Vintage railway film - Day to day track maintenance, part 1 - Plain line - 1952

[@mozzalid33]

Must of been a nightmare with all the different types of track fixings. All done by hand as well no fancy tool's just hard work and an expert eye. Plus the hilarity of the opening lines about Bob and his length, love these old info film's can't be matched nowadays.

[@kaasmeester5903]

A nightmare but a source of pride as well. A level of expertise required from the managers, the gang bosses down to the individual workers. As a Gen X I feel like I caught the tail end of that: the requirement, but also the recognition, of individual excellence. These days it's all parameterized and worked down to the numbers, each worker interchangeable because God forbid a manager has to manage an individual member of staff. As my former and very astute manager called it: "predictable mediocrity". That is what we have these days.

[@FB-tq5ln]

It was very hard work for all permanent way men. My father in law was a tough worker. He worked as a driver on the Hill of Howth trams in Dublin Ireland. Worked in numerious positions on the railway until his retirement. Bless him That film was brilliant thank you

[@adriankingston4338]

Thats a very rare type of film to see how track maintinance is carryed out in the days of steam that was awsome !!!

[@dieseldog4752]

I'm still amazed at how these men performed all this work without the use of any machines & pure skill.

[@petermainwaringsx]

My grandfather did this stuff on British Rail, Western Region. His length of line was from Gowerton to Cockett just west of Swansea. Although I spent quite a lot of time with his gang during the school holidays, no H&S in those days, I never knew how much was involved. Thank you for posting this fascinating video.

[@Toorakable]

Fantastic archive, as a young Kiwi on my big OE in 1979 I was living in Slough and got a job with the track gang. We had an Italian ganger and his mate in charge. Spent many a day inspecting and maintaining the Slough to Windsor central line with gear a lot like this plus the wheelbarrow 😁 The tools weighed a ton from memory - good times 😊

[@MegaPepsimax]

This was absolutely fascinating! I love steam trains and everything about them

[@michaeltaylor3358]

Absolutely fascinating. These gangs must have cursed whoever decided to bring in the bolt fixing from underneath the sleepers!

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

actually once they did it a few times, it would become easier and faster over time, so at first it may be annoying but after a few times being done, its a regular non-hassle job.

[@Littleharvesterrepairshop]

I agree, yet another case where whoever designed it never stopped to think about those fixing it.

[@hifijohn]

Not to mention a simple wooden block to hold rail against the chair, did they even think vibrations would eventually loosen the block? In another clip he puts some type of paste in the hole,he uses a rough thread then the actual screw but why not just use the actual screw

[@steffennijhuis4143]

jacco nouwen (28-12-1968)

[@Sterlingjob]

Maybe they didn’t become loose as the others did as much?

[@johncanna7856]

Well done the unsung heroes of the track. Their job was vital, although many passengers didn't think about their role. Good on you lads.👍

[@Isochest]

The same applies today as it will into the future. The Permanent way staff continue regardless

[@LordTantrums007]

Note how neat and tidy the lineside is c1950s with all the excess vegetation cut well back, this was to reduce the fire risk yet probably meant a minimum of leaves on the line. Today the national railway network is in many areas a shocking disgrace.

[@stewartellinson8846]

it was very labour intensive - as we see here - or used a lot of chemicals. These costs and environmental harms aren't acceptable now.

[@xr6lad]

I have no issue spraying things to keep them down. The alternative is you’ve just spent hundreds of millions building something and your not maintaining it and have to end up cutting back more than if you had done it the proper way in the first place.

[@tackywhale5664]

Very poor excuses. Oh, and fuck the physical ground environment. Climate change matters more.

[@grahamkent2868]

Great video,I'm impressed by how neat and tidy the permanent is maintained - and also no weeds on the tracks!

[@geraldhannibal7654]

Thank you for this interesting and educational film. Then it was a job for life; great in the summer but winter's another story I'm sure. Looking forward to more contributions. Bless you and yours. G

[@tankmicr00man]

Unsung heroes I reckon - none of the glamour for them. Tim

[@greghilton7797]

The wonder wheelbarrow always has the right fittings for the job and at the blink of an eye is full of chippings when needed.

[@2112pk]

it's a stunt wheelbarrow

[@SteamCase]

The wheelbarrow was a paid actor.

[@2112pk]

@@SteamCase i should hope all the actors were paid

[@grazzer1673]

I know, right! This video would have been so much more authentic had we gotten to witness gruelingly long period of idle time, while the waymen went and fetched the proper tools. What could the producer of this film have possibly been thinking, to deliver such a impossibly unrealistic and convenient situation?

