First published in 1915 Life in a Railway Factory is a truly fascinating look at every aspect of locomotive manufacture.
Alfred Williams spent twenty-three years of his life, up to the First World War, working at the Great Western Railway’s Works at Swindon, which was known as ‘the locomotive capital of the West’. Almost all of Swindon’s population depended on the factory for its survival, with about twelve thousand men usually working there.
Alfred unflinchingly depicts every aspect of what could be a very tough and hardworking life in the factory, including the terrible working conditions in the foundries, the blast furnaces, blacksmith’s shops and engine shed which comprised the sprawling industrial complex.
Extensively illustrated throughout this startlingly vivid and accessible account is a must read even for non-enthusiasts but of course will be of particular interest to those who want to know not only how each component was made to create ‘living, breathing’ steam engines but also about the lives of the men who brought them into being.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known as ‘The Hammerman Poet’ and ‘The Wiltshire Poet’ Alfred Williams was born in 1877 in South Marston, near Swindon. Family poverty forced him to begin working for a farmer at the age of eight. While still a teenager he joined two of his elder brothers at the GWR works at Swindon.
Throughout his life he was a prolific writer of both prose and poetry and his thirst for knowledge was immense – he even taught himself Sanskrit.
The shock of receiving news of his beloved wife, Mary’s, terminal illness proved fatal to him and he died just before her in 1930.
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| Publication: |
August 2010 |
Extent: |
224 pages |
| Availability: |
In stock |
Images Mono: |
100 |
| Format: |
235 x 156 mm |
Images Colour: |
0 |
| Binding: |
Paperback |
