"1100 tons of spoil was removed ..." All by men with picks and shovels wearing flat caps, waistcoats and string round the leggings. And a couple wearing ex Army battledress blouses. A couple of years before this most of these blokes would have been fighting a war. Truly the greatest generation.
The generation afraid to talk about true history, as they suffered war beyond what we can imagine. It's very sad, they are probably the greatest though stifled and shell shocked to down to the DNA
Well said , I've done a bit of digging out during a thickwork renewal at weybridge . Fair amount of old ballast and it can put a thirst on you . But that much at St pancreas, tough lads .
I started on the railway in 1982 and even then a lot of the old guys dressed like those in the video. The railway never really became automated until the 2000s and even when I started a lot of the work was manual including rerailing, clipping up ballasting new ballast from the 4ft and ends or boxing in, fish plate oiling, regrading wet beds retimbering. It was hard work with tough guys doing it but the camaraderie was excellent. Good old days, though it did not feel like it at the time on a 16 to 18 hour shift in all winds and weathers every WE.
I started on the railway in 1982 and even then a lot of the old guys dressed like those in the video. The railway never really became automated until the 2000s and even when I started a lot of the work was manual including rerailing, clipping up ballasting new ballast from the 4ft and ends or boxing in, fish plate oiling, regrading wet beds retimbering. It was hard work with tough guys doing it but the camaraderie was excellent. Good old days, though it did not feel like it at the time on a 16 to 18 hour shift in all winds and weathers every WE.
Surely I can't be the only American who heard "San Diego" at 0:46! (What the narrator actually said was "Messrs. Taylor Brothers of Sandiacre", an English Midlands village conveniently located online to the LMS.)
I'm English, and I thought, "san diego??? ..... ahh, of course, sandiacre" about 7 miles from my birthplace and pretty close to the unit that pressure creosoted timber sleepers, and very central to the whole Midland Division. Presumably the ex LNWR division had its own trackwork department at this time?
I'm an British/Aussie, and I thought it was San Diego as well. Had to rewind to listen again as I thought 'why would they have brought it all from the usa'
I'm an Aussie who's father actually worked at Taylor Bros in the 60's so my ears picked it up immediately. If you haven't already seen it there's a beauty on you tube which actually shows the junction being created at Taylor Bros. "Junction Renewal" - How points and junctions on a railway are made. ruclips.net/video/XcQstLcxiYM/видео.html
The irony is not lost on me (and others, I'm sure) that these fantastic, historic British railway videos are being uploaded by a delightful, Australian railway! Thank you! For those unfamiliar with the geography, Sandiacre where it is stated that the track sections were manufactured is a suburb of Derby and so conveniently located down the main line from St.Pancras.
It seems sadly the powers that be have been deleting some recently from BBR based on the some copyright claim. This one is still here but several others of the same vintage from the same sources suddenly came up with a ‘removed due to copyright’ claim.
Hard times indeed, total respect to the men. I was born the same year as filmed, looking back I never realised how the the atmosphere was so murky compared to today
As a former CNR switchman/brakeman (T-Bay) turned Boilermaker (40 years this year) I could really relate to many aspects of this activity. That steam-powered crane was awesome - like a big T-Rex that rides on rails! Back when British labour was cheap and plentiful! I wondered more than once how long all these 'upgrades' lasted - either before they fell apart or were upgrade again by newer technology. Excellent fun, thanks, 💖 🇨🇦
Just look at the manpower needed to carry out this work on the track's, my father used to do this in the 1960's up until the 80's, it was mostly manual work which was tough on the back and walking on ballast was hard on the feet, and the pay wasn't that good, but it was a job for life, and you got to bring railway sleepers home to burn on the open fire!
I did it for 10yrs,,wish I was still there. Dont forget Sleeper Fence, sleeper base for shed sleeper shed sleeper pond sleeper off cuts as axle stands,,,, list is endless. 😂
Those old sleepers could shoot your chimney up , we got a brush with a brick under it on a length of rope , lobbed it down the chimney every 10 days or so . Stopped the chimney fire .
9:50 Cowan and Sheldon crane made in the St Nicholas works Carlisle now a shopping mall. There's a pub called The Cranemakers nearby. Sadly missed in Carlisle replaced by low paid retail jobs.
This Famous London Terminus St Pancras Station Was Opened On 1st October 1868 From The Midland Railway During The Victorian Times By The Late 19th Century. When The London Midland And Scottish Railway Took It Over In 1923 And British Railways Took It Over As Well Too In 1948 By The Beginning Of The 20th Century. Thanks Mate. X
Just look at what the workers are wearing, many in ordinary clothes, jackets, flat caps, larger hats, no gloves !! And mostly manual work & lifting on a massive complex terminus junction renewal. Incredible ! Ps: yes, I thought I heard San Diego at beginning where junction track pieces were made !
