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Work History continued...
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| 22 Years
My next job was working for Printar Industries in Mead Lane Hertford. This company took the residue left over after gas was produced from coal. They then distilled it it to produce tar, kreosote, napthelene and many more by products. The tar was used as a road building material. They ran a fleet of trucks that were used to spray hot tar on the old road surface, on which was then spread shingle to form the new road These trucks were equiped with oil fired burners that threw a flame into a heating coil to keep the tar warm.
As a new boy I was assigned a very old truck that was a real mess. Working with tar all day is not easy and if you don't take care it ends up everywhere. My truck had tar in the cab on the floor even on the steering wheel. Every spare minute I was cleaning first the cab then the outside of the truck. After three weeks it was starting to look good, I had replaced the carpet in the cab and the Tank had gone from black to its original silver. Then one morning I was told I had been put on a different job and shown a different vehicle. You guessed it, it was filthy. I would normally have complained but this truck was much newer than my first vehicle so it was a step up of sorts.
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A brut of a vehicle
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| The day started at 5.30am, we lined up to fill our tankers with hot tar from an overhead gantry that was heated with steam to stop the tar from setting. Tar fumes have the same effect on me as petrol, I know its not good to inhale but I love the smell. The old timer used to say that they never got colds or flu during the tar spraying season so it must be good for you. I think the fumes would kill a brown dog at a hundred yards so I tried to limit my intake. The tankers held about 4 to 5000 gallons so it took about 30 - 40 minutes for them fill. Company rules were that they were not to be left unattended at any time, however must drivers came back to the lunch room fo a cup of tea while they filled. Early morning starts and long hours make for tired men and everyone was terrified of falling asleep and letting there truck overflow. It had happened and it was hard work to clean up plus you could get the sack for a bad spill. Men will be men and if while sitting drinking your tea you shut your eyes for just a second they would wait a minute or two then shake you say "your trucks overflowing", then fall about laughing as you almost have a heart attack before you realise it a joke. |
The sprayer
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| My new truck was looking a picture I had it shining like a new pin, I can't work with crap equipment. I had everything checked and if the workshop wouldn't fix it I did it myself during the day. A lot of our time was spent sitting around waiting for something to happen. The actual time spent spraying was only 3-4 hours a day, we had to wait for the traffic to be diverted, the grit lorries to refill, the council worker to have there lunch & at lunch time we often had another tanker bring us a refill that then had to be reheated. Some jobs like on motorways two sprayer worked together so we could do 4 lanes in one go. Whilst working on one of these jobs with another crew we pulled of the motorway so we could refill and have lunch while the burners reheated the load. The road we went up was narrow and the only spot we could pull over was out side two new houses that were set back from the road. The trucks that brought out our refill were pressure tanks that used compressed air to push their load off. |
Our refill on its way
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| The outlet pipe was at the lowest point of the tank and a compressor applied air to the surface of the loquid that pushed it out of the tank. The process was to park both vehicles side by side, run the outlet pipe for the refill vehicle into the manhole on top of the sprayers tank. Once the pipe was securly tied to the manhole the tranfer could begin. It would take 30 minutes to fill and as it neared time for the last of the liquid to leave the tanker the driver would put his foot on the fill pipe & wait for vibrations caused by air entering the pipe. The vibration meant the tanker was almost empty and it was time to start closing the valve however on this day the pipe vibrated so vilolently that it pulled its self free of the manhole and the end started to flail around just like a garde hose when no one is holding it. The difference with this hose is that it was spraying hot black tar around. Everyone ran for cover while the hose sprayed the front of both house their gardens and even the cars in tar. Not happy with that it blow in the front windows and filled the rooms with tar. Eventually the air pressure dropped and we could risk getting close enough to shut the tanke valve. What a mess, the companies insurance had to replace the cars and remove and replace the front of both buildings, I'm just glad it wasn't my truck. |
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| I was called into the office one day to see the big boss and on my way over was trying to think what have I done, it must be bad no one has to see him. He called me in a showed me a brochure on the latest AEC 8 wheeler trucks and asked me what I thought of them. What did he expect me to say it was everytruck driver dream to get the very latest. He told me they were about to get 4 brand new ones delivered and my name was on one of them. I was gob smacked there were several driver with more service than me, why me. You look after your truck I know it will be in good hands. |
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| In England the tar spraying season lasts from about early May to late September, during this time you work 12 - 14 hour days and get paid a fortune. Most men get laid off at the end of the season so its work as hard as you can while it lasts. I was expecting to get my last pay any day then I was offered work through the winter. The spray equipment was removed from my truck and I was to do deliveries of fluxing oil (used as a fuel in boilers) and kreosote as a preservative for wood. Twice a week I was to deliver fluxing oil to the Royal Mint near tower bridge something that seemed to amuse the other drivers.. |
Grit lorries cover up the tar with shingle.
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| A beautiful old building but not designed for large trucks to make deliveries. The pump off point was down a small lane at the back of the foundry which could only be reached via a narrow ally and as there was no where to turn round you had to go in backwards. I walked the route a couple of times to plan how I was going to get this huge truck into such a small space, now I know why the driver found it funny. I made it but it was not easy and all the time I was praying I would be able to get out. The lane was so narrow I had to park close to the wall on the drivers side and get out of the passenger door. After about 3 weeks I had it down pat and could get in, in one go. |
The Royal Mint Tower Bridge
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| I had only just enough room to slip out of the passenger door, slide under the truck and connect up the piping before squeezing half of me back into the cab, starting the engine and engage the pump. It was not easy and one day while engaging the pump I slipped knocking the truck into gear which immediatly took off even though the brake was on. By the time I had got into the driver seat and stopped it the hose had torn in half and gallons of fluxing oil had been pumped all over the allyway. When I arrived to do the next delivery they had extended the pipe out into main yard and life was so much easier. When there was no driving work I had to help in the workshop servicing and repairing trucks. I already had experience on cars so I found the work easy. I liked repairing engines or gearboxes and as no one else was very keen to do it I soon ended up as the resident expert . |
The Royal Mint Foundry
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| Work History Continued |
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