Re: Occupation

[David Langley <del@ancc.com.au>]

Lineman wrote:

> The Lineman also carried a portable field phone for ringing stations and for
> testing lines.Using bell codes to raise an address.
> He also had another style of portable phone for connecting to the control
> line,and speaking to God.[the fat controller]
> The method used for speaking to control was thus:
> Press your button and speak"Lineman"
> Then you would wait until the great one spoke back to you,which could be
> immediately or 15 mins later depending if he was busy or forgot you[as your
> location did not light up his board]
> "Speak Lineman"
> Only then could you tell him your mate had a snake bite,the wheels had
> fallen off your trolley,you had busted a poofa valve,

It's very important that poofa valves be maintained properly because when one
broke down, all hell broke loose and trains might stop running for days.

> or you where off the
> track ok.

That's something I would never admit to control. You would never live it down.
Did fall of the track once. Going down the second last hill into Alexandra at a
bit more than we should have been, crash all four wheels running along the
sleepers and two blokes hanging on for dear life. Put back on and proceed, and
had barely gone 10 trolley lengths around the corner when we met an unattended
Casey (6 man trolley for those who are none the wiser). Had we run full tilt
into it, remember V class motors had no brake to speak of, the consequences
would have been interesting.

> Busted trolleys where not uncommon when every fitter,adjuster,ganger,and big
> blue and gold monster shared the rails and trains had right of way.

Saw two cleaned up at Mangalore, neither time it was mine. After train pulls up,
there is not much of trolley left.

> Falling off trolleys at 15 miles per hour when the trolley decides to leave
> the rails is also an experience which could leave many cuts and bruises,and
> a short aversion to speed at very low altitude,I think they call it an
> Olympic sport now and people do it for competition.[motorised loogze or
> something like that]

Headed west out of Cathkin for Yea one late afternoon and we gathered speed only
to discover coming at us at a great rate of knots was the repairer from Cathkin
also running late. He was quite surprised to see us and in order to stop his
motor from the estimated 30mph he jumped of the rear and hung on allowing his
boots to slide over the sleepers and ballast to try and brake to a stand. We
managed to stop and had got off when he pulled up a mere foot from us. We lifted
around him (V's are smaller than K's) said g'day and continued are merry ways.

> But on a sunny day in the country,and you had the branch line to yourself I
> think the trolley was the finest rail experience you could ever hope to
> experience, you new you where alive and it  made up for all the less savoury
> times,like motoring into the teeth of a gale in the middle of winter[my god
> it makes me shiver now]

Riding to Mansfield and back on a sunny spring, or autumn day was something akin
to heaven, except when a detonator leaps up of the rail and explodes under your
wheel. The repairer flagging a crossing around the back of Kerrisdale was
equally surprised especially when the next train he was expecting was the down
motor that night.

David.
Speak Seymour Fitter at Longwood Loop.