Nostalgia: 'Directing the trams was a massive responsibility for a 15-and-half-year-old'

Published on Saturday 15 August 2009 11:20

DENNIS McCrone, 88, who now lives in Winchester, recalls working on the trams in Edinburgh as a boy.

At the age of 14-and-a-half, I took a job with the Edinburgh Corporation in the position of parcel boy, trusting this would lead to an apprenticeship at 16 years of age in the tramways workshop at Shrubhill.

In the 1930s, tram cars were the main form of transport in the city. The management of the corporation devised a scheme whereby businesses in Edinburgh could avail themselves of a parcel service in the town and suburbs.

Fashion houses in Edinburgh with shops in Princes Street, George Street, the Bridges and Lothian Road (with no transport) could use the service with a same day or at least the next day delivery.

A peaked cap with the word "parcels" on the brim was placed on my head. If I made the grade I would be given a uniform. We had four boys in the department, two van drivers and two supervisors. My very first delivery was Granton and the surrounding area, my large white bag was loaded with 14 parcels, assistance was given on certain locations and off I went on my first assignment. Travel was free, the boy was placed on the deck behind the driver.

The procedure for delivery was to walk to the furthermost point, make your drop, meander back to the tram terminus at Granton, dropping the remaining 13 parcels en route. Back at the depot, having made a salary of one shilling and two pence, I was all set for my next round.

Seven months later I was interviewed to fill a vacant position as a Points Boy. I must have made an impression.

The control box was situated in the front of the Wellingston Monument at the east end of Princes Street where one could observe trams arriving in all directions. Several levers, operated manually, controlled the points in a way similar to a railway junction. Training was under the watchful eye of an inspector/examiner. When he finally assured himself that I was capable he informed me that my "parcels" badge should be replaced by a "points" one and the position was now mine.

Three boys operated the centrals on a triple shift duty. A route number indicated the direction in which the tram would travel either along Princes Street North Bridge or Leith Street and of course vice versa. Trams passing every two minutes kept you on your toes. It was a massive responsibility for a 15-and-half-year-old, a mistake could cause disruption. During darkness twin colours were positioned at the forward end of the upper deck, always difficult to recognise when raining, the colour indicating the route.

In the event I did not take up an opportunity with Edinburgh Corporation, I became a master coachbuilder then a plant manager with the Forth Motor Company.