Most enjoyable, informative and a visual delight. My word those Guys earned every shilling for their efforts. Such manual labour was par for the course in those days, bless'em. Not a "hard hat" to be seen!
Amazing film, I fondly remember St Pancras in the 1970s & the famous gas holders, wish I had taken more pictures, before it was redeveloped into Eurostar terminal.
Sounds like there was a small orchestra laid on to keep the lads’ spirits up, and very nice too. Plus a nice cup of tea every now and then… Seriously hard work.
These fellah's knew they'd done a hard days work. All muscle and sweat against unyielding steel, stone and wood. And all done on rationed food and post war privations. I take my hat off to them!
I was born the year this film was made. Work methods had changed little from when the railways were first built 50-100 years before. However In my lifetime work like this has progressed from being mostly manual to being mostly carried out by very expensive machines, with manual labour minimised wherever possible. Plus planning projects like this would have been done on paper by armies of clerks, whereas in today's world project planning is computerised. Finally H&SAW in the UK took another 30 years to become something that people thought about, and the world is, in the main, better for it. So, all in all in this example and others like it, life is relatively easy now compared to then, so be thankful for what you have got and don't moan about what a hard life you have got
Totally fascinating !!! Totally fascinating !!! Humourous, I found the cutting of the rail by hand sawing ! Now it would probably be chopped with a power saw in 5 minutes. I completely enjoyed this. Thank you so very much. I subscribed. Aarre Peltomaa of Mississauga, Ontario
Totally awesome and a very historical documentary. I spent many years spottin there on tour of London stations/depots in the 80's and 90's. Little did i know there was a lady loco driver, sometimes stabling a class 56 into St.Pancras. 2 decades later, one of my listeners on pirate radio turned out to be her. A rare breed of woman lol, i couldnt believe she actually became my girlfriend for a short while. But that was why i called myself dj trainspotter, just in case 'the ultimate spotters dream' was listening to my broadcasts haha!!!! The stories i have are unique and very rare (and heartbreaking too). I believe i am the only trainspotter to of been that lucky eh! :)
No I am. Because I was an avid train spotter in the 1950s. Then I started on the railway 1 day after my 15th birthday in 1961. I drove steam engines when my driver let me and later as a regular driver myself drove. DMUs ,class 31/37/40/45/46/47/90/125/225 also a variety of units such as 123/141/142/143/144/150/153/155/156/158/321/322 . Left the rails in 2008 at 61 and married for the first time at 64 to my gorgeous Ukrainian fiance 20 years younger than me. We have just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. So yes I am a lucky guy.
@@johnward374 Gawd, no! Thats not quite unique is it lol. Check my channel out to understand what i meant. I guess u was based at NL, LO or BG depots? She was at OC, the 2nd female loco driver based there. And she drove the following classes: 101,104, 108, 116, 117, 118, 121 and loco classes for over 25 years 08, 09, 31, 33, 37, 47, 50, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 66 and 67.
@@djtrainspotter Hi. That's quite a list of DMUs. I didn't list them myself but most of those units I did in fact drive including 124s The TransPennine sets that ran from Liverpool to Hull with a buffet bar. I moved to Holbeck 1968 then later then to Leeds Stn. This depot when NL and Bradford also combined was the the biggest footplate depot in the UK.
@@johnward374 A fine selection of classes sir. Yes shame i'm not old enough to of seen 123's or 46's but being in 3rd rail land here, there were plenty of Hastings and thumper units etc this way, as well as the 'exotic' EMU's lol. Yes NL is a rather large depot, went there once up from Kent before the 308's were replaced.
Love the music, vastly out of scale so to speak but the clipped accent of the narrator is even better. If you spoke like this nowadays, they would look at you gone out.
These would have been the same guys that would be out the night following a blitz attack to rebuild the destroyed tracks so there was barely a delay in train services during the war a few years earlier. Well experienced.
This work was done by gangs of men from local areas including the St Pancras gangs. These were the men who's day job was patrolling and maintaining the track, so it was in all their interests to make a good job of the initial re-laying to minimise future problems. Sadly, as so aptly shown in the film, scant regard was given to the men's safety, a matter not properly addressed until the H&SAW act came in.
O H and S, what was that???? So much has changed, men with no gloves, no high vis clothing hard hats and so much hard graft. Note the man with the giant hacksaw cutting a rail, simply amazing . I can remember ST Pancras in the very late 50s and into the slate 60s. How much it has changed, all that track gone and now St Pancras international. I love the old gasometers between St Pancras and KX, they have cleverly kept the wonderful Victorian ironwork and built apartments in the middle. Nice to see that they still stand.