[@davesaunders3334]

@@grazzer1673 - It’s almost like they’ve cut the film into concise scenes which explain the process clearly.

[@waightkl]

Horrified to see the "paste" that was used to pack a loose rail chair hole. The wonderful material that the worker was immersing in the water and then working with his hands contained a large proportion of asbestos. It was regarded as a wondrous material back then. The horrors of the lung disease it caused hadn't yet been realised

[@xr6lad]

It’s danger was well known by the 1930’s/40’s.

[@flunkyminion]

There was a domestic version of that asbestos fibre filler, made by Rawlplug. You mixed it up with water just the same, to hold screws in the wall for shelves and such like. Our nickname for it was 'dead men's whiskers'.

[@johnmorris3744]

You’re right, all that dust flying around and no protection in sight … pretty grim. Makes me wonder if people 100 years from now will view plastic the same way. “Oh, they knew the dangers and the inability to biodegrade but they thought it was a wonder material…”

[@davids8449]

Excellent copy of the film, also very interesting and informative film of times I remember and miss

[@rodneyandbrendamay6463]

I remember as a young boy regularly seeing a chap, with a large spanner slung over his shoulder, walking along the Fremantle line checking it.

[@johngardham6488]

Liz kay 2:20

[@stefankassbohrer2765]

The workers knew why they were tired in the evening ... good report

[@stewartellinson8846]

That fibrous fill plug looks suspiciously like the old rawlplug compound, that you used to get before plastic plugs were invented. It - and what's being used here I suspect - was asbestos based.

[@COIcultist]

Quite a few have commented on the lack of a lookout but what about the beautifully tended cess that you can easily push a wheelbarrow along. Fat chance nowadays.

[@stephenrice4554]

I've pushed one of those barrows for many miles , the magic barrow would have saved some sweat 😁

[@michaelrutherford8908]

Amazing, it makes you wonder how the navvies built them

[@peterjhillier7659]

Thank you for posting this lovely Film, brought back wonderful Memories of working in a P. Way Gang, hard Work but loved every Minute of it no Day was ever the same, one of the best Jobs I ever had and still miss it. I worked with some grand Lads. It is a good Film but where were is his Lookout Protection?

[@Toorakable]

Ditto Peter although twas a temp job for me as I was earning £ to travel being a Kiwi on the OE gig. We definitely had lookouts especially on the mainline to Paddington with the 125s hurtling down the track! I remember seeing this Irish guy getting smacked in the face by a nylon rail insulator that had been flung in the air from the passage of the train - ouch!

[@buzzofftoxicblog791]

😊🌏 I like statement regular matenece saves big jobs. There is something appeling checking rail way track. Love Railways will have a big future. Thank you posting this very important film 🎥

[@grantbeerling4396]

Need a chippings fork for site type one, looks like a great tool. Miss the old leather donkey jackets. Great short movie.

[@eifionhughes2707]

Who was on lookout duty whilst the gang was working on the line. Asking for a friend. Brilliant archive footage. 👍👍

[@shaunmarriott2918]

Asked myself the same. In the days of this film, early 1950's I think, it might be that the pattern of traffic on this line was so regular the gang worked within that. Though there is always the chance of a light engine or other train running in between the regular timetabled trains, hence need for a lookout at any time. Great piece of film and a fly-on-the-wall of the men who kept the tracks safely maintained, unnoticed by so many travellers.

[@jazzman1626]

Anyone else hoping that if you’re ever on “who wants to be a millionaire”, your million pound question will be “where would a MacBeth Spike Anchor be used?”?

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

we don't use BR system question on Millionaire.

[@hifijohn]

I personally like the hamlet or Romeo and Juliet spike.

[@shaunmarriott2918]

'Pat and Fred can get on with it.....' as they step out onto the running line to shovel the ballast with no lookout man to warn of any approaching trains. Great old instructional film showing how the permanent way was maintained before widespread mechanisation and stronger health and safety regulation.

[@whiteknightcat]

Unless the train dispatcher had already given them a maintenance window in which to work, with traffic held until expiration of the window.

[@shaunmarriott2918]

​@@whiteknightcatThat's a good point but I'd have thought the film would mention working whilst the line was under possession, usually taken locally with the local signal boxes, otherwise 'between trains' as there was probably a fair amount a slack between train movements back then. Either way, I love these films, partly because they illustrate what went into keeping things going and the people who were behind it all. They are carrying a fair amount of weight in that old wheelbarrow too and look how sharp the edge of the cess is along the track.

