Australian Railway Workshops
Maintenance and building of locomotives, freight wagons and passenger coaches required a huge infrastructure of workshops. At first locomotives were assembled and placed on the railway lines as they were constructed. Repairs were carried out on rolling stock equipment where it broke down. When the railway lines were pushed further inland, a system of repair depots was established. These depots supplied coal and water to locomotives and carried out repairs. As the size of locomotives developed depots were built approximately every 100 miles for this purpose.
Heavy maintenance like boiler repairs and whole replacements needed larger facilities where the locomotive could be stripped from top to bottom. Tasks of this size were carried out in large workshops. An even bigger task was the need in Australia Railway workshops where they also began to build new locomotives and rolling stock items and manufactured the parts to repair all manner of railway equipment rather than import from overseas.
Many of these depots and workshops were not required after the introduction of diesel locomotives and were gradually closed.
Midland Railway Workshops
For over ninety years these sheds
Have raised the workers’ hopes
And for thousands of apprentice lads
It’s where they learned the ropes.
And through the generations
The skills were handed down
At the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
O’Connor had his vision
Of a shop so highly skilled
There was never a job so complex
That these tradesmen couldn’t build.
They’d cast it and machine it
And fit it snug and sound
At the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
Chorus:
At the Midland Railway Workshops
Where your grandad earned his quid
And now we’ve got a chance to know
Exactly what he did
We talk about our heritage it cannot be denied
It’s more than just the buildings
It’s what they did inside.
Platers Fitters Coppersmiths
Combined their enterprise
They made carriages and rolling stock
Of every shape and size.
Trolley buses trains and trams
They moved this State around
From the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
The women made munitions
For the wartime Army Corps
And every shell they made they hoped
Would put an end to war.
And many a social conscience
Developed in these grounds
At the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
Chorus
We save endangered species
And a good thing that we do
But we hardly give a thought for skills
That disappear from view.
And in this old environment
There’s a history to be found
At the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
Yes it’s more than just the buildings
Though impressive they may be
We need to see them working
And save our history.
We owe it to our children
To keep this hallowed ground
At the Midland Railway Workshops
At the east end of the town.
(© Bernard Carney W.A.)
The Workshops
The whistle blew above the cavernous door
Summoning the workers to the workshop floor
Will, the blacksmith, and his mate
Scurried inside so as not to be late
There is also Jack, Scottie and Jock
Repairers all of the rolling stock
Big Benny too and Barnacle Bill
And that skinny bloke they call the Dill
Into the depths of that leviathan shed
Went Bryan the machinist and his mate named Fred
Into its bowels with a laugh and a cheer
To fix some broken rolling stock gear
Heroes one and heroes all
Answering the workshops whistle call
Workers true, who we all could trust,
Toiling away in the heat and dust.
Gone now from the sheds their cheery laugh
Left are only the ghosts of that history past
Only the sheds remain where the wind does pine
For the happy days of that long past time
The wind sings its song of lonely lament
Searching for workers that have long since went
Laughter no longer rings to the machinery’s harmonious beat
All that is left is the dust and the heat.
But their memory dims not in history’s page
Those men who toiled , through the war clouds rage
Workshop men who gave their all
When a beleaguered nation gave its call.
Gone now, like the setting sun
Gone the laughter and the fun
Gone most to death’s lonely ways
Those heroes of the workshop days.
Arising now from that derelict ruin
Of rubble, dust and machinery strewn
A memorial to the workers’ tread
A museum now, is the workshop shed.
As you wander through its ample girth
Listen, and you can hear the workers mirth
If you just care to pause and stop
You can still hear the hum of the railway workshop
(©R. Peake, 2003)
Your Tool Box Will Be Raffled By And By"
I must shortly leave the banker,
For my card is long exempt.
The fire of youth has vanished from my eye,
And the saddest thought to-day
Is when I have passed away
That my tool box will be raffled by and by.
Chorus:
I have roamed around the country,
But am getting stiff and old;
And now I am travelling home again to die.
Though you’re young and strong to-day,
Yet the years pass away,
And your tool box will be raffled by and by.
When I was but a ’prentice lad,
Just starting at the trade,
Some chump would make me mad enough to cry,
But I heeded not his chaff,
For this saying made me laugh,
That his tool box would be raffled by and by.
