Perth 1958, the coaling tower was closed (for some reason?) and this was the answer. Don't fancy being the bloke shovelling coal out of the wagon!!
What a wonderful picture! This would make a fantastic diorama, possibly a subject for a future competition? Hornby did a Duchess of Abercorn model, but I think it was in only in LMS crimson.
Hello All, well and truly an accident waiting to happen. Bloke in wagon shovelling coal out of wagon suspended in mid air, wagon pivots around due to shifting load, with a worst case scenario of crane tipping over. Make the 6pm News for all the wrong reasons. While we can all mock some of the OH&S missives, this sort of stupid and dangerous behaviour is why OH&S is such a big deal these days. Regards to all.
Good grief, I would not have believed this without a photo, I suppose it was no worse than workers erecting sky scrapers scampering along girders with only their agility to survive the day! Mind you, docksides in the UK had some unhealthy practices too, just scroll down a bit on this link, where cranes move goods on and off a high unfenced loading platform :- https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/stories/m-sheds-cargo-cranes/ Jim
Now Now gents, at least they used a nice new steel wagon - modern technology and all that ..... The blatant lack of harness use is shocking Who said we don't learn from the past
Actually , would it not have been better to swing the wagon through 90 degrees, and used the end door and just tip it in, ah the benefit of hindsight
Think it would have been a bit unstable tipped up in mid air, and how would you regulate the flow of coal? Perhaps hang a bloke over the wagon by his feet. No that wouldn’t work, his cap might fall off.
Another option would be to give a shovel (and hard hats) to those eight men standing around and have them fling coal into the tender.
I wonder, what was the photographer doing there, was he a bemused railwayman or perhaps a member of staff recording the incident for a 'training' video, let's face it, he wouldn't just be taking a quick snap with his phone for social media back in '58 Unlike the recent stupidity shown in the forklift pics.
