ABSTRACT
The railways of Great Britain were run in the first decade of this century by an army of some half-million men upon whose hard labour, skill and devotion to exacting duties the entire system depended. Draconian as the early working rules appear today, it is understable that the original railway managers considered it essential that their staff should be subject to discipline of military severity and some of the original managers were actually retired army officers. Signalmen, who came about mid-way down the scale of railway pay, carried great responsibilities in a seemingly tedious job where the consequences of human error could be utter disaster. Shunters were lowly members of the railway army who none the less performed a dangerous and vital job, especially in days when the country’s freight moved almost entirely by rail. Platelayers, those who worked on the permanent way, were others who performed hard and dangerous railway work.
