In this issue of Steam Days magazine we take a look at one of the specialised tasks undertaken by the craftsmen inside the Crewe Works complex – the work of the coppersmith. Although there would be a copper shop inside the works, much of the work carried out by the coppersmith took him to other shops in the works to carry out his duties, for example in the erecting shop.
When visiting the works as an enthusiast, either in a small group or in a large organised party, we rarely got the opportunity to witness the workforce undertaking their daily tasks as large parties of enthusiasts were more keen to jot down the numbers of locomotives under construction or repair. Most visits were timed, and the works staff would not want you mingling amongst the parts on the shop floor, like looking for name or number plate of certain nearby locomotive.
I always enjoyed my visits to any works premises and in the days of steam, together with the diesel and electric period afterwards, I only ever visited Crewe, Swindon and Eastleigh works. My first visit to a works premises took me to Swindon Works in 1951, when joining the crowds of enthusiasts waiting for the works gates to be opened at 2pm every Wednesday afternoon. For me it was well worth the five-hour cycle ride from Worcester, especially after seeing in the works the first of the brand-new British Railways ‘4MT’ 4-6-0s in the 75000 series under construction. I recall in later years seeing these early engines of the class again, but this time waiting on one of the scrap lines in 1967, thinking ‘what a short life’ for an engineering masterpiece, like other st