[@Richardsrailway]

As an ex pway patrolman the job was done better and with more pride in your section in those days .Also look at the ballast profile and neat cess space

[@jam1966ful]

"..it's the Ganger's job to inspect his length regularly" o.O

[@Jarial7]

A lot of railwaymen wore berets my stepdad did when he was a signal man

[@JoysinglionRichard-mr5us]

Thank you for this interesting and educational film. Then it was a job for life; great in the summer but winter's another story I'm sure. Looking forward to more contributions. Bless you and yours. G

[@Jarial7]

@@JoysinglionRichard-mr5us My family go back four generations on the railway my mum would leave me with two signalmen she knew while she went shopping if your dad was on the railway you were family they took care of their own

[@Spookieham]

Probably a hangover from WW2 when it was used a uniform and was popular afterwards.

[@timwebster8122]

Make do and mend era. Noticed some of the rail is dated 1937

[@stevejones4190]

It's amazing watching this no lookout no hi-viz and thinking what it would be like today if we still used 60 foot bullhead track panels key,s and fish plates instead of CW Rail like today first it would need a T3 block on all the lines ,no walking on the sleeper ends ,steel toe-capped boots and full hi-viz plus hard hat gloves and safety glasses. And believe it or not but that fill plug compound is pure asbestos

[@eddieafterburner]

17:15 Surprised to see all the bolts facing the same direction. Here in the States, we are required to alternate them (e.g., heads of bolts #1 and #3 face the gauge side, heads of #2 and #4 face the field), ostensibly so that in a partial mid-train derailment of a single axle or pair of axles, only 2 of the 4 would be sheared off by an errant wheel or flange, thus leaving the rail joint intact for the following cars.

[@PeterWalkerHP16c]

Boy, this is old school even for the '50s

[@barryjgalbraith2635]

Fascinating video

[@whiteknightcat]

Ah, those heady, halcyon days of yore, before the invention of such luxuries as power tools and gloves.

[@Usa1293-s2k]

Wow i love steam locomotive

[@ianbrown9108]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@philiposborne8598]

Interesting to see that the track maintenance crews at this time had no work gloves or safety equipment at all!

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

remember this was Britain, it was not here in the USA. However I do believe some gangs wore steel toe shoes, but that was rather rare for BR gangs in those days.

[@Tranmere59]

..but all had their Frank Spencer berets.

[@Ashley_van_Schooneveld]

Remember using spikefast then drilling the sleeper and inserting a new screw or using a maintenance screw (much thicker)

[@eddieafterburner]

I don’t ride trains often, but when I do, I ride on track maintained by Bob, Pat, Sammy, and Fred.

[@phwbooth]

Skilled workmen, indeed. Did Fill Plug have white asbestos in it, do you think?

[@timwebster8122]

Looks like it in it's dry form

[@JamLeGull]

Possibly, but you definitely wouldn’t want it on your hands regardless

[@stewartellinson8846]

yes - it looks very similar to what used to be called rawlplug, a compund that you mied up and poked into drilled holes before the plastic plug was invented.

[@BruceMielke-h1b]

Such miniscule realignment. Do you think it would last long under a heavy train.

[@jawtooth963]

Wow, what will they think of next?!

[@robinholland1136]

I'm wondering if the white powdery substance used for repairing over large holes for the chair screws isn't some form of asbestos. I remember my father's tin of Rawlplug compound, which looked very similar and which was wetted and pushed into the screw hole in the wall to take the screw. It was asbestos.

[@Celtic2Realms]

Very interesting thanks

[@beeble2003]

Please tell me there's a subtle cut somewhere between 17:30 (man standing in the four-foot) and 17:33 (train steaming through). Please?

[@thomasthornton2002]

beeble2003, yes there is a slight cut, if the train had been there while he was examining the track the rail would’ve been vibrating

[@wall4818]

Thankfully, yes. Honestly this gave me a chuckle. Look closely and you can see a brief cut in the footage.

[@tomkent4656]

No look-out man on this crew!

[@ianjones4116]

Budget cuts, maintenance overspend, lol.

[@richardgoodhew7817]

Noticed that the Ganger is wearing a Tie.

[@wasted-blaster.]

God doing all that with just 4 blokes!😱

[@neohistoryfan1014]

Did American RRs have similar practices (I. E. screw spikes and enlarged holes, joints and joint bars (fishplates), hanging ties, ballast chippings under ties, curves, and the following tools: fill plug, T-wrenches, void meters, cant plates/monument blocks, track aliners, and alinement gages)? With the joint bars, the maintenance workers have to pry up the spikes slightly.

[@ivanreis1538]

VERY GOOD, THANK YOU!!!

