Working in the mechanical gang was a mixture of hard labour and an easy life. Digging a hole for a new signal, especially if you met rock, was hard work. Other times though you may be hanging around whilst the Blacksmith and Striker worked on shaping a rod or a crank.
These were the days before BR Standard Point Fittings therefore almost all renewals required unique fittings to fit the site. The introduction of BR Standard Point Fittings and the upgrading of road crossings from gates to barriers led to the extinction of the Blacksmith and Striker.
The area we covered was huge. I remember one worksite being so far away from Redhill that by the time we had been driven there, lit the fire, made the tea, had lunch and been driven back we only managed to carry out actual work for about 2 hours. Less if it was raining. We never worked in the rain. Most of the signal boxes in our area were mechanical involving mechanical signals, mechanical points and level crossings. Level crossings protected by gates operated by the signaller from within the signal box were by far the most complex. Turning the large wheel in the signal box unlocked the gates, closed two of the four gates, one across each side of the road, then closed the other two gates to complete blocking the road both sides, then finally lock them. It sounds easy enough but by turning the wheel, which turns the cogs and gears, the rods operating these movements had to be adjusted to exact measurements for the gates to operate correctly. As with all mechanical equipment there is wear and tear and the fixtures needed to be held secure. Technicians were often called to make finite adjustments and also carried out maintenance to the equipment but finally renewals became a must.
We were carrying out renewals to a level crossing. It was a busy crossing and most of the rods were hidden underground in troughing. Pits allowing access for adjustments, and in this case removal of rods, were boxed in with wood and wooden covers. They were not universal but designed for that particular installation. These were in a bad state and needed renewing.
My Ganger told me that I was going to be the Carpenter. I wasn’t very good at carpentry; in fact at school at the age of 13 I had the choice of carpentry or art. I chose art and wasn’t particularly good at that either. I was once asked by my art mistress if I would paint her in the nude. I agreed but said I would need to keep my socks on for somewhere to put my brushes. Ooops. No jokes I said. Sorry. Anyway, a Carpenter I became. A step up from labourer.
The Telecom gang had an advantage over the Mechanical gang. They had Technicians in their gang with knowledge of electricity. This was highlighted in our mess vans. Theirs was on the buffers immediately adjacent to the exchange. They fitted out their van with electric lights and power points and connected it to power in the exchange. Our van was lit by lighting paraffin tilley lamps and of course we had to light the coal range before we could make tea. Eventually though our van was fitted with electric lights and power points. All that was needed was to join up the power cables, between and under the buffers of our vans. “Your job Roy,” said the Ganger. I climbed under the buffers. I had absolutely no knowledge of electricity. There was a red wire, a brown wire and a yellow and green wire protruding from each of the two cables. Not knowing what to do I just screwed them all together. “That’s not the way to do it,” said the Ganger. Technicians took over and made the joint and there we were, power on and a fast cup of tea.
Yipeee
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