A coal trimmer or trimmer is a position within the

engineering department An engine department or engineering department is an organizational unit aboard a ship that is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the propulsion systems and the support systems for crew, passengers, and cargo. These includ ...

of a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

-fired

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

which involves all coal handling duties. Their main task is to ensure that coal is evenly distributed within a vessel to ensure it remains trim in the water. Their efforts to control the fore-and-aft angle at which a ship floats is the reason they’re called “trimmers”. Without proper management of the

coal bunker A coal bin, coal store or coal bunker is a storage container for coal awaiting use or transportation. This can be either in domestic, commercial or industrial premises, or on a ship or locomotive tender, or at a coal mine or processing plant. D ...

s, ships could easily

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

due to uneven distribution of the coal. The role of trimmers starts with the

bunkering Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships (such fuel is referred to as bunker), including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker (fuel) is called a bunk ...

of coal, distributing it evenly within the bunkers, and then providing a consistent delivery of coal to the stoker or fireman working the vessel’s boilers. Coal trimming was also a role based at the docks and would involve levelling out the coal in a ships hold to ensure that the ship was safe to travel. Coal was transported to the docks via train wagons and the coal was tipped into the ship. During the process of the coal being delivered into the hold of the ship it would form a conical pile. This would be unsafe for the ship to sail in case the coal moved to one side causing the ship to list and roll over. Trimmers would shovel the coal out so that it was level and the ship was safe. It was a tough difficult job in dark and dangerous conditions.

Role

Within the engineering crew, trimmers had one of the hardest lowest paid jobs. Working conditions were hard because they worked directly inside the coal bunkers which were poorly lit, full of coal dust, and extremely hot due to them being located on top or between working

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s. Trimmers used

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of ...

s and

wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is mad ...

s to move coal around the bunkers in order to keep the coal level, and to shovel the coal down the coal chute to the firemen below who fueled the furnaces. Trimmers were also involved in extinguishing fires in the coal bunkers. Fires occurred frequently due to

spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

of the coal. The fires had to be extinguished with fire hoses and by removing the burning coal by feeding it into the furnace. Coal trimmers worked on various docks around the U.K. in the early part of the 19th century. They were skilled at their job and in some areas of the country formed unions such as the Cardiff, Penarth and Barry Coal Trimmers Association.

Notable coal trimmers

*There were 73 trimmers aboard the coal-fed ocean liner ''

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''. During the sinking of the ship, these men disregarded their own safety and stayed below deck to help keep the steam-driven electric generators running for the water pumps and lighting. Only 20 trimmers were among those who survived. Crew of the RMS Titanic#Engineering crew *

Torsten Billman Torsten Edvard Billman (6 May 1909 – 6 April 1989) was a Swedish artist who worked as a printmaker, illustrator, and buon fresco painter. He counts as one of the 20th century's premier wood-engravers.merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s from 1926 to 1932 – has portrayed the hard work in

s and stokeholes. * Frank Bailey, a Guyanese-British firefighter was a coal trimmer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coal Trimmer Construction and extraction occupations Transport occupations Marine occupations