[@eddherring4972]

1:42 having just watched a B.R safety video and a Network Rail safety video saying do not walk on sleepers it’s interesting to see how times have changed. At 1:42 I find the first differences namely no hi-viz and do not walk on sleepers. Another 29 minutes to go but I won’t comment further!

[@jerrykitich3318]

Love how everyone is basically wearing a suit.

[@stevef9530]

Love work, me. I can watch people doing it all day long 🍺

[@michaelmanuell326]

Bob carried some gear in the wheelbarrow.

[@evelynjiles29]

Nostalgia Rush

[@train4905]

Fantastic

[@jeffreyhodge5564]

I’m almost certain that there was a wall plug repair filler that looked very similar to that material being used and was once horrified to watch a tv programme documentary featuring people actuall having home and furniture made from blue asbestos horrific.!

[@davidreay5911]

It's quite surprising that no-one ever thought about supplying track workers with jackets with some high visibility markings .

[@generalsquirrel9548]

Probably would have done it if it was invented

[@erniepforr7155]

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it:

[@obroni]

When they forced me to join a gang, this is not what I was expecting!

[@1BCamden]

watchman (or flagman) ?

[@Paulmcknockiter81]

The ganger inspects his length pmsl

[@laurenceskinnerton73]

Interesting.

[@neilfurby555]

I wonder how long it took to clean hands at the end of shift!

[@jeffreyhodge5564]

I wonder if that filler was asbestos based ,I remember buying wall plug paste asbestos based not that long agp

[@stewartellinson8846]

yes, it looks just like rawlplug that was sold in the UK up until the mid 1970s

[@davesimms5397]

Hmmm, next film is about safety, but with different workers!

[@almonkey1]

would they have had someone watching out for on coming trains?

[@TheAnonymousfruit]

Indeed they would. “Lookouts” were a very responsible job, using a horn or whistle to make the gang aware of the approaching trains. Sometimes due to the speed of approaching trains or track layout (tight curvature, junctions and so on), multiple lookouts would be required to keep the worksite safe. These lookouts would communicate with one another using a large blue and white chequered flag and still do today! However it is being phased out in favour of more technologically advanced methods of warning and protection (such as arranging for complete stoppage of trains and possession of the line for a period of maintenance).

[@genesis070365]

Now compare to the PW of today!!

[@dougie8010]

Working around all the sleepers and rocks which are covered in oil, grease and shit...

[@marmaly]

I feel like the handles on that 2 man driver should be longer for more leverage.

[@JohnSmith-un9fy]

Not any where near this kind of care is taken now a days.

[@matthew_thefallen]

So... when can i start? XD

[@mountainmantararua8824]

Most of these men would have been in the war. Notice the lack of High Viz ware, no warning signs no safety look out. All they had was common sense and they got the job done !!

[@stewartellinson8846]

at this time, around 300 railwaymen were killed per year in the course of their work

[@derail14]

today machines do most of this work.

[@timwebster8122]

For those of us in the heritage Railway sector. This film is a great learning piece

[@32582657]

Seems like they discussed a lot of fine details of track maintenance like checking screws that would be hard for a machine to handle and somehow must be no longer necessary.

[@timwebster8122]

@@32582657 yes track maintenance has changed beyond all recognition. Rail is now continuously welded and the fixings to the sleepers are all spring clips. The sleepers too are concrete and require very little attention

[@ianjones4116]

@@timwebster8122 then and now,, everything heavy,,, Except the Wages .lol. Did like the Free Rail travel passes though. 👍😎

[@keith6400]

No gandy dancers were used in the making of this film.

[@peterdunning2952]

I wonder why none of these men are obese !

[@Mariazellerbahn]

Hard hats, goggles, safety boots, gloves, orange vest .... yeah, good to go.

[@simonsadler9360]

Creosote treated pitch pine sleepers lasted years , now cracked concrete ones need replacement .Looks now via Donations that Steam will be King , trillions of tons now safely mined , no wooden pit props , sensitive gas detectors , no canaries , eco & spark proof Led lighting , we lost our El tren de Las Inglesas from Gandia to Alcoy , my latr dad in the M.N used it , cine films on utube , many of the station buildings preserved as museums with photographs !

[@jfchonors8873]

No power tools for this gang.

[@jamesmartin3914]

look like they are going play golf????

[@Mariazellerbahn]

No straight edges to the ballast these days.

[@Sticks-of-TNT-tf1tn]

🧨

[@davedixon2068]

no young workers though

[@nelutu6506]

Old times and old school for doing the things proper. Today total ignorance.

[@JoysinglionRichard-mr5us]

Anyone else hoping that if you’re ever on “who wants to be a millionaire”, your million pound question will be “where would a MacBeth Spike Anchor be used?”?