@@thebrothers3971 Agreed. The men and women worked, using what was available for nourishment and survival. What would we do after being involved in a Total War, t? Stay free. 🍻 💚 😎
Safety boots, no other PPE, no hi viz vests nothing. A great job done in a very short time hard after the end of hostilities. And a shortage of steel as well.
3:45-4:04 Six men lift a short section of rail onto a wagon by hand. 4:09 Narrator: "Crane-power was used to the maximum possible extent." 4:37-4:52 Nine men lift a short section of rail onto a wagon by hand. 🤔
One day, whilst working in the excess fares booth, a passenger approached me and asked me how she might catch a train to St. Pancreas. I kid you not. A wonderful moment.
8:42 WOW! I'm watching this in awe! Is that really how they used to cut rails? (A rhetorical question) Just looking at the little rig he's got there, it would take all day to cut through that rail! Surely they had air or steam powered tools to speed up the process somewhat? Unless I'm missing something here. Doesnt seem to be powered by my eye.
Great piece of film of stuff that was taken for granted, with 'clipped' accent narration, of its time. Years before mechanisation of permanent way work, huge gangs of men (with hats, berets) shifting 1100 tonnes (!) of ballast, also sleepers, rails, dismantling and relaying the whole junction and this was pre-BR days too. Hard, heavy work in all weathers, they must have had some stories to tell. The old coal drops disappeared around the 1960's and gasometers were moved across the adjacent canal in the early 2000's, there is also a nature reserve (Camley Street) just beyond the area of where these gasometers stood. Also, the lookout man at 2.50 looks a bit like Sid James to me......
A couple of dozen British blokes were needed for this. Fast forward 50 years and a multi billiion quid similar experiment took place at Euston at the behest of a tax evader which took two years and more money than most people can undertand and in the process, these 1940s blokes made a difference, whereas in 1990s the change amounted to the square root of sweet fork all.
Re. what sounds like "All the trackwork was manufactured by Messrs. Taylor Brothers of San Diego" (0:44); It was actually made by Taylor Brothers of *Sandiacre*, Derbyshire, England. :) HTH
No gloves, no hard hat, no hi-vis, bet there was plenty nipped fingers in those days, no modern track laying machinery either..They were hard workers them guys..
I worked with a group recently that discovered buried railroad in what was thought to be empty farm land....as recorded by census and historical local data. Is your company able to identify production componentry and manufacturer of possible old world construction?
Ahh, yiss! The whole treck was oit of sirviss for elmost twilve hires, whale the work wiz indertaken on a Sinday. Lovely vid, really appreciate the upload. As it happens, while photographing for BR in the very early 90's, I walked out on this busy bit of track, but knew nothing of its history. The gasometers had been decommissioned by then and there were only a few vestigial trackside sheds left, no signal boxes, etc.
The number of people dying in accidents at work in the UK is about one third of what it was even 30 years ago. So the answer to your question is "By a combination of luck and being willing to put up with more injuries than you'd want to happen to you."
Mainly by being aware of the dangers and taking care. Health and safety is a good thing but it breeds ignorance of dangers, then unfortunately, accidents still happen.
@@caroleast9636 No, they just got injured and killed more, and it was accepted because they were poor it had always been that way. There's a point in this video where you see a guy ducking in panic because he's just seen the section of track being craned inches above the top of his head.
7:18 health and safety would be all over the site if they were around back then. That bloke riding the section of panel track would be fired from his job if health and safety saw him.
@NIKE RailfanningTTM - yep; he'd be fired by some twerp based in an office, who'd never set foot on the trackside, and who wouldn't know a rail from a sleeper. Now? Take a look at the reports issued by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. They've all got hard hats, top to toe hi-vis, a COSS, a PICOP, a Safe System of Work - and they're STILL getting killed because they walk in the four-foot, with their backs to oncoming trains! Health and Safety systems are NO substitute for plain ol' common sense.
"Kings Cross? It's still St Houston!" "It's Paddington! I tell ya!" "It's Kingscross!!!!!!" _______________________________________ "It's st pancreas now..."
There were also various some dismantled sections from the gasometers stored further up the top of Camley Street, a dead end road on the West side of the railway. As far as I can recall those at the South end, on Goods Way, were actually triplets and the more interesting design compared to those on the West side of the railway. There is also a small green space by the canal which is within another of the gasometers, it's for people to walk into or sit inside. Those gasometers were a great part of the skyline for me, along with old diesels that ran along the St Pancras line.
@@BennettBrookRailway I've listened to it again and it's obviously Sandiacre. My playing in rock bands for forty years has taken its toll on my hearing! Thanks for clarifying.
Lots of men NOT wearing gloves and carrying heavy loads. Amazing, since using gloves magnifies apparent strength and deters debilitation. Didn't people understand that in 1947? If not the bosses, the laborers should have known that.
