Life in a Railway Factory by Alfred Williams
For twenty-three years, up to the First World War, Alfred Williams worked in the Great Western Railway's Works at Swindon, the locomotive capital of the west. The population of the town was then about fifty thousand, all more or less dependent upon the factory for survival. About twelve thousand men normally worked there. Every singe aspect of life in a railway factory is covered in this book, first published in 1915, and he did not pull any punches in describing the appalling working conditions in the foundries, blast furnaces, blacksmith's shops and engine sheds which made up this vast industrial complex. If you want to know how a locomotive works, how each component, each rivet and nut and bolt came together to create a living breathing steam engine, read this book.
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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781445600314 |
| ISBN 10 | 1445600315 |
| Title | Life in a Railway Factory |
| Author | Alfred Williams |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Amberley Publishing |
| Year published | 2010-08-15 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |