“… he operated the points by means of the huge, heavy levers of the Max Judel central apparatus system still in use since 1895, and “opened” and “closed” the signals. The operation was, and still is, extremely taxing as transmission takes place via rigid rods and complex gears...
With every movement, each lever entered into position with a metallic clunk which still echoes in his ears many years later.
No automation... few control mechanisms... windows open even in the depths of winter due to the need for a direct view of what was happening outside... a cast-iron stove in the middle of the room for the men to warm their hands in the rare brief yet essential breaks from their arduous work.
And the coal was not only for fuelling the stove... it was essential in times of foggy weather and low visibility. Ten medium-sized pieces were on the ground in ten boxes drawn on the floor with chalk, referring to each of the station’s ten tracks.
A well-aimed kick would make the piece of coal enter the box or leave it, according to whether the track was occupied by an arriving train or by a convoy being shunted, or whether it was freed up by a departing train or a convoy retreating into the shunting yard.
Nothing could describe the importance of this system better than this description of the work of “Pricca”, a pointsman, taken from a book celebrating his 100th year, now remembered only by the oldest railway enthusiasts.