Vintage work crew photos

[Jon]

Ironworkers with the chain links being forged for the anchor of the RMS Titanic. At the time, this was the largest anchor ever made. N. Hingley and Sons. 1910. Largest image size available.

Check out that double-handled sledge!

[MeJasonT]

It makes the chain hanging it from the ceiling look like a jewellery necklace

[KMoffett]

I was thinking the young boy on the left. Wonder what his life was like.

Ken

[Toolmaker51]

Knowing how ever large the record chain was, it needed an equally proportioned anchor. A little googling found a decent article by a lifelong Titanic researcher at https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.or...y-anchors.html
Includes accounts of epic undertaking to ship it from Hingley Works...

[MeJasonT]

I have a very good friend Dick Barton, just happens to own the wreck. used to live 2 miles away from me and drink in my local boozer. (RMS Titanic Inc) He used to be partners with a secondhand car dealer, you know the story. Looks like its back in court again to decide its future and yet again Bob Ballard (the fraud) is sticking in his two cents. I'm also good friends with a chap called Fred Buigett who was a diver for IFREMER on the original expedition to find Titanic. Last week i had the pleasure of congratulating a friend and colleague Jim Calvarey for his new job position with woods hole. Its a damn small world we live in. Whilst working for a salvage crew out in the Mediterranean i had the pleasure of working under a salvage master called Lyle from South Africa, he has been involved in Bob Ballards expedition to find Bismarck. It was a pure fluke that Bismarck was found at all as the vessel was going off hire and was returning back to port having been unsuccessful. The Bismarck was found as a result of running over it on the way home - the sonar equipment had been left on and a keen eyed operator spotted it. This is kind of the story you don't hear. Bob Ballard is also know to express his view of ships engines exploding as they sink, total and utter pants and the reason i call him a fraud, prompted by Lyle no less. you need various conditions for an explosion, gas or high octane fuel, explosive of which engines have non. They do however implode if they are running and the casing happens to cool down rapidly as a result of water rushing in. dada. I've had quite an interesting life and career and met some very unsavoury characters. My first experience of meeting managers from IFREMER was in the med one morning on a salvage job whilst i was pissed as a fart - I went drinking with french chaps the night before, i should have realised i cant match divers pint for pint. Incidentally i've met Bob as well.

[Jon]

New York City street cleaner. 1906. Largest size available.

[mklotz]

My first thought was that a horse drawn street sweeper was an exercise in futility but I suppose that as long as the horses pull rather than push the device everything will work fine.

Street sweeping in the first decade of the century must have provided employment for lots of people.

[Toolmaker51]

My first thought was that a horse drawn street sweeper was an exercise in futility but I suppose that as long as the horses pull rather than push the device everything will work fine.

Street sweeping in the first decade of the century must have provided employment for lots of people.

Well, I suspect some horses wore bags to collect droppings; typical in parades, mounted city police, carriages etc.

And street sweeping took a lot of employees. Good position for those 'city jobs' from brother-in-law in public office. Especially if he didn't care for them so much.

[ranald]

When empty they would have been quite noisy (without the water) I imagine. Looks like other horse drawn carrages in background. If cleaning/shovering the droppings one would be sulky.

We had a local green grocer, named Bumstead, who we were warned of his approach (a mile or two away) bu barking dogs until he fitted pneumatic tyred rims to his horse drawn cart.

I don't remember his finishing his run sometime in early to mid 70's. Probably done out of a job by food chains having/selling such fruit & veg.

[Jon]

Yangtze River. Sichuan, China. 1946. Largest image size available.