John Collins: Working Life, Railways, Corporal Punishment,

John Collins: Working Life, Railways, Corporal Punishment,

Life History;

John was born in 1928. His family was from Bandon. His father worked on the Cork and Bandon Railway and was transferred to the city in 1929, the family living at Killbarry Cottages, Blackpool. The family moved to a house in Lower Road which was also owned by the railway company.
John left school at 16 and joined the railway immediately. His earliest memory is of seeing the cattle trains pass the cottages and his dreaming of being a train driver.
He tells a story about corporal punishment at school that rebounded on the master.
He recalls a supernatural experience at work.
John describes his work as a train shunter, preparing trains for travel to various stations, which he says was well paid. His first job had been cleaning the train engines, which he describes as dirty work. Kent station used to employ up to 500 men, but when steam trains were replaced by diesel trains, employment fell off. He worked as a fireman, loading coal into the steam engine, and was stationed in Courtmacsherry and Mallow. He explains that steam train drivers had to be very skilled at their job. He became a diesel train driver in 1962.
He tells a story about unexpectedly having to work on a train all the way to Dublin when he was 17. He tells another story about repairing a train brake hose at night and receiving a commendation afterwards. He remembers an incident when a thief stealing barrels of Guinness from the wagons had a leg cut off by the train.
He laments the closing of railway lines, particularly the line to Youghal, which he remembers as very busy.
John retired in 1993 but retains his interest in the railways.

18 January 1999

CFP_SR00249_collins_1999

Ireland; Cork; 1900s

Published Material:
Hunter, Stephen (1999), Life Journeys: Living Folklore in Ireland Today, Cork: The Northside Folklore Project

Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive

Cork Folklore Project

English

Sound

.wav

94min 59sec

Lower Glanmire Road, Cork

Cassette

S.H: Yeah. So did you have a favourite journey when you were driving, a favourite train journey?

J.C: Favourite journeys now were, the favourite trains that I worked anyway were the 8 o’clock routes to Dublin, that was a great train. I used do a lot of chaps turns on the 8 o’clock routes because there was money in it, there was nearly double the amount of what you’d earn on other jobs. You see there was all the mileage and the overtime. Well as I say I was a kind of family man and I didn’t spend much away from home. I always tried to make as much as I could for the family like you know. But of course a trip to Dublin on the 5.30, I remember one evening; I’ll tell you about a trip to Dublin. I left Cork one evening at 5.30 and you’d be supposed to pass Charleville at six minutes past six, and I passed Charleville at six minutes past six and at eleven minutes past six I was after passing Charleville down and I was going fairly well. All of a sudden the brakes went on the train. I got on to control and I told them that I was in trouble. I didn’t know what was wrong I said but the brakes were after going on and I said I’d get back to you. I jumped off the engine anyway to go back to the guard to tell him I was in trouble and I hadn't to go far when I saw what trouble I had. There was a hose between the engine and the first carriage, ‘twas gone, it must have blown into a field. The air from the engine was blowing mad you see, I was losing….

S.H: What would the hose do control the air pressure?

J.C: Yeah. You see ‘twas the connection for the carriages so when I lost that, I lost all the brake, the brake went on. So I went back to your man anyway, Control and I said ‘I’m in right trouble’ I said, ‘the air hose is gone’ I said. ‘It was blown off’ I said, ‘Jesus’ he said, ‘we’re in right trouble’. ‘Why’, I said. He said ‘there’s no one in Cork to go to your assistance and there’s no one in Limerick. ‘The only thing’ he said ‘I can do’, and ‘twas just quarter past six at this time, he said ‘I’ll send a man down with a hose to you from Dublin on the 6.25’. ‘Is it codding me you are’, I said. ‘6.25, what time will that be down here to me?’. ‘Look’ I said, ‘leave it to me, I’ll see what I can do and I’ll get back to you’ you see.

S.H: Right.

J.C: And I walked back the train to go back to the guard to tell him that I was in right trouble. On my way back I found a big nut and bolt, right?

S.H: Em.

J.C: And I was thinking where am I going to get a hose and I thought there should be a hose in the back on the rear carriage. But you see I also thought that they are put on with a machine, so anyway I went back and told the guard, he was gone back a distance now but I gave him a shout and I started beating, flaking the big nut anyway. I flaked and I flaked. Jesus the next thing it started to come, I could feel it slackening and I kept at it and kept at it and I got it. I told the guard to call for a man that was on the train, his name was Mick O’Connell, he was an electrician in Dublin and I saw him on the platform in Cork. Now he was in his good clothes but at least he’d be of some assistance to me.

S.H: What do you think the rest of the passengers were thinking by this time?

J.C: Well I told your man to tell them that we’d be a while.

S.H: Yeah.

J.C: So anyway, he called for this Mick O’Connell, the electrician. Mick came out. ‘Jesus’, he said ‘what’s wrong with you’, and I told him. So we went up and I fixed on the tube, the hose and your man gave me a hand to beat it on then like, and I hooked up. Got up on the engine and phoned your man in Control again and I said ‘I’m ready now nearly to go on with this train’. ‘Your not’, he said. I said ‘I am, I’m ready now’. Says he ‘there’s a man on the 6.25 gone down anyway’. So I got the brake, got everything in order, everything was right, got up on the engine and off. Do you know where I met him?

S.H: Where?

J.C: Above in Templemore. We’d have been about two hours late; I was only half an hour late getting into Dublin. But I was congratulated, I got a letter from Dublin and I got a new uniform and I got fifty pounds and a letter of congratulations, I have it as a matter of fact still. So that was my good trip.

S.H: Yeah, and what about Mick O’Connell?

J.C: Oh, I’ll tell you the story of Mick O’Connell. In my report then I told them that ‘there was a man travelling on the train, an electrician, Michael O’Connell, and I would be very thankful to you if you would see fit that he should be compensated for the work that he did with me during the break-down’. He was paid four hours and he was brought in on over-time that Sunday. He got a Sunday and he got four hours for working with me.

S.H: Very good.

J.C: So he was a very happy man.