Toplink?

thanks Simon!

The bottom link jobs were depot and yard shunting, followed by local work and progressing towards long-distance express work with time. As long-distance work involved a greater mileage premium, it was much sought after for both financial reasons and the status accorded it. Conversely, drivers could be brought back down through the links for disciplinary or health-related reasons. In steam days, the really top-link drivers would have 'their' loco, along with their regular fireman, the loco often receiving its regular overhaul when the driver took annual leave. Sometimes, this attachment went too far- a former colleague, who worked the top-link at 'Top Shed', King's Cross, told me of one of his colleagues who killed himself when 'his' V2 was condemmed. Another colleague, who had worked as a driver on SNCF, said that their 'top link' men would have their name on a removable plate in the cab. He also said that the general reliability, and external condition, of their steam locomotives detioriated when 'common-user' allocation of drivers to locos started. My father was offered a chance of a footplate career on the GWR in the late

1920s/early 1930s- when he found out how slow the career progression was, he opted for a seven-year apprenticeship in the steel industry instead.

Brian

fascinating stuff!

Thanks Brian

Steve

Also done on the LMR, I believe - some of their Pacifics had a small cabside 'pocket' into which a name badge was inserted.

David Belcher

[snipped]

15 years as a fireman before becoming a driver or so I heard at a TUC conference.

(kim)

On top of which, he'd have had to spend several years as a cleaner before even becoming a fireman.. Brian

Crawling under the locomotive and raking out red hot ashes.

The odd thing is the people who did it like Pete Waterman and Joe Brown say they were the happiest days of their life.

(kim)