When I became a journeyman
And started on the road,
With pockets light, but spirits always high,
I was never known to shirk
From the hardest kind of work,
But my tool box may be raffled by and by.
Sometimes I thought it hard
When I struck a stranger’s yard,
And a rumper worked with malice in his eye,
But I merely used to grin,
As I said, "My boy, go in,"
But your tool box will be raffled by and by.
You may often meet a sneak,
Who with manner soft and meek,
Will do his best to do you on the sly.
Keep your eye on the lad,
Let this saying make you glad,
That his tool box will be raffled by and by.
I must end my little song,
And be jogging right along,
My journey’s end is drawing very nigh;
Take my advice, be fair,
Act the man, upon the square,
For your tool box may be raffled by and by.4
(The above poem appeared in the March 1927 issue of Railroad. ‘Your Tool Box will be Raffled By and By’ was written by Jo Evans, an otherwise unknown poet, and published ‘by request’)
Smithy
When I was a lad many years ago
How the smithy's furnace used to glow
And the sweat on our foreheads used to gleam -
Back in the good old days of steam!
A man was a man, and he knew his trade
And the destination of the parts he made.
We worked together as a well-oiled team,
Back in the good old days of steam!
Well, I don't know much, but I know best
That we've gone backwards as we've progressed.
There's chaos all around, yet still I dream
Of those days before the railways ran out of steam ...
(from lyrics by P.P. Cranney in Sidetrack Theatre Company's 1983 production LOCO)
Hard Road
On trampled grass of frosty grey
A chill wind blows where shadows lay
Beyond the road and yawning gates
The workshop to its prey awaits
A whistle howls its eerie wail
Begrudged and cursed to no avail
Machines are fed, some spit and choke
With steel and iron stench and smoke
From shrieking lathes the metal flies
The welders arc assails the eyes
On greasy floors ‘neath shattered glass
Run squeaking wheels as trolleys pass
Clothing stains with sweat and dirt
Shock and grief when mates get hurt
Sunken eyes turn grey and red
From dust and fumes and years of dread
On trampled grass of frosty grey
A chill wind blows where shadows lay
Along the road the workshop waits
Pray for life beyond the gates.
(©Mark Tate, 1984, Elcar Workshops, NSW)
A Fitter’s Soliloquoy
Well, I've changed from the old steam engine with their haughtiness and pride,
I'm working now on diesels, just have to take it in my stride.
These memories of the roundhouse, full of smoke and soot and steam,
Of getting locos out on time the foreman fitter’s dream
Gone are the days of smoky sheds, flare lamps and big end spanners
How we fought with those ancient Loots, sometimes forgetting manners!
We sweated and we struggled and worked our insides out
With a fourteen pounder hammer, trying to knock a crosshead out.
Night time in a roundhouse, with a flare lamp in the gloom
We'd sack a centre piston and curse the lack of room,
Who could forget a ‘K’ Class, the ‘S’s or the ‘T’s.
The stately ‘57’s, the Garretts and the ‘P’s,
Yes, steam days had their moments, but a change is taking place,
It's a different way of working, and another type of pace.
Oh those winters in the roundhouse that filled us all with dread
Wearing jumpers, coats, and overalls we worked on in the shed,
The coal fires scattered here and there in forty gallon drums
Quick exits from the fires when we saw the foreman come.
We had advantage over diesels, we all knew where to go,
We'd climb up in an engine's cab and stand near the fire's glow,
How it would murmur and we'd listen, now it seems just as a dream,
Yes, we loved those good old locos and the days we worked on steam!
Now, we've finished with the flare lamps, and we use a torch's beam,
We're smelling pungent diesel fumes instead of coal, and steam.
We're changing traction motors, setting tappets, fixing leaks,
Swapping bits and pieces, and tracking down the squeaks
Finding problems with fuel pressures that cause our brows to furrow
Crawling round the engines like rabbits in a burrow.
