Life is Full of Ups & Downs - Part 3

ON SERVICE

I only did about six-months on Service (maintenance) and none at all on Installations (new equipment into new buildings).
The rest of the time that I spent "on the tools", as we used to say, was on Repairs - repairs and modernisations to existing units.

Although I worked with Brian for much of the time on maintenance I also worked with another bloke, a Paul something-or-other who had his own Austin (Morris, maybe?) ute...a dark-green item. It was a vehicle run in the western suburbs and I think Paul lived in or near Campsie, because I recall being picked up by him at Campsie station on several occasions.

I found maintenance boring.....cleaning & filing big copper contacts on 480V DC control boards; wiping carbon dust off the panels; using the multi-coloured cotton waste to wipe oil off sheaves, gearboxes, motors, bed-plates; adjusting door-lock rollers so that the cams would move them correctly.....and so on.

A typical control panel of the era. Note the copper & carbon contacts.

The most interesting times were when we serviced water hydraulics.

There were a couple which Brian and I had on our run.....down in the Rocks area, I think.....but most were serviced by an older gentleman by the name of George Sproule.

I remember Brian introducing me to him on a site in either Kent or York Street.

These things fascinated me.

They were controlled by pulling a rope which passed through the floor and roof of the lift car, the rope running over pulleys located at the top and bottom of the shaft and terminating at a lever which operated the valve.

The car was  suspended by ropes to the hydraulic piston, the cylinder being fixed to the wall of the shaft

A simple graphic arrangement of a rope-suspended water-hydraulic

The water necessary to operate these devices - and for hydraulic wool presses in the various wool stores - was provided by the Hydraulic Power Company, in Pier Street. (Classified as being of Historical Significance).

Around this time (1964/65) the Hydraulic Power Company was in the throes of closing down and quite a few water-hydraulics were being converted to oil.....more of which I will describe in another chapter.

After spending time on Service I then went to Repairs, and that's what I loved and where I spent the rest of my "on the tools" part of my apprenticeship.

More....much more.....to follow in the next chapters.

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