This is York

In Britain the morning sunlight does not rest on city walls older than those of York, once called Moroccan by the Romans, later the site chosen for a great cathedral and the capital of a kingdom, now the noise of horses begging as they pass through the warm gate gate has given way to the noise of modern transport leaving together the early morning workers of besieged York, they called it once when they were booed, values ​​to watch the wild road towards To the north, these streets were full of stalls and trading tongues, now merchants and typists, merchants and Clark's relatives, the shops and offices where today Businesses are gathered, the older streets have lost their traffic, the traffic that became too much great for the cobbled alleys and came out of them when the walls and bricks were spread so that York could reach a new era and take the railways into its lap.

They've shaken the old walls when the first trains rumbled in, that was back in 1840 or so, now York, a sort of Transport Center with a big station that any station should be proud of and that's where I come every time. tomorrow. I came across what some people would say is the same task, high level routine, so call it right, there may be more to the railways now than routine, if you want to look it up, most of

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stuff comes from the region that is the headquarters of the area, there is often a lot. of extra trains for the weekend some don't need more than a glance now I can leave that to my secretary but there are some that need a little more organization there may be a cup tie somewhere that will mean more trains for the crowds and they brought staff to take care of them and then the next lesson is the dictation my dispatch briefcase does not contain all the messages arrive at the station, as well as a telephone exchange at the headquarters there is a telegram to place updated reports the traffic position and things like that they handle most From the messages in your outside office perhaps you are looking for a horse or a dining car that needs its gas cylinders and fresh water tanks refilled.

This is where all of these extras are tied into the station's normal routine. I never spend more time in the office than I can help and as soon as urgent matters are resolved, I go on an inspection tour. I have to be very smart to beat these young transporters under the rigs. I come from all over just to spend the day collecting engines. Numbers I always keep in mind that some of these young people could also work for the railroads one day, so it may seem silly, but I like to see things clear before they realize it, but some of the imps always leave it that way.

I don't get very far without someone chasing me with some kind of message and I always think I'll show interest. If I can make the smallest job seem as important as taking a train a couple hundred miles, then I'm not doing so bad. 917 Sheffield, now there was a last minute call for an extra coach at 8:10. Good lemon, there still weren't many people to warm up the platforms, but from now on and for about an hour, the trains will enter and leave one every three. or four minutes twenty five in an hour to be exact 9:20 from New Castle at some point most cultures will be ready for the Denver Edinburgh.

Things seem to be going well, so I have time to call the signal box we used to have. eight old manual lever boxes to cover the 33 miles of track is now just a panel and a bank of switches: with a single glance, the signalman can know exactly where the trains are in his section and can set a route by turning a switch that configure each signal. and move each pair of points along a line of track, there's the North Briton coming, as the wheels of the train enter each section, they make those big light bulbs light up to show exactly where it is.

We keep track of delays and if it is a piece. of coal on the tips of an elephant on the line down, goes in

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book of events and for those who know how to read between the lines, the shape of the railway is a chronicle of all the life and activity of this place, but it is not the only train on ascending platform. 14 is train 954 Grantham and Kings Cross for rudram Sheffield Davi Birmingham Gloucester and Bristol leaving at 10 3 six a train for Morton and Scarborough at 10:15 Bradford karma should be ready I asked the road establishment now there It goes right across the junction, moving away towards the northeast, indicating its progress as it goes.

The morning rush is just beginning to ease, but the day's work is not just about moving trains in and out of the station at the Clifton sidings, for example, carriages are constantly being pulled. and they were distributed again, some will have to go to repair the carriages and wagons, in addition a new wagon is being built, the old women from the rolling stop come to this place to reinforce themselves and come out as good as new as if they were The buffers had never been hit, It's just time to tidy up before the place fills up again, but there's always work to keep us busy every minute, with or without trains, and there's laundry, for example, that comes with these mechanical horses, not that they're any good now. .