Oh, I remember the steam departure road and an engine that's due to go,
And. a driver ringing the chargeman to pour out a tale of woe,
‘The bloomin' sands aren't working, the compressor’s playing up
It's leaking steam from a boiler plug, and it's missing one oil cup
It's blowing off at 10lb light, there's a hole in a pipe near the floor
The lever's jammed on the blow-down cock, and the firemen's starting to roar,
I'll have twelve hundred tons behind me, and a cranky sort of a guard,
I'll be late out I reckon, or lucky to leave the yard’"
Now...it's a different type of story, and a change in the type of grief,
‘There's a page of defects in the logbook, a spring's missing half a leaf,
The fuel pressure is hopeless, an injector pipe's starting to blow,
There's a red light on the control stand where a green light should always show.
Both windscreen wipers have given it up, a doorlock is falling apart
I didn’t want to shut down the engine, it took too much battery to start,
There's a crackling noise in the compartment that starts when I turn on a switch,
I've forgotten the position of the magnet valves, I can't tell which one is which.
The Auto has jammed, the release won't work, the heater won't boil up my billy,
My nerves are shot, I'm an hour late out, the tension is driving me silly
But...We'll keep plugging on, with the job that we've got, and
look back as I'm doing to-day…
Steam locos have gone, the diesels are here, how many years will they stay?
Some day someone else will be writing a verse lamenting the passing of diesel
Or an- artist will paint a nuclear train in the picture he has on his easel.
(©Don Barry DELEC 1985)
Empty Rails
A winter shadow stalks the shrouded workshops-
The crews are only working day to day-
Tarnished tools and shackled hopes and staffing drops;
Rusting rails that roll the work away.
Days of dust that cover bench and tables,
The isles are dank and clotting with debris,
The cranes are locked with sagging chains and cables.
The gears are grimed, the hoses rotting free.
Lathes are still, the safety signs are folding
From peeling walls and shattered architraves,
The anvil's mute, and dustmotes fill the mouldings,
The forge is colder than an open grave.
Workers walk down unemployment lines;
Down cloudless streets and pathless, doorless days.
Hung in bitter winds the twisted Keep Out signs
Where working life has turned and rolled away.
A winter shadow wraps the shackled workshops;
The crews are gone - their work was sold away -
Rusting tools and tarnished hopes and whistlestops;
Empty rails to carry empty days.
(©Mark Tate, 1999. Ceased employment at Elcar in 1989
Recited by John Dengate Trains of Treasure ).
The Railway Paper Hat 1984, By Don Barry (Retired Railway Fitter)
When I first commenced work at the Enfield Loco Roundhouse in the days of steam engines, I was directed by the foreman fitter to introduce myself to the sub-foreman fitter of the section in which I was to commence duties. Having located the section and the sub-foreman I was asked a few routine questions, and then I was instructed to work with a senior fitter who would help me to get established. As I walked away with the other chap, the ‘subby’ called after me: ‘The work is dirty, do you know how to make a paper hat?’… Surprised, I said ‘No’. ‘The boys will show you!’ was the answer, and the first chore on the railway became the job of making paper hats. Thus I was introduced to a form of headgear that I came to recognise as a standard part of working attire by many employees.
Paper hats were generally made from used daily papers. The ‘Daily Telegraph’ was standard size for more normal heads, while the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ was more suitable for ‘big heads’.
Although other types of paper were also used, some people made their hats out of stiff brown paper, glued or stapled, wire clipped or held firmly together with a couple of split pins. Austere types wore their hats ‘Square on’ and depending on personality so the angle altered, more rakish angles denoted confidence, ‘Chip on the shoulder’ types etc. Those with a flair for colour often made them out of the coloured comics in the Sunday papers.
Whatever the style, manner of wear, or type of paper, the paper hat has survived the years and no doubt will continue into the future as a cheap way of keeping the head warm, free from dirt and grease from the jobs, as well as providing a source of hilarity for the general public when they see a couple of railwaymen on a station in a busy peak period, lugging along tools, proceeding along the platform to carry out repairs or other emergency duties.
The Paper hat was much easier than a felt hat to tear up and throw away in times of complete frustration and disgust brought about by a job that wouldn’t go right, and the supreme insult was to snatch another person’s hat and tear it up or set fire to it!
My New Career Path
Hey, hey
We're lucky today,
We're being re-structured
Out of the old ways.
The Lion and Lamb
Lie together at last,
Broadbanding is fixing
The sins of the past.
Tri-partite decisions
Mean I'm not ignored,
I'm multi- and flexi-...
Career assured!
Refrain:
I'm learning ...
