Author: Jeremy Clements Publisher: ISBN: 9780860936664 Category : Locomotives Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
This is an expose of the role of two leading locomotive engineers - Collett and Hawksworth - who were responsible for GWR engine building policy following Churchward's legacy, revealing a series of mistakes and missed opportunities in the years leading up to nationalisation.
Author: Rosa Matheson Publisher: History Press (SC) ISBN: 9780752439099 Category : Vacations, Employee Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
'Trip', if you happened to be a Swindonian and one that worked 'inside' the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works, was the event of the year. When, in 1848, a party of some 500 made up of men from the Mechanics Institution and their families took the company's gratis train to Oxford, they set a tradition that lasted for over 120 years. Trