Apparently, they had a ‘bookman’ who got the best deal he could from each Captain, and this was shared with the gang.
Percy Main had a lot of these men and they all dressed the same: moleskin trousers tied with string below the knee and the Trimmers had heart-shaped shovels and they would walk down the Farthing Line (the village name for Seaton Burn Wagonway) to the staithes to fill the colliers.
Teamers guided the coal from the ship into chutes then the Trimmers went into the ships holds and trimmed the heaps into the corner so the coal would not shift on the voyage. It was said that they earned big money. Apparently, they had a ‘bookman’ who got the best deal he could from each Captain, and this was shared with the gang. Most of them owned their own houses.
It was said that Percy Main was the richest village in the land.