Coal Trimmer

So far, I only have one person whose job was given as a coal trimmer,

Edward James Westhoff (1867-1921) - Dermot's great grandfather

Many of the men from the Liverpool families worked on the steam ships, possibly starting work as a trimmer and then if they survived moving on to better paid work.

I have Edward recorded as being a trimmer on the ship Vancouver, from 8 May 1890 to 7 June 1890. He was paid £4 10s per month and the balance on his discharge was £4 6s.

Vancouver, Dominion Line steamship - pre 1892

Vancouver was a Dominion Line steamship built in 1884 in Glasgow by Charles Connell and Co.
She sailed from Liverpool on 8 May 1890 to Quebec, via Londonderry.
(Information from Norway Heritage website)

A Coal Trimmer or Trimmer is a position within the engineering department of a coal-fired ship which involves all coal handling tasks, starting with the loading of coal into the ship and ending with the delivery of the coal to the stoker or fireman. The trimmers worked inside the coal bunkers located on top of and between the boilers. Trimmers used shovels and wheelbarrows 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 shovelled it into the furnaces. If too much coal built up on one side of a coal bunker, the ship would actually list to that side.

Trimmers were also involved in extinguishing fires in the coal bunkers. Fires occurred frequently due to spontaneous combustion of the coal. The fires had to be extinguished with fire hoses and by removing the burning coal by feeding it into the furnace.
Of the engineering crew, the trimmers were paid the least. The working conditions of a trimmer were poor, primarily as a result of their environment: the inside of a coal bunker was poorly lit, full of coal dust, and extremely hot due to residual heat emanating from the boilers.
(From Wikipedia)

Well, that does not sound like a fun job does it? Stuck in a coal bunker for 4 weeks, I wonder if he suffered with sea sickness?