Crane, winch, forklift, boiler,
Lathe, crusher, furnace, welder,
Stores, filing, sweeping, mending,
Concrete, shorthand, spraypaint, sanding,
Graphics, gardening, digging pestholes,
Patchboard, switchboard, keyboard, consoles ...
Geez, it's a strain. Is there consol-ation?
Yes! Four bucks a week, and a cleverer nation.
They say that Australia's
Been left on the ledge:
Re-structuring gives us
'Competitive edge'.
They'll make our skills broad
But the enterprise lean,
'Consultation' ensures...
We ALL share the dream.
I'm told that the chiefs
Of the A.C.T.U.
Have workers at heart
In their new global view.
And I'm glad the rank
And file still have punch:
Bill Kelty said so ...
At a businessmen's lunch.
Refrain:
I'm learning ...
Crane, winch, forklift, boiler,
Lathe, crusher, furnace, welder,
Stores, filing, sweeping, mending,
Concrete, shorthand, spraypaint, sanding,
Graphics, gardening, digging pestholes,
Patchboard, switchboard, keyboard, consoles ...
Geez, it's a strain. Is there consol-ation?
Yes! Portable Industry Certification.
(A song for Tom McEvoy, Islington Railway Workshops, South Australia).
DO YOU BELONG?
Words by"Shantos."
Sung to the Tune of Solidarity Forever Traditional Union Song
Chorus:
When the Union's inspiration through the worker's blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun the sun
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one;
But the Union makes us strong.
Are you on active member—the kind that would be missed?
Or are you on outsider—your name not on the list?
Do you attend your meetings mingle with the flock?
Or do you stay at home and criticise and knock?
Do you take an active part, to help the work along?
Or are you satisfied to be the kind just belongs?
Do you voluntarily help at the guiding stick?
Or leave the work to just a few and talk about the clique.
Come to the meeting often and help with hand and heart,
Don't he just a member, but take active part.
Think this over member, you know right from wrong,
Are you an active member Or do you "Just Belong"?
Stand behind your Union, boys. and make their fight your own,
Show your’re not the parasite -that good friends would disown,
Show them you are ever ready to join them in the fight.
Ready, aye, ready, to fight with your might.
Progress 1969 Shop Committee Journal of the Rollingstock Railway Workshop NSW
The Workshop News
While many railway journals were published by both railway management and the many of the 26 or so Trade Unions with members in the various railway systems special note must be made of journals /news sheets published by railway shop committees in most large Railway Workshop locations. These hand printed sheets barely visible were assembled, written typed by the workers themselves. These sheets are a sources of evidence of the many struggles that rank and file workers conducted not only with local managements but within the trade unions themselves who’s leadership did not always see eye to eye with shop floor members. These workers were prepared to state their views on many local, national and international issues that they felt affected them and Following are several examples of the types of issues that would be taken up by workers in these journals that today provide a glimpse of the day to day life in these centres of production that moved the nation
"NEWS and VIEWS" Column by Argee (21-7-54)
"Hollywood Film Stars
sleep in the nude"
If our wages don't soon
line up with clothing
prices,we'11 all be ad-
opting the same fashion.
Believe it or not'!!!!
Four men were recently
approached by a "Superior”
Officer deputised, to
chat workmates for washing up
I believe they're to be
issued with badges designed
on similar lines to the "Lone Star Rangers".
I am informed 'that the Axle
Box Punters Club suffered
a severe setback recently
when one member,-who was
expected to achieve remarkable
financial gains for the" Club,
failed dismally. Fellow members have
adopted the theme song,
“The Old Grey Mare She ain't what
She use to be.”
‘Eveleigh News’ -(21-7-54) Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
SWAP SHOP,
Cream, Kitchen set with .four chairs
& laminex Table.
Cream Kitchen Cabinet.
HMV Console Wireless Set-
Silent Knight Kerosene Cream Frig.
Single Wardrobe with Shelves.
4'6" Bed with wire Mattress& best
type Inner Spring Mattress. Lino.
All 'in first class' condition.
Shares to the value of £225.0,0.
in No,2 Railway Building Society
are available for disposal. The
share's, numbering 25 have a fully
paid value of-£l,265.
