Nostalgic aspects of RailwaysG. Ravishankar‘Article opens:’Recalling the steam engines used in railways, how railway engineers
managed to overcome obstacles? .But it came at a price - being a driver could be hot and demanding work."It was very uncomfortable. You were hanging out of one side and being roasted by the other - an odd sensation."In 1940 Allan Richardson came out of the office and started work as an engine cleaner. He remembers the job as being very messy."It was very very dirty with oil and grease from the engines.""Sometimes you got a messy job with suicides - even cattle. You'd have to clean them from the underside of carriages.""You worked in a team, and you got 20 hours with five of you allocated. The senior one did the boiler and tank, the junior one did the dirtier jobs.""They were really dirty. You were soaked in rags of paraffin from rubbing the engine down.""Imagine having an Aladdin's lamp, or an oil lamp with a wick that you fill with paraffin. You lit it and there you were under the engine - it was smoky and dirty.""You were absolutely filthy. Apart from doing the cleaning, there was also larking around, throwing rags at one other."The Joy of SteamWorking on the
railways did have its advantages like driving a steam train in good weather."There's really no feeling like driving a steam engine. It's entirely up to you. It's a physical thing - you're using every sense, sight, sound, touch, and smell. It's a marvellous feeling."NationalisationMany of the railway workers were optimistic about
Nationalisation, believing it would improve prospects for the rail industry."Everybody was full of hope. We were downhearted that the railways were ground down during the war. There was no investment.""We were all elated and overjoyed. We were going to get the engines we wanted, it was going to be different," says Allan.But those high hopes were to be smashed by events that followed.End of an EraAllan Richardson remembers the post-nationalisation years.