[locojoe]

Yes Dave nights on the shed looking after engines in steam could be a bit scarey for a young passed cleaner. Plenty of card schools going with some lateshift men playing all night until about 6am.
Engines which had a clack up could be a nuisance when the boiler water level kept dropping which meant we had to keep topping it up. For those who don't know a clack up means scale from the boiler has stopped the injector clack valve closing properly and steam could escape from the overflow pipe. One remedy to cure a clack up was to belt the injector with a hammer to try and move the scale.
As you say Dave some engines made various noises but I never heard one tick over as Keith said he heard on The Severn Valley Railway. As I remember a week on nights meant a hefty pay packet in the early 1950s. Some weeks I earned about £10 which was more more than my Dad earned. In those days we were expected to contribute towards the household budget and a week on nights meant Mum got extra.