When train crews discovered a fettler gang working on the line, drivers gave long whistle blasts and placed their hand on the train brake because they often continued working right up to the last moment. Safety signals for fettler gangs working on the line were mainly used when trains were required to stop. (Fettlers were often called Lizards because they work in the sun all day.)

Sometimes a line inspector would tell the crew by phone where he was and asked them to keep a sharp lookout. Constantly, crews would expect to meet him and later find that he travelled ahead of them and they posed no danger to him. When challenged he might reply, “What if I later changed my mind and decided to travel in the direction towards you?”

(Drivers regarded fettlers, particularly those who checked the line, as the most important people in the railway.)