Wheeltapper
Encyclopedia
A wheeltapper is a railway worker employed to check the integrity of train wheels and that axle boxes are not overheating.
Typically employed at large railway stations and in goods yards, they tap wheels with a long-handled hammer and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts. They also check that the axle boxes are not overly hot by using the back of their hand.
Although wheeltappers still operate in some eastern European countries, in western nations where modern planned maintenance procedures and line-side defect detectors, such as hot box
detectors, have mostly obviated the need for the wheel-tapper, the job is mostly associated with the steam age.
Wheeltappers were vital to the smooth running of the railways as a cracked wheel or overheated axle bearing
would lead to delays and the loss of revenue. These were particularly common in the 19th century, when axle bearings were lubricated by grease
. Equally, in this period, metallurgy was a more haphazard science and thus it was impossible to test steel wheels for cracks, thus the role of the wheeltapper was of crucial importance.
Alternatively, wheeltapper can be used to describe a woodworker who fastened wooden spokes into wooden wheels typically using an iron hammer. Wheeltappers often were skilled craftsmen who belonged to one of numerous secret societies or guilds characterized by their proclivity to drink, sing songs and dance into the late hours of the night. Despite their immense skill and ability to tap efficiently with their hammers, wheeltappers were very quickly replaced by iron workers once metal became inexpensive enough to be used in place of the wooden bolts. To this day, wheeltappers are remembered for their strength and penchant for hard work.
Typically employed at large railway stations and in goods yards, they tap wheels with a long-handled hammer and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts. They also check that the axle boxes are not overly hot by using the back of their hand.
Although wheeltappers still operate in some eastern European countries, in western nations where modern planned maintenance procedures and line-side defect detectors, such as hot box
Hot box
A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid 20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked rags or cotton to reduce the friction of the axle...
detectors, have mostly obviated the need for the wheel-tapper, the job is mostly associated with the steam age.
Wheeltappers were vital to the smooth running of the railways as a cracked wheel or overheated axle bearing
Bearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
would lead to delays and the loss of revenue. These were particularly common in the 19th century, when axle bearings were lubricated by grease
Grease (lubricant)
The term grease is used to describe semisolid lubricants. Although the word grease is also used to describe rendered fat of animals, in the context of lubrication, grease typically applies to a material consisting of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil...
. Equally, in this period, metallurgy was a more haphazard science and thus it was impossible to test steel wheels for cracks, thus the role of the wheeltapper was of crucial importance.
Alternatively, wheeltapper can be used to describe a woodworker who fastened wooden spokes into wooden wheels typically using an iron hammer. Wheeltappers often were skilled craftsmen who belonged to one of numerous secret societies or guilds characterized by their proclivity to drink, sing songs and dance into the late hours of the night. Despite their immense skill and ability to tap efficiently with their hammers, wheeltappers were very quickly replaced by iron workers once metal became inexpensive enough to be used in place of the wooden bolts. To this day, wheeltappers are remembered for their strength and penchant for hard work.
See also
- Oh, Mr Porter!Oh, Mr Porter!Oh, Mr Porter! is a British comedy film starring Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel. While not his most commercially successful, it is probably his best-known film to modern audiences...
a 1937 movie in which Will Hay plays a wheeltapper at the outset of the story - The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social ClubThe Wheeltappers and Shunters Social ClubThe Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a British television variety show produced by Granada Television from 1974 to 1977. It was set in a fictional working men's club in the North of England and was hosted by comedian Colin Crompton. Also regularly featured was comedian Bernard Manning...
television programme