Do You Think This Would Work?

[Rhondda Rudie]

A few weeks ago I had the sad duty of attending the funeral of an old hand driver who was working at my depot when I started on the railway.

Treherbert is now the terminus of the Rhondda Valley line but until the 60s the line continued through a tunnel at the end of the valley to emerge in Blaengwynfi and carry on to Port Talbot.The driver mentioned once told me a story about working through the tunnel as a fireman.The incident he told me about happened in the late 50s during the teddy boy era.He was firing the last train through the tunnel on a Saturday night when a large number of teddy boys boarded the train at Treherbert.The slam door stock in those days didn't have individual steps for each door,there a running board along the length of the coach.When the train was in the tunnel he looked back along the train and was shocked to see about a dozen teddy boys moving back and forth along the running board of one of the coaches.He told his driver who immeadiatly told him to pee on his shovel before putting some more coal into the firebox.He did as he was told and was amazed to see the teddy boys getting back inside the train as quickly as they could.Apparently,the combination of coal,urine and fire produces an incredibly obnoxious odour.

So,I'm asking if you think the story was true.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Can't say I've ever tried.

 

[moonrakerz]

Hope they didn't do their bacon & eggs on that shovel !!!!

 

[scotsman]

Water does the trick. I've tried pouring water onto a fire in a stove. Sulphur Dioxide.

 

[grecian]

Oh, it works, and was the weapon of choice to encourage the crew of a banker judged not to be pushing their weight, if a tunnel was on the bank.

The shovel had many uses, cooking, emergency toilet being just two, sometimes in the same trip, the firebox was a great steriliser!