Despite various management “initiatives” at KX, weaselling was common there in LHCS/early HST days and there was a seniority, and not based on rank either! I used to see it all happen just looking out of the office window which overlooked the station and platform 8 in particular.
Pullman arrivals were for the most senior weasellers and they used to stand on their own dedicated “pitch” until called forward by the car steward. He would open the door as the train arrived and stand in the gangway, holding his hand up and indicating with his fingers how many he wanted. The staff would then move forward from their pitches to assist the steward/passengers. The Steward often used to get a tip from the passenger anyway and, of course, the person weaselling would usually got a very decent tip from punters on Pullman trains.
In the Area Managers Offices we had two old messengers (ex Guards, long past retirement age) on the shift who also ran the reprographic room (two roneo machines and a big old photocopier which used coated paper). They were the only ones who were supposed to operate the kit in there.
However, they were senior men when it came to weaselling so when they were out on the platform, the form was that the room would be left open, we would go in there, do the copying or run off some forms off a roneo skin and put what we had done down on a piece of paper with our room number on it. When they came back, they would copy that into their log book as if it was their own work. Usually that meant that if we wanted any favours done, they would happily oblige!
At KX, as a youngster, I kept my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut. It was quite a railway education.
