No 6207 A Study in Steel 1935

At just over 17 minutes in length, it was the date of this video that caught my attention.

**LINK**

Guess why.

Oh those halcyon days.

Strangely watch it Saturday night myself for the second or third time

H

The curved slotter affair doing the smoke box saddle at about 4 minutes was new to me, and the blacksmiths striker certainly was a mighty man. I wonder what his bmi was? 3 figures?

Hi Sam, I'm guessing that 1935 was your birth year. Nice to watch the old skills in action, some hot and dirty jobs there, but someone had to do them.

Regards Nick.

Hi, I had a few turns of being a striker in my first job in a blacksmith's shop, but the metal wasn't so large and heavy as in the film, but I did have to keep in time with my master's hammer and missed a few times resulting in some unmentionable language being shouted at me.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 25/07/2022 09:02:46

yes! I did also, have seen it before but still a great video, ah! times past, what a shame, some great skills there.

Yes Nick, you’re right.

For most, recognising our birth year must be commonplace. Besides the obvious, I’ve found it interesting to learn of special events, none-the-least being certain political signings. It would be advisable to leave those alone.

But Mickey Mouse gets a mention; Amelia Earhart flew solo across part of the Pacific Ocean; a large dam with the name of a vacuum cleaner was completed; and cat’s eyes with a built in `wash and brush up’ were introduced onto British roads.

There’s a bit more traffic now so it’s not safe to try this, but if you stamped on the rubber covered cat’s eyes, you’d likely produce a jet of water up-yer-kilt.

As a 1st year apprentice in about 50-51, a visit to Horwich Loco Works northwest of Bolton was another eye opener.

**LINK**

I can still recall the pleasant(?) smell of the smoke being chuffed owt-ut-th’engin-chim-ly. Was it sulphur combining with steam?

Down the road towards Bolton was de Havilland Propellers.

**LINK**

It was a most interesting place for a young lad. I watched intrigued by the degree of balance of those enormous three-bladed props. They would begin to turn from the weight of a folded visitor’s card, only coming to a standstill once the card fell off.

Times change!