I’m surprised that they were painting with sawdust & shavings around.  I’d have expected a good sweep up, before getting the paint out.

I guess the rather wooden appearance of the people might be due to keeping still for a longish exposure.

I’m also guessing there wasn’t much banter or discussion about last weekend’s footy, or anything else, judging by the foreman’s happy smiling countenance.

3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Building wagons at Doncaster works, South Yorkshire, c 1916

A year later they'd have had the first Black & Decker electric drill but 1916, it's all hand work, handsaws, brace and bit and so on.  The other thing that struck me about these marvellous photos from the Getty archives - the paint shop is an absolute mess where the fabrication shop is relatively clean: somehow, I'd expect the opposite.

Kit PW

14 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

The wagon shop foreman had notice the photographer was coming; the paint shop foreman was caught unawares. 

Probably explains the scowl!

https://www.steampicturelibrary.com/swindon-works/carriage-wagon-works-12-shop/12c-shop-carriage-paint-shop-1950s-486158.html

is a photo of the destination board painting shop at Swindon.  It's captioned, wryly, that the boards were repainted when the destinations changed.   There is clearly some setting out of letters in advance of painting as the "ER" of "GLOUCESTER" is present whilst, from left to right, the "O" is in progress.  There are a couple of easels which perhaps are being used to trace off standard letter shapes (?).

Kit PW

17 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

That sound much like the way I add transfers to wagons, to get the spacing right.

I don't know about the wagon works concerned, but in one of the HMRS "Southern Style" volumes I seem to remember that there is mention of using a bag of flour and stencils to give an indication of the shape of the lettering. I have read all but the first volume several times, but in terms of proof reading rather than looking for information.

Jonathan

“Pouncing”.

a cotton bag of chalk dust (I guess flour would work, but might get damp and go nasty) banged onto stencils with lines of pinholes, through which the powder passes & provides a dotted line to follow…

you can buy “pounce wheels” from dressmakers’ suppliers, or the usual online sources.

11 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Derived from the action of a domestic cat, leaving small holes in one's clothes and skin?

Birds of prey:

https://www.etymonline.com/word/pounce

pounce (v.)

1680s, originally "to seize with the pounces," from Middle English pownse (n.) "hawk's claw" (see pounce (n.1)). The earlier verb sense was "perforate, make holes in" (late 14c.). Meaning "to jump or fall upon suddenly" is from 1812. Figurative sense of "lay hold of eagerly" is from 1840. Related: Pounced; pouncing. A doublet of punch (v.).

pounce (n.1)
"claw of a bird of prey," late 15c., pownse, probably from Old French ponchon "lance, javelin; spine, quill" (Modern French poinçon; see punch (v.)). So called for being the "claws that punch" holes in things. In falconry, the heel claw is a talon, and others are pounces. Hence, "a stab, thrust" (c. 1400). In Middle English also the name of a tool for punching holes or embossing metal (late 14c.), from pounce (v.) in the special sense of "ornament by perforation." Clothing ornamented with cut-out figures was pounced.

pounce (n.2)
"an act of jumping or falling upon," 1825, from pounce (v.)