In those heady days customers were still offered a service of trains despite all this work taking place. Now things are rather different: the whole railway is closed down for extended periods and people are told "do not travel"-so tough luck if you were hoping to travel by train. And a lot of such work involves replacing infrastructure which was torn out by BR in the late 20th century
There never was a "London Midland Railway". St Pancras was built by the Midland Railway, which was one of the companies that was amalgamated to form the LMS in the 1923 grouping.
i'm sorry but I can't watch this any more. To see where we came from and where we are now is too upsetting. The railways are symbollic of our ongoing inability to do anyting now.
I bet nun of those chaps reached retirement age of 65, they died properly around their 50s! That’s why the government set the retirement age at 65. 10:27
What was that device at 13.10? That gruelling and dangerous work didn't deserve that wholly inappropriate musical soundtrack. The number of injuries and fatalities must have been enormous, especially poignant since many of those men would have been in the forces in the Second World War. A fascinating film, just glad I wasn't around then!
The mystery device at 13:10 is a rail drill, used for drilling the holes through the rail allowing the track (circuit) leads to be pinned to the rails.
"1100 tons of spoil was removed ..."
All by men with picks and shovels wearing flat caps, waistcoats and string round the leggings. And a couple wearing ex Army battledress blouses.
A couple of years before this most of these blokes would have been fighting a war.
Truly the greatest generation.
The generation afraid to talk about true history, as they suffered war beyond what we can imagine. It's very sad, they are probably the greatest though stifled and shell shocked to down to the DNA
Truly strong and resilient people. They were the people who made our country great despite the severe trauma they endured
Well said , I've done a bit of digging out during a thickwork renewal at weybridge . Fair amount of old ballast and it can put a thirst on you . But that much at St pancreas, tough lads .
I started on the railway in 1982 and even then a lot of the old guys dressed like those in the video. The railway never really became automated until the 2000s and even when I started a lot of the work was manual including rerailing, clipping up ballasting new ballast from the 4ft and ends or boxing in, fish plate oiling, regrading wet beds retimbering. It was hard work with tough guys doing it but the camaraderie was excellent. Good old days, though it did not feel like it at the time on a 16 to 18 hour shift in all winds and weathers every WE.
I started on the railway in 1982 and even then a lot of the old guys dressed like those in the video. The railway never really became automated until the 2000s and even when I started a lot of the work was manual including rerailing, clipping up ballasting new ballast from the 4ft and ends or boxing in, fish plate oiling, regrading wet beds retimbering. It was hard work with tough guys doing it but the camaraderie was excellent. Good old days, though it did not feel like it at the time on a 16 to 18 hour shift in all winds and weathers every WE.
Surely I can't be the only American who heard "San Diego" at 0:46! (What the narrator actually said was "Messrs. Taylor Brothers of Sandiacre", an English Midlands village conveniently located online to the LMS.)
I didn't know he hadn't said that until you pointed it out. John UK
JoeRailfan.. I'm English and on first hearing it sounds like it. I got Sandiacre after listening very carefully . near Nottingham not California !!!!
I'm English, and I thought, "san diego??? ..... ahh, of course, sandiacre" about 7 miles from my birthplace and pretty close to the unit that pressure creosoted timber sleepers, and very central to the whole Midland Division. Presumably the ex LNWR division had its own trackwork department at this time?
I'm an British/Aussie, and I thought it was San Diego as well. Had to rewind to listen again as I thought 'why would they have brought it all from the usa'
I'm an Aussie who's father actually worked at Taylor Bros in the 60's so my ears picked it up immediately. If you haven't already seen it there's a beauty on you tube which actually shows the junction being created at Taylor Bros. "Junction Renewal" - How points and junctions on a railway are made. ruclips.net/video/XcQstLcxiYM/видео.html
The irony is not lost on me (and others, I'm sure) that these fantastic, historic British railway videos are being uploaded by a delightful, Australian railway! Thank you! For those unfamiliar with the geography, Sandiacre where it is stated that the track sections were manufactured is a suburb of Derby and so conveniently located down the main line from St.Pancras.
Thanks, I couldn't think why they needed to get the track from America.
I thought he said San Diego too ! But I am old and deaf so no shame either.
Thanks, I love comment info.
Thank you! You are very welcome! @@deadpresident78
It seems sadly the powers that be have been deleting some recently from BBR based on the some copyright claim. This one is still here but several others of the same vintage from the same sources suddenly came up with a ‘removed due to copyright’ claim.
Hard times indeed, total respect to the men. I was born the same year as filmed, looking back I never realised how the the atmosphere was so murky compared to today
I suppose a lot of coal and wood was still being used in homes for heating and cooking.
Looking how tough that work was I'm not surpised going to the pub of an evening was so popular back then.
Fabulous video , incredibly interesting to see how they did all that work back then and the music is delightful...thanks so much.
1947 the very year I was born, loved watching this.
‘47 was indeed a vintage year!
As a former CNR switchman/brakeman (T-Bay) turned Boilermaker (40 years this year) I could really relate to many aspects of this activity. That steam-powered crane was awesome - like a big T-Rex that rides on rails! Back when British labour was cheap and plentiful! I wondered more than once how long all these 'upgrades' lasted - either before they fell apart or were upgrade again by newer technology. Excellent fun, thanks, 💖 🇨🇦
Just look at the manpower needed to carry out this work on the track's, my father used to do this in the 1960's up until the 80's, it was mostly manual work which was tough on the back and walking on ballast was hard on the feet, and the pay wasn't that good, but it was a job for life, and you got to bring railway sleepers home to burn on the open fire!
I did it for 10yrs,,wish I was still there. Dont forget
Sleeper Fence,
sleeper base for shed
sleeper shed
sleeper pond
sleeper off cuts as axle stands,,,, list is endless. 😂
Those old sleepers could shoot your chimney up , we got a brush with a brick under it on a length of rope , lobbed it down the chimney every 10 days or so . Stopped the chimney fire .
9:50 Cowan and Sheldon crane made in the St Nicholas works Carlisle now a shopping mall. There's a pub called The Cranemakers nearby. Sadly missed in Carlisle replaced by low paid retail jobs.
This Famous London Terminus St Pancras Station Was Opened On 1st October 1868 From The Midland Railway During The Victorian Times By The Late 19th Century. When The London Midland And Scottish Railway Took It Over In 1923 And British Railways Took It Over As Well Too In 1948 By The Beginning Of The 20th Century. Thanks Mate. X
Just look at what the workers are wearing, many in ordinary clothes, jackets, flat caps, larger hats, no gloves !!
And mostly manual work & lifting on a massive complex terminus junction renewal.
Incredible !
Ps: yes, I thought I heard San Diego at beginning where junction track pieces were made !
Crikey, that hand rail sawing rig looked like hard work!
It is i used one at a heritage railway some years ago along with the hand tool for tightning chair screws not ideal in a heatwave
@@upwellonwards7373 I can imagine! Good to hear some of these tools are still in use.
@@thomashenderson3901 the hand crank drill for the fishplate bolts was a devil kept jamming
Most enjoyable, informative and a visual delight. My word those Guys earned every shilling for their efforts. Such manual labour was par for the course in those days, bless'em. Not a "hard hat" to be seen!
Back in those days you had a hat that would help keep the sweet out of your eyes.
'11 hundred tons of spent ballast removed', watching the film it was done by hand, by a huge gang of labourers. Blimey, that's hard work!
Lovely jaunty music track to accompany these backbreaking and dangerous tasks!
Very interesting to watch, but such a hard work
Amazing film, I fondly remember St Pancras in the 1970s & the famous gas holders, wish I had taken more pictures, before it was redeveloped into Eurostar terminal.
Sounds like there was a small orchestra laid on to keep the lads’ spirits up, and very nice too. Plus a nice cup of tea every now and then… Seriously hard work.
These fellah's knew they'd done a hard days work. All muscle and sweat against unyielding steel, stone and wood. And all done on rationed food and post war privations. I take my hat off to them!
I was born the year this film was made. Work methods had changed little from when the railways were first built 50-100 years before. However In my lifetime work like this has progressed from being mostly manual to being mostly carried out by very expensive machines, with manual labour minimised wherever possible. Plus planning projects like this would have been done on paper by armies of clerks, whereas in today's world project planning is computerised. Finally H&SAW in the UK took another 30 years to become something that people thought about, and the world is, in the main, better for it. So, all in all in this example and others like it, life is relatively easy now compared to then, so be thankful for what you have got and don't moan about what a hard life you have got
Wonderful narration.....such clarity. Reminds me of John Snagge.
Totally fascinating !!! Totally fascinating !!! Humourous, I found the cutting of the rail by hand sawing ! Now it would probably be chopped with a power saw in 5 minutes. I completely enjoyed this. Thank you so very much. I subscribed. Aarre Peltomaa of Mississauga, Ontario
Still using hand saws and augers in the 80s when I started
And hand drilling horizontally for the signal work!
Magnificent ,uk engineering ,ingenuity,planing and good old hard work, very much like network rail today.
Totally awesome and a very historical documentary. I spent many years spottin there on tour of London stations/depots in the 80's and 90's. Little did i know there was a lady loco driver, sometimes stabling a class 56 into St.Pancras. 2 decades later, one of my listeners on pirate radio turned out to be her. A rare breed of woman lol, i couldnt believe she actually became my girlfriend for a short while. But that was why i called myself dj trainspotter, just in case 'the ultimate spotters dream' was listening to my broadcasts haha!!!! The stories i have are unique and very rare (and heartbreaking too). I believe i am the only trainspotter to of been that lucky eh! :)
No I am. Because I was an avid train spotter in the 1950s. Then I started on the railway 1 day after my 15th birthday in 1961. I drove steam engines when my driver let me and later as a regular driver myself drove. DMUs ,class 31/37/40/45/46/47/90/125/225 also a variety of units such as 123/141/142/143/144/150/153/155/156/158/321/322 . Left the rails in 2008 at 61 and married for the first time at 64 to my gorgeous Ukrainian fiance 20 years younger than me. We have just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. So yes I am a lucky guy.
@@johnward374 Gawd, no! Thats not quite unique is it lol. Check my channel out to understand what i meant. I guess u was based at NL, LO or BG depots? She was at OC, the 2nd female loco driver based there. And she drove the following classes: 101,104, 108, 116, 117, 118, 121 and loco classes for over 25 years 08, 09, 31, 33, 37, 47, 50, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 66 and 67.
@@djtrainspotter Hi. That's quite a list of DMUs. I didn't list them myself but most of those units I did in fact drive including 124s The TransPennine sets that ran from Liverpool to Hull with a buffet bar. I moved to Holbeck 1968 then later then to Leeds Stn. This depot when NL and Bradford also combined was the the biggest footplate depot in the UK.
@@johnward374 A fine selection of classes sir. Yes shame i'm not old enough to of seen 123's or 46's but being in 3rd rail land here, there were plenty of Hastings and thumper units etc this way, as well as the 'exotic' EMU's lol. Yes NL is a rather large depot, went there once up from Kent before the 308's were replaced.
Love the music, vastly out of scale so to speak but the clipped accent of the narrator is even better. If you spoke like this nowadays, they would look at you gone out.
The film has given me back ache! 😊
Dude me too for sure these guy's broke there ass lmfao
These would have been the same guys that would be out the night following a blitz attack to rebuild the destroyed tracks so there was barely a delay in train services during the war a few years earlier. Well experienced.
This work was done by gangs of men from local areas including the St Pancras gangs. These were the men who's day job was patrolling and maintaining the track, so it was in all their interests to make a good job of the initial re-laying to minimise future problems.
Sadly, as so aptly shown in the film, scant regard was given to the men's safety, a matter not properly addressed until the H&SAW act came in.
O H and S, what was that????
So much has changed, men with no gloves, no high vis clothing hard hats and so much hard graft.
Note the man with the giant hacksaw cutting a rail, simply amazing .
I can remember ST Pancras in the very late 50s and into the slate 60s.
How much it has changed, all that track gone and now St Pancras international.
I love the old gasometers between St Pancras and KX, they have cleverly kept the wonderful Victorian ironwork and built apartments in the middle.
Nice to see that they still stand.
Have you noticed how slim everyone was back then
👍 🍻 😎
They had recently been on starvation diet due to ww2.
@@thebrothers3971 Agreed. The men and women worked, using what was available for nourishment and survival. What would we do after being involved in a Total War, t? Stay free. 🍻 💚 😎
I think rationing carried on until 1956, from memory.
Conversely, have you noticed how many of these hi-vis wearing fannies nowadays are balding and overweight?
Such cheerful music for obviously back-breaking work. I wonder if these workers were feeling this giddy and light-hearted!
And don’t forget food was still rationed.
Brilliant, the Health and Safety folks wouldn’t know where to start if this was today would they?
Risk assessments swp method statement insurance
And what size your stool is when you go to toilet 😆
No trade unionist or women in sight, they would have had a pint before going home for dinner, just coming out the oven my lovely.
All that "Man power",And no double time on a Sunday,, thank you
One of the last LMS publicity films. The background music is rather whimsical for such a mundane topic.
A bit over enthusiastic, but better than having somebody banging away on a piano…
I agree, very 'cartoonish' - Mickey Mouse on the High Seas!
That wasn’t background music, they had that on the Tannoy while the men worked. 😊. Possibly drove a few of them mad.
Safety boots, no other PPE, no hi viz vests nothing. A great job done in a very short time hard after the end of hostilities. And a shortage of steel as well.
3:45-4:04 Six men lift a short section of rail onto a wagon by hand.
4:09 Narrator: "Crane-power was used to the maximum possible extent."
4:37-4:52 Nine men lift a short section of rail onto a wagon by hand.
🤔
Well they didn’t want to strain or break the crane! It was valuable. Now straining or breaking the men didn’t matter. They came cheap!
Thank you so much for these uploads Brilliant stuff 👍👍
Great! Really enjoyed this film.
