What was a 'plate layer'?

[staticgirl]

Hello!

I am researching my Grandad, John Pacey, who lived in Stallingborough, Lincs. Stallingborough station was quite possibly bigger than the village! My dad's birth certificate says that John was a plate layer at the time (1941). I have a vague idea but would appreciate knowing a little bit about the work he used to do each day. Would John have still have been sent to fight in the war, do you think or was it an essential occupation?

He's a bit mysterious so any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[jwealleans]

http://prints.leics.gov.uk/pictures_671 ... shire.html

http://prints.leics.gov.uk/pictures_672 ... shire.html
This gives you an idea of the work. Essentially they maintained track once it had been laid. They were usually employed in gangs with a given area of track ('length') to look after.

I found a reference to the PRO holding records of platelayers, but it's not for this area of the country so may not be relevant.

I don't know whether they were a reserved occupation or not.

[hq1hitchin]

Yes, a trackman, working in a gang of perhaps 8 or so men under the leadership of a ganger, looking after a certain 'length' of line. Literally the backbone of the railway, with little available to them in the way of mechanical assistance in those days and often involving arduous and uncomfortable work. Without decent track, the railways could not, and still cannot, carry on - stand proud, staticgirl!

Not sure about the reserved occupation bit, either, I think they had WOMEN doing some of the lighter duties at some stages in WW2

[60041]

Plate layers were trackmen. The term dates back to the earliest days of the railways when they were known as plateways and were built using short sections of iron bar or angle sections, rather than the rails we know today. as the photo's show, a plate layer would be responsible for all aspects of track maintenance such as replacing worn out rails or rotten sleepers, packing to ensure a level track, weeding and clearance of the drains etc.
All types of railway work were classed as reserved occupations during both wars, but many men chose to join up either through a sense of patriotism and wanting "to do their bit", or because of peer pressure. Permission to leave railway service was usually (but not always) granted by management. Some large stations, such as Waverley, have war memorials that list the occupations of the men who died, and they list every imaginable job on the railways.

[bricam5]

During the last war,my mother was a platelayer.
If I recall she worked the length Hessle east to Hessle Haven.
There was one other woman in the gang and all the men were over consciption age.

[geofrancis]

Hello
My recollection of a particular Platelayer was the guy who walked the length if his
track with a long shafted hammer looking for any sort of damage to the track,
the hammer was for replacing the small blocks of wood that held the rail to the chair,
each sleeper had a chairs bolted to it, the rail sat in the chair and was held by the block of wood. these were later replaced by metal
He would walk daily first on the Upside and back on the downside (or visa-versa)
Platelayers were very poorly paid, but very conciensious.
Cheers Francis

[StevieG]

" Plate layers were trackmen. The term dates back to the earliest days of the railways when they were known as plateways and were built using short sections of iron bar or angle sections, rather than the rails we know today. as the photo's show, a plate layer would be responsible for all aspects of track maintenance such as replacing worn out rails or rotten sleepers, packing to ensure a level track, weeding and clearance of the drains etc. .... "

Staticgirl, Perhaps I may put a little of 60041's very good backgrounding into slightly clearer comparative context for you, in case it's of interest.
Rails these days can be quite long, and welded up into very long lengths (hundreds of yards).
I am no expert, but in 1941 I suspect that maximum rail lengths were of the 60 feet variety (with many only thirty feet, perhaps on secondary tracks), with each rail joined to the next by a pair of plates ('fishplates') placed vertically across the joint, one on each side, and bolted through, normally, by four, or possibly sometimes, six bolts and nuts.
The effective regular inspection and maintenance of these joints was also an important role for the track patrolman and the other platelayers [also possibly known as the 'P.Way' ('the Permanent Way') gang], as each joint was, depending on how busy a track was with trains and what the maximum speeds of the fastest were, a potentially prime spot for defects to occur : breakages, cracks; of the rail ends as well as their jointing components.

[Mr Bunt]

The effective regular inspection and maintenance of these joints was also an important role for the track patrolman and the other platelayers [also possibly known as the 'P.Way' ('the Permanent Way') gang], as each joint was, depending on how busy a track was with trains and what the maximum speeds of the fastest were, a potentially prime spot for defects to occur : breakages, cracks; of the rail ends as well as their jointing components.

Three other problems were dropped joints, rail creep and track drag.

The first was caused by passing trains hammering the joints down, dislodging the ballast packed beneath the sleepers and leaving the joint "floating" so the track bounced up and down. The next stage was for this hammering to bend the rail ends down giving a very rough ride and ruining the rail and fishplates.

Rail creep is the phenomenon by which each passing train moves the rails minutely in its direction of travel. Left unchecked this puts one end of the section affected in tension (with a very wide, over size expansion gap at the start) and the other in compression (with the rail ends butted up to each other and no expansion gaps at all). Unchecked this will cause two other problems: the fishplate which is in tension will ultimately fracture - or in extreme cases its bolts will rip their way through the holes in the rail end - meanwhile the joints which are in compression have no expansion gap so in hot weather the track will distort as the rails expand. The cure is a very tedious process known as "pulling back" using a curious looking tool with a coarse pitch thread - and not surprisingly called a "puller".

Track drag is where the entire track, sleepers and all, is moving in the direction of travel of the trains. Tell tale signs of this are a "bow wave" of ballast forming infront of the sleepers as they move through it, or sleepers which are not at right angles to the rails because each end is moving at a different rate (this "pinches" the gauge eventually and can cause derailments as a result). Disturbance of the expansion gaps will also occur at each end of the affected section. The only real cure for this problem is complete relaying with decent ballast which will hold the track in place.

During their track patrol platelayers would be expected to spot and report signs that these defects were developing. Looking after railway track has more skill to it than often meets the eye

[Bryan]

Rail creep is the phenomenon by which each passing train moves the rails minutely in its direction of travel. Left unchecked this puts one end of the section affected in tension (with a very wide, over size expansion gap at the start) and the other in compression (with the rail ends butted up to each other and no expansion gaps at all). Unchecked this will cause two other problems: the fishplate which is in tension will ultimately fracture - or in extreme cases its bolts will rip their way through the holes in the rail end - meanwhile the joints which are in compression have no expansion gap so in hot weather the track will distort as the rails expand. The cure is a very tedious process known as "pulling back" using a curious looking tool with a coarse pitch thread - and not surprisingly called a "puller".

There are 2 main causes of Rail creep.
Acceleration of the wheelset and Braking.
Temperature variation may also be another.
It can also affect one rail and not the other.

One cure is to fit rail anchors to the foot of the rails and tight up against the sleepers.
It would also help if the rail fastenings are effective as well.
However in severe cases this may lead to the 3rd case of Track Drag.

Mr Bunt I have also been out with notebook and ruler measuring all the gaps for a rail pulling session, to work out the effected length and if it was better to restore all gaps to normal and install a closure instead.

[geofrancis]

Funny but True
It happened at Frenchgate Jct Signal Box Doncaster abt 1940.
The Boxes had no toilets, the signalmen used an Elsan Bucket
if needed. It was the Platelayers job to empty the bucket when requested.
it was this particular platelayers job this day.
He was a guy who always wore a white clean collar
every day,you know the detachable ones.
He was coming down the steps of the signal box with the
bucket and tripped.
His lovely white collar finished up with brown specks
Poor chap had to go home for a clean up.
Platelayers got all the s...t jobs.
Francis