Want to know what hard work is? (VR)

[Ray Murphy]

Hi All,

You know how it goes - "Back when I was a lad, I had to walk 3 miles
(5km) to school and back every day, and then polish the brass, feed
the chooks, oil the harness etc etc..........."
Well back then when all those poor kids were doing that - this is what
some railway staff were doing:-

In the 'olden days' on the St. Kilda line in Melbourne, according to a
1920's timetable I saw once, there were trains going in each direction
every 6 minutes - except in peak periods when they ran every 4 mins.
This meant that the Signalman at Albert Park (the half-way point on
that short run) would have been swinging the gates every several
minutes for the whole shift!

Now anyone who knows how heavy those wheels were for opening and
closing the road gates will tell you THAT'S WORK.
I'll bet they always got oiled :-)

Can anyone here verify my 1920's timetable recollection?

Ray

[Mark Newton]

Ray Murphy wrote:
>
> In the 'olden days' on the St. Kilda line in Melbourne, according to a
> 1920's timetable I saw once, there were trains going in each direction
> every 6 minutes - except in peak periods when they ran every 4 mins.
> This meant that the Signalman at Albert Park (the half-way point on
> that short run) would have been swinging the gates every several
> minutes for the whole shift!
>
> Now anyone who knows how heavy those wheels were for opening and
> closing the road gates will tell you THAT'S WORK.
> I'll bet they always got oiled :-)

Bloody hard work, but there are ways around the problem - I was once in
a signal box where the enterprising staff had jury-rigged an old
Hoover washing machine motor to drive the capstans for the level
crossing gates!

Ring.

[Eddie Oliver]

Ray Murphy wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> You know how it goes - "Back when I was a lad, I had to walk 3 miles
> (5km) to school and back every day, and then polish the brass, feed
> the chooks, oil the harness etc etc..........."
> Well back then when all those poor kids were doing that - this is what
> some railway staff were doing:-

Yes. The older generation thought nothing of hard work. The younger
generation doesn't think much of it either.