One day, whilst working in the excess fares booth, a passenger approached me and asked me how she might catch a train to St. Pancreas. I kid you not.
A wonderful moment.
8:42 WOW! I'm watching this in awe! Is that really how they used to cut rails? (A rhetorical question)
Just looking at the little rig he's got there, it would take all day to cut through that rail! Surely they had air or steam powered tools to speed up the process somewhat? Unless I'm missing something here. Doesnt seem to be powered by my eye.
8.42 that saw made me shudder. Thought our petrol saw was slow. But !! It got him off the shovel for a while . 😀
Great piece of film of stuff that was taken for granted, with 'clipped' accent narration, of its time. Years before mechanisation of permanent way work, huge gangs of men (with hats, berets) shifting 1100 tonnes (!) of ballast, also sleepers, rails, dismantling and relaying the whole junction and this was pre-BR days too. Hard, heavy work in all weathers, they must have had some stories to tell. The old coal drops disappeared around the 1960's and gasometers were moved across the adjacent canal in the early 2000's, there is also a nature reserve (Camley Street) just beyond the area of where these gasometers stood. Also, the lookout man at 2.50 looks a bit like Sid James to me......
Those guys certainly earned their money in those days.
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED WITH THE WAY THEY RELAY RAILWAY LINES NOW WITH MODERN EQUIPMENT
Great film, but oh dear , that music!
Bullhead rail being cut by hand. And lovely weather for the whole job. Better than in pouring rain.
A couple of dozen British blokes were needed for this. Fast forward 50 years and a multi billiion quid similar experiment took place at Euston at the behest of a tax evader which took two years and more money than most people can undertand and in the process, these 1940s blokes made a difference, whereas in 1990s the change amounted to the square root of sweet fork all.
Re. what sounds like "All the trackwork was manufactured by Messrs. Taylor Brothers of San Diego" (0:44);
It was actually made by Taylor Brothers of *Sandiacre*, Derbyshire, England.
:)
HTH
San Diego was quite a distance from St Pancras especially for that era
Railways to the Brits, is like water to the fish!
Proper work, no going to the gym after a shift.
Didn't need to go to the gym after doing that work all day - todays guys just can't hack it
@@gazs4731beta males go to the gym these days to look like real workers.
That's spooky - @6.00 - 6th stage - 27/7/47 - I'm watching this in 27/7/21 !
To think when I was on the PWAY we had the luxury of mechanized plant equipment.
No gloves, no hard hat, no hi-vis, bet there was plenty nipped fingers in those days, no modern track laying machinery either..They were hard workers them guys..
suggestion - Change the video quality to 144p for Camera quality from the Mid- Late '30s! And 720p for the Late 40s To Early 50s!
Where was the orchestra situated to accompany the men in their work?
"Make sure you wear your tracklaying tie!"
I worked with a group recently that discovered buried railroad in what was thought to be empty farm land....as recorded by census and historical local data. Is your company able to identify production componentry and manufacturer of possible old world construction?
Noted that a waltz was playing while the workers were lifting and carrying tracks...
My grandad worked in gang liked that 50 years service Los
I love the music they use in these films,I want to know the names
Ahh, yiss! The whole treck was oit of sirviss for elmost twilve hires, whale the work wiz indertaken on a Sinday. Lovely vid, really appreciate the upload. As it happens, while photographing for BR in the very early 90's, I walked out on this busy bit of track, but knew nothing of its history. The gasometers had been decommissioned by then and there were only a few vestigial trackside sheds left, no signal boxes, etc.
@Jeremy the Conquerer - gosh, your post had me in such paroxysms of mirth, the corners of my mouth rose by nearly a sixteenth of an inch.
LOL rumour has it that guy seen cutting the rail at 8:43 still has possession of the line... :)
Not a pair of gloves in sight!
True butt they all have nice hat's funny
No hard hats, smoking permitted, on job!
they worked hard back in the old days.
How many tracks did St.Pancras have at this time? I can never find a solid answer for the number before the 2000’s rebuild. Thanks
How did they manage all that without risk assessments and hi-vis clothing
The number of people dying in accidents at work in the UK is about one third of what it was even 30 years ago. So the answer to your question is "By a combination of luck and being willing to put up with more injuries than you'd want to happen to you."
Mainly by being aware of the dangers and taking care. Health and safety is a good thing but it breeds ignorance of dangers, then unfortunately, accidents still happen.
@@caroleast9636 No, they just got injured and killed more, and it was accepted because they were poor it had always been that way. There's a point in this video where you see a guy ducking in panic because he's just seen the section of track being craned inches above the top of his head.
@@beeble2003 because they used a thing we lack now, common sense and a work attitude.
sorry i replied to wrong person
Hard work in those days.
7:18 health and safety would be all over the site if they were around back then. That bloke riding the section of panel track would be fired from his job if health and safety saw him.