Gardens like the old ones, but they bring a larger load of baskets. We are one of the central transport laundries in York every day I get hampers and go from here to the station to go around the country and down to Kings Cross for sleeping cars and dining cars. there are oil lamps. I often think it's funny that although today we have huge organizations that make and operate almost everything, the safest thing for a train is still an oil lamp arranged and filled to perfection by a guy like this, who is the railways , the latest in signals. boxes in one hand and the oldest in lamps or headwear in the other, from time to time, this hat is my symbol of office, a symbol that represents more than 125 years of railways in Great Britain and everything that still mean to us, it is a The touch of traditional when I put this under my responsibility it seems to grow a little and there is an extra shine in the day's work every time a trend appears it means a complicated operation to get out on time every man must know his job And carry on. with him without being told at this station, apart from a change of conductor, firefighter, garden inspector, there will be at least 15 people with a particular job to do before the trains leave, like the land he was checking the wheels looking for faults and pausing in the upward race to put two extra boxes on the back of his hand to see that they do not overheat the better the porters carry the packages to a train on the way out of the station while the firefighter fills of water like the platform inspector the men at the signal box the announcer the platform foreman and the porters have been loading packages and that is the name only a few but in less than ten minutes the train must have its load and be ready to leave again away from York the trains are probably old main routes but in the veil luggage The laden crowds give way to individual people, perhaps someone like the lord.

Barnes by Thorton Lee Dale, who has been sending his prized rabbits to shows for as long as anyone can remember, one seed had to trot to the nearest parcel office with his boxes himself, now something more personal has arrived to replace the stations scattered around Bale in these areas. It used to be served by single branch lines where the engines would take two puffs and stop at the next wait now these are returning to the melting pot their passengers have taken two buses and the packages pass then every day this man drives from Morton and through the stations past the war where the level crossing gates crashed for the last time in these parts you no longer hear the wheezing of the steam engines now this van comes straight to the villages, brings your newspapers and carries your parcels back to the trains that They enter and leave York at York station, in addition to all the freight traffic, the afternoon horse brings another rush of people, some from Vale aiming to be in London by 6:30 or perhaps businessmen from Middlesbrough will be in Bristol before Now at 9 o'clock we arrive at platform 40 and every day something different happens on this platform for a while as hundreds just ask to be moved as quickly as possible from time to time so someone who cannot cope with the rush on the platform and climbing stairs and we are ready for them to do it, whether it is helping invalids or fixing safety lamps, it is a human job.

But you don't get a human service by just asking, you have to get people to work together to have meetings like the local departmental committee, which is where staff and management get together to discuss, say, shift work and such. sometimes some complaints; oh, it can get heated sometimes, it usually ends with people breathing agreements with each other in tea room block mail sorting there's another group of human give and take check out that lot and you'll find a collection of true stories as varied as their fates, lo The same goes for the reservation office, they are not selling just In this place they sell travel tickets to people, we are going to find a new job or get married or join families or leave them.

These guys can check tickets until they're blue in the face and they better check them good. or the passenger agent will be behind them, but something that travels every day that cannot be put a price on in this job. I suppose we all start out serving the railroads, but with some sense we realize that our transportation work begins and ends with serving people from their places of business merchants and typists merchants and moving Clark to the bus stops the night traffic shakes the old city walls behind the confusion the ordering systems still deal with the endless demands of the people as today's messages flow through the next The year's schedules are taking shape at the headquarters of the department of the area.

There is no operational superintendent. Hello, it takes me away. Sure they're finishing up planning for the day at headquarters and have to plan for more than just York Station, but these are the people who govern this area, an area that extends beyond Yorkshire Northumberland and, uh, I was in this part of the country, but the railways began and the tradition goes back to those who ruled in the old days of the North East and goes back beyond them, to George Stephenson. and George Hudson, the king of the railroad, who said that the McCall railroads come to York and old Edward Pease, godfather of the Stockton railroad, the tradition goes back to its beginnings here at the New York Railroad Museum, the old locomotives are stored, there are no Giants whose arrival raised the signals for a new age but all those thousands who come to visit here these are symbols now monuments to those who built the railways and although time has dimmed their fame deep down there is no way to break the hand that holds the lever now turn the switch it's still the same humanity that sets out to learn a new path and now I'm done for the day but then there will be no rest because my outbound trains will continue to echo and pound through all of York the night, where is he at school?

I remember they used to tell us that if you give something a push and then let it go, the thing will still work fine when I've given York station my push for the day. I think my guys will keep it running good until morning so I can push myself, that's it, you, you.