not enough

[@muckychimney]

Brilliant documentary, definitely unsung hero's of the modern working world

[@sandwich2473]

I remember being in school when there were people up the pylon next to it painting it there was a gold layer, and I think maybe a purple layer? And then the silver layer. Could have just been the way the light was hitting the tower I was always in awe of them

[@dsds3968]

I really like this documentary. Nicely edited without too much music, it allows the story to tell itself.

[@markhughes8314]

I got a mate that does this. But until I watched this I didn't really realise how fearless you got to be! I would definitely have those harnesses attached mind you!. Couldn't do that job. Well I could, the bloke in the vans job anyway.

[@neilpazadian5231]

He was the foreman for this video, he paints them also.

[@markhughes8314]

@@neilpazadian5231 Ah. Just noticed the name lol. I think my mate used to work with you. Nuff. Suffolk?

[@neilpazadian5231]

@@markhughes8314 No worries mate! Yeah I remember the name along with some Norfolk lads as well.

[@nickygreenfingers]

Amazing stuff, hard workers & risky too, my respect to you all

[@duncanhoyland7779]

Fripp from Beeston Nottingham used to work for Pat Burke on the 132 going back from years no safety harnesses then. Is that punk Dave

[@Landie_Man]

You’d think by 1997 it would all be pretty standard

[@christyler5700]

I have applied for this job a few days ago from being a home delivery driver I hope I get this job. Thank you for uploading this content to show the real life of a tower painter

[@chriswood753]

I worked as a linesman for a company in Mansfield called Eve which were bought out by Babcock. There is also Balfour Beatty, Amec are the bigger companies but there are a lot of smaller outfits. Great money but your away from home I was home 4 days a month.

[@colliedogjoy]

Amazing doc- will remember this every time I get fed up with painting - I don't even do exterior work!!

[@tasty_fish]

Fascinating video, unbelievable skills.

[@Landie_Man]

What happened to the old comical thumbnail!

[@bobjary9382]

....you missed a bit