@NIKE RailfanningTTM - yep; he'd be fired by some twerp based in an office, who'd never set foot on the trackside, and who wouldn't know a rail from a sleeper.
Now? Take a look at the reports issued by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. They've all got hard hats, top to toe hi-vis, a COSS, a PICOP, a Safe System of Work - and they're STILL getting killed because they walk in the four-foot, with their backs to oncoming trains! Health and Safety systems are NO substitute for plain ol' common sense.
Why did BR persist so long with bullhead rails and chairs?
"Kings Cross? It's still St Houston!"
"It's Paddington! I tell ya!"
"It's Kingscross!!!!!!"
_______________________________________
"It's st pancreas now..."
My Station from Kettering to London
Note, no hard hats or other safety equipment on hand.
@Ken Bird - But plenty of people taking care of themselves.
The trackwork was manufactured in San Diego?? Did I hear that right?
@Christopher Stevenson - no, it was made by an engineering company from Sandiacre, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands of England.
@@jackx4311 that makes more sense.
@@BobbyNewhartFace - I must admit, on first hearing I thought the narrator said San Diego, too!
:))
Nice.
A few ex army greatcoats on show.
I wonder where the full orchestra was ? Never see them on film, perhaps they worked in time to the music!!? 😆
They were in one of the coaches behind the camera.
They were in a Pullman car eating scones cream and jam with a 78 playing🇬🇧😀
Amazing audio and video quality. How and where were the original films stored?
Am I right in thinking those Gas Towers are now the brand new flats by Granary Square? Or are there more nearby?
@Paul Choccy T - yes, they are indeed.
There were also various some dismantled sections from the gasometers stored further up the top of Camley Street, a dead end road on the West side of the railway. As far as I can recall those at the South end, on Goods Way, were actually triplets and the more interesting design compared to those on the West side of the railway. There is also a small green space by the canal which is within another of the gasometers, it's for people to walk into or sit inside. Those gasometers were a great part of the skyline for me, along with old diesels that ran along the St Pancras line.
Health & Safety: Man nearly loses his hat at 4:59
San Diego? So the trackwork was imported from the US?
The narrator is in fact saying Sandiacre, but it certainly does sound like he's saying San Diego!
@@BennettBrookRailway I've listened to it again and it's obviously Sandiacre. My playing in rock bands for forty years has taken its toll on my hearing! Thanks for clarifying.
Narrated by Mr Cholmondley-Warner.
Lots of men NOT wearing gloves and carrying heavy loads. Amazing, since using gloves magnifies apparent strength and deters debilitation. Didn't people understand that in 1947? If not the bosses, the laborers should have known that.
In those heady days customers were still offered a service of trains despite all this work taking place. Now things are rather different: the whole railway is closed down for extended periods and people are told "do not travel"-so tough luck if you were hoping to travel by train. And a lot of such work involves replacing infrastructure which was torn out by BR in the late 20th century
2:55 Is That a Stanier Black 5?
Stanier Jubilee 45611 Hong Kong
Oh, Thanks
I always thought St Pancras was the terminal for the London Midland Railway , not the LMS
There never was a "London Midland Railway". St Pancras was built by the Midland Railway, which was one of the companies that was amalgamated to form the LMS in the 1923 grouping.
@@beeble2003 Thanks for clarifying
i'm sorry but I can't watch this any more. To see where we came from and where we are now is too upsetting. The railways are symbollic of our ongoing inability to do anyting now.
Rolled up white shirt sleeves, waistcoats and hats.........
Today, health and safety would dance the can can!!
Yeah, it was all *so* much better when hundreds of railwaymen were killed or seriously injured every year. Good times, eh?
ahh the good old LMS
Ugh, look at the smoke and dirt!
Real men real work show this to some kids in school lol
No hi vis in those days !!>
They really worked hard for their pay back then in the black & white days.
San Diego? 1947.
It sounds very much like San Diego, but the narrator is in fact saying Sandiacre.
Nessa época já era uma maravilha (Brasil)
I bet nun of those chaps reached retirement age of 65, they died properly around their 50s! That’s why the government set the retirement age at 65. 10:27
No hard hats and walking under suspended loads - yikes!
What was that device at 13.10?
That gruelling and dangerous work didn't deserve that wholly inappropriate musical soundtrack. The number of injuries and fatalities must have been enormous, especially poignant since many of those men would have been in the forces in the Second World War.
A fascinating film, just glad I wasn't around then!
Snowflake
The mystery device at 13:10 is a rail drill, used for drilling the holes through the rail allowing the track (circuit) leads to be pinned to the rails.
@@VideoMikeA4 Thank you.
I don't need no hard hat - my cloth cap will protect me fine if this prefab length of rail lands on me noggin!