‘Eveleigh News’ -(21-7-54) Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
AN ODE OF 'APPRECIATION
When Reggie [Railway Commissioner Winsor] was aspiring,
to his place of present trust,
Oil-Burners were the answer,
in fact they were a MUST,
The Railwayman, responded,
& never once looked glum,
The job was quickly finished
& guess who got the Plum?
Things are altered now,
it's US who need some aid,
In the matter of some margins
to Reg the claims we've laid,
But he just answers blithely,
with easy words & phrases,
And when "boiled down,
they simply mean, we all can go to blazes
‘Eveleigh News’ - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee 21-7-1954
Eveleigh Loco
We wash in dirty buckets,
where germs abound galore
We cram our clothes in lockers,
50 years of age or more,
For years we've fought & struggled
For real amenities
But according to the ‘Rail Heads’
They're liabilities
Workers needs can't be considered,
If the Boss can improvise
So the ‘Rail Heads’ constant, years old cry,
Is ‘can't be done .... no use to try--
Confound the men's conditions
We must economise’.
(Anon, ‘Eveleigh News’ - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee,1950)
He Understood
A man stood at the pearly gates, his face was worn and old
And meekly asked the man of fate admission to the fold
What deed can you account for to gain admission here?
Well I worked at Eveleigh Loco until my dying year
The gate swung open sharp as St. Peter touched the bell
Come in here and take a harp you've had enough of hell.
(Anon., ‘Eveleigh News’ - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee, 1954)
Money was always tight over the years particularly in the workshops branch of railways where people entering the railway system land learnt many skills before progressing to higher positions that meant a rises in the bases rate of their pay. It also often meant assess to more overtime and penalty rates of pay that many workers said provided “fruit for the sideboard” the following poems reflect this struggle.
Two Bob Rise
Spare me day this is a surprise,
I can hardly believe my blankly eyes.
On the basic wage, says the paper here
A false report I really fear,
We got a two- bob raise
If this keeps up, I’ll climb the heights;
0f social life with hectic nights
A man of money I will be,
The grocer will dip the lid to me.
Now I’ve come into my rights
Now the rent's gone up a crown,
That insurance brings our wages down.
A further eighteen pence a week:
To raise the fares on trains they seek
You think they’ve done me brown
And you are right now I realise
It’s two bob dust thrown in my eyes
To blind me while they take the swag,
Leave me with an empty bag
Lord down their lousy raise
ESSJAY “The Magnet” Nov 1938 Published by the Council of Railway Shop Committees
"GOLDEN CORN".
(Last week, following a "big cut in "corn" [overtime], some wag hung a dead chook [chicken] on a docket "board in the Machine Shop, & suggested, in writing, that
the poor chook had expired because of the scarcity of "corn".)
Modern men are callous,
For Society to-day
With jungle laws prevailing
Would, fashion them that way.
And yet they feel compassion
For the helpless & the weak,
And laud the deeds of any
Who would champion the weak.
Let me for example,
Use a 'chook we rightly mourn,
Who came right into Eveleigh
In search of "golden corn",
But "corn” was scattered thinly
And was harder there to find
Than the needle in the haystack
Or colour to the blind.
After fruitless hours of search
For the rich & golden hoard,
It died from malnutrition
On Gilbert's docket Board.
Herein lies a lesson,
For the worker of to-day.
Don't bank too much on "corn"
To supplement your pay.
L.M. ‘Eveleigh News 14-3-1956 - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
Split Pin
Of the personalities we have in the workshops,
You'll agree that it can be said
The one that stands over the rest,
Well; we refer to him as "Long Ted"
And as he walks the middle road,
So prominent midst noise & din,
Some wag will be heard call one word
Which sounds very much like ''Split Pin."
He puts on a show &' enjoys the joke
You. couldn’t meet anyone "finer.”
But the long lofty serf turns up for work
The other Monday with a lovely black 'shiner
We all know the tale about chopping wood,
And steeping on the old. garden rake as well,
But try as we might to get this out right
Our "Split Pin" gets- dumb & won't tell
He abuses his mates for trying to be nice,
And acts like a shy little fawn,
Then turns on a 'blue' with you all know who,
And gets wiped for his weekend corn.
