Ritzenschieber
A Ritzenschieber , in Viennese also called Tramwayschienenritzenkratzer or common Gleisböhm , used to be an unskilled worker who kept the grooved rails of trams clean by using a stick-like special shovel or a short and stiffly tied rod broom , which carried a flat iron at the other end of the handle, removed the dirt that had accumulated in it. This was particularly true of points , as these were mostly built as grooved rails and the dirt there was additionally pressed into the grooves by other vehicles. After cleaning, the switch, but also the curve pieces, were filled with graphite powder suspended in water , on the one hand to ensure easy operation and on the other hand to prevent a squeaking noise when driving on.
The profession died out in the 1950s. Today, rail cleaning vehicles are used instead .
The name Gleisböhm came from the fact that most of the Viennese representatives of this profession came from Bohemia and Moravia . With the then well-known hit by Turl Wiener Tramwayschienenritzenkratzer , the Ritzenschieber was also sung about .
Women worked at the Munich tram under the job title Trambahnschienenritzenreinigerin . Because of today's unsuitable work clothes, which consisted of a green hat and a gray-green coat with a work apron over it, there were repeated accidents in which the women were run over and injured. The occupation disappeared around 1935, while at the beginning of the 20th century 24 women were working in the city as tramway track cleaners.
In MVG Museum of Munich public transport company is reminded of this profession. In addition, Ida Schumacher set a comedic monument to this profession with her famous play Trambahnschienenritzenreinigungsdame (Ode to the Rollwagerladmiral).
literature
- Horst Stürzebecher: The Ritzenschieber . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issue 10–11, 1981, pp. 208 .
Web links
- Image of a Ritzenschieber (right) on Erfurt Domplatz , 1962
- Rail scraper - very modern! from the Vienna City Hall correspondence, May 24, 1957
Individual evidence
- ↑ Contemporary witness report on hamm.de ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Description and picture at Eisenbahn-Dumjahn online
- ↑ Naive Lexicon of the BZ : What is a Ritzenschieber?
- ↑ Iris Mochar-Kircher: Conversation with aftertaste. The audience favorites Turl Wiener (1875–1971) and Fritzi Rolly (1886–1964), p. 9. (PDF, 2.4MB) Wiener Volksliedwerk bockkeller 14th year, H. 1. January 2004, accessed on June 21, 2009 .
- ↑ The Tramway Rail Scratcher. Character type . Wienerlied by Turl Wiener, music by Philipp P. Seemann. Blaha, Vienna 1910.
- ↑ Claudia Mayr, Martha Schad : Women in bronze and stone - Munich . Stiebner Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8307-1043-1 , p. 103.
