The Ash Tunnel

The boilers were old and had seen many years of service, times had changed and these old boilers that were a dark and dingy place were coming to their end. However as inefficient as they were it was still worth operating them to use up the last of the off gas. In earlier times they had been fired with coal and generated much ash. There were five boilers in a row with the firing floor at ground level and an ash tunnel running along underneath them, an even darker and uninviting place. Stories abounded of the incidents in the ash tunnel, the Ashmen worked like coal miners, pick and shovel and a little skip pushed by hand along a rail to the ash pit. Men had even died in there under a collapse of hot ash while digging with a pick. This was no more but the ash tunnel remained.

As always, as things change, other uses were found for features of plant and now that there was no ash, the tunnel was used only on rare occasions for access to incinerate unwanted confidential papers and the like. The ash chute door just needed to be slightly opened and the natural draft of the boiler would draw loose paper in and it would burn very quickly in the gas flame inside where the bricked walls of the furnace glowed red hot.

The ash tunnel was now the domain of the Boiler Cleaners, it was some sort of sanctuary, there were a little rooms off the tunnel for the ash chute of each boiler, a warm but dark place most useful for drying work clothes. The Boiler Cleaners had a washing machine fashioned from a drum with a steam hose for heating which also worked very well as an agitator. There was even an unofficial store room at the very end, who knows what was stored in there, only Boiler Cleaners. Anyone entering would be seen and quickly followed to see what was their purpose. Any official entry would involve the Leading Hand Boiler Cleaner and a Watchman from the Works Security with the confidential papers to be so disposed.

Occasionally even the Bank would send in money removed from circulation for incineration. On these occasions much excitement would prevail, maybe some of the money could be snaffled before it got to the boilers. Well it did happen only to lead to great disappointment as every note had been through a punch perforating it with many holes.

My Boiler Maintenance Foreman, Jolly John, came to my office with a concerned look on his face. He informed me that two of his men had been found in the ash tunnel smoking.... Smoking I thought, well deal with it.

He went on to explain that the two men had been missed from the assigned work area, and as always with anyone missing the first thought was that something had happened, an accident of some sort, possibly a concentration of toxic gas.

The "grapevine" works very well and it was soon reported that these two men had been seen entering the ash tunnel. Jolly John explained that it was not cigarettes that they were smoking and that he thought that the Superintendent needed to handle such a matter. Well these two men; Archie, a long serving employee who while a bit of a rascal was otherwise well respected, a good tradesman and a family man, the other, his Trades Assistant, Jughead, an itinerant worker from the UK who had only been with us a short while.

Interviewing them separately Archie admitted his presence and that he was "off the job" but denied smoking any of the forbidden substance only a cigarette. Jughead on the other hand said something along the lines of "Look I admit that I was smoking some dope, pretty silly thing to do. My mate Archie he didn't smoke any. I will be moving on soon anyway. Sack me and let Archie off"

Well I did, Archie thanked me very much and assured me that it would not happen again. That would be the end of it. No thought of informing or involving the Police. The less said the better.

A week or so later there was much laughter in the Foremen's office as they assembled just before knock off. Not unusual in itself but the intensity was greater than normal and I could not help but to go out and see what was so funny. Jolly John was the centre of the attention and the story went like this:

The Watchman had rung and asked if it was OK for the Police to come in that afternoon to burn some confidential papers. Jolly John had done as usual and found the Boiler Cleaner Leading Hand and asked him to wait at the ash tunnel entrance for the Watchman and the Police. Jolly John had watched them enter the tunnel and suddenly a thought flashed through his head. Never one to miss an opportunity he made quickly for the Boiler Maintenance workshop where Archie was making up some pipe work. "Oh Archie, could you just come with me a moment there is someone down at the ash tunnel bridge who wants to see you. The little bridge over the ash tunnel was a sort of an entrance to the boilers and a natural meeting place, often the scene of discussion.

Archie turned off his oxy torch , pulled his gloves off and walked chatting to Jolly John along the back of the boilers and across the ash tunnel bridge. There was no one there and Jolly John lent on the hand rail looking down the ash tunnel. Archie wondering who wanted to see him. He then turned suddenly a very pale colour as the Police Sergeant emerged from the ash tunnel, the locality of where Jughead and Archie had recently enjoyed some shared experience.

Jolly John could not contain himself and broke down in laughter. The Police Sergeant, a puzzled look on his face kept walking with the Watchman back to the Paddy Wagon parked across the rail tracks. Archie stormed off back to the workshop. Just as well it was near knock off time as Archie spent the rest of the afternoon stomping around the workshop calling Jolly John all sorts of names.

Lindsay Threadgate February 2013