My advice to you Ted is hold up your head,
And tell the truth to your fellowmen,
It's not a disgrace that disfigured face,
So open up & be our "Split Pin" again
"GIVE ME LATE CORN & I DON'T CARE"
A hard won concession' of yester year
A principle some still hold dear,
That men must know before Friday morn
If they're required for weekend Corn
But in the section of one called "Rooney",
Some weak kneed blokes are not so choosey,
In fact, it would be quite- alright,
To let them know on Friday night
But a meeting of men who care,
Said, "You can place the Corn well you know where,
There's important points to this verse,
Some men are misled, duped & worse,
Another thing quite easy to see,
Is just how weak some Unions can be,
In fact we must always remember,
How quickly weak leaders surrender.
Nevertheless we can enthuse
Over men who had the guts to refuse.
"Rythm". ‘Eveleigh News 8-6-1955 - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee,
"Curse in Verse”
(with apologies to "Much Binding")
There's .much moaning in the works,
The press are making attacks upon us
Much -moaning in the works?
Only "Granny " Herald would give us
Any solace.
They called us thieves & drunkards
Scoundrels, wasters, crocks & worse.
The "Teles" freedom of the press
Just means misuse of words.
"Mirror" and "Sun" were not outdone
They also floated in the scum.
At Much Moaning in the works
The lousy "baskets??
At Much Moaning in the works.
R.R. Eveleigh Loco News 21-7-1954
MENZIES SPEAKS TO.U.S. SENATE
My name is Robert Gordon,
And although the workers hiss
I praise the German Frankenstein
As brazenly as this!
We must re-arm the Germans,
And Japanese as well,
Together with the Atom Bomb
We'll make this world a Hell
I base my foreign policy,
On this land across the sea,
It's men like Joe McCarthy,
Who plan each move for me
I always support reaction,
Remember Pig Iron for Japan,
I’m building up the Japs again
That's how consistent I am.
I'll send our boys to Asia,
A task I shall adore,
And help the Plan as much as I can,
To plunge the world in war,
I sold my Country's birthright,
And mineral wealth beside
I'm a traitor to Australia
A fact I cannot hide,
I place my case before you
And plainly you will see,
I'm carrying out your orders,
Against humanity.
The Trio ‘Eveleigh News 13-4-1955 - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
"WHY MAKE ST. JOHN CROSS?"
(Last, week a worker was refused treatment because he was chewing gum,
I believe that if the eight points of the St Johns Cross are put into effect
then relationships between Patients & Sisters would be on a much better
level.)
To the First Aid Station a worker, went
Hoping to be treated without contempt
But when Sister saw his injured, limb
All she said, was, “stop chewing gum".
The man was at a loss to understand,
The reason for this gruff command.
This man was a "chewing gum fan you see,
And should have been treated with SYMPATHY.
Instead/he was rudely abused,
And treatment refused on a thumb contused.
In First Aid we are taught to use RESOURCE,
Be gentle In manner & never coarse,
If PERSERVERAOTE is made to-ward this end,
Eveleigh men will quickly comprehend
EXPLICITKESS means, outspoken, plain,
Not treat your fellow with disdain.
DEXTERITY, DISCRIMINATION & OBSERVATION
Are things we expect from a First Aid Station.
And Eveleigh men will always react
To a little more tolerance and a little more tact,
"F.NIGHTINGALE". ‘Eveleigh News -1955 -1956 Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
The Good-Oiler
Some may hold opinions
That the male is never vain,
Although the Peacock has the feathers
And the Lion has the mane.
But one there is among us
One losing all his hair,
Filled his waking hours with worry
And his sleeping hours with care.
We learnt his beauty suffered,
By the baldness of his pate,
And confided all his burdens
To a sympathetic mate.
Now the workers of these workshops,
Are staunch and. loyal and true,
And will come to aid their fellows
If there is anything to do.
So the sympathetic worker
Carefully thought out a plan,
With the very kind assistance
Of a one time Army man.
On the desert sands of Egypt
And war tormented soil,
He learned the many uses
Of a tin of Neatsfoot oil.
As it soaks into a saddle
And saves all types of wear,
It may be the answer
To growing human hair.
In this age of modem science
And the advancement of man,
We're proud to report success
Of this hair raising plan
Spring Growth. ‘Eveleigh News 29-10-1958 - Eveleigh Loco Shop Committee
The Good Oiler was many of the people that keep the 19th Century Industrial revolution machinery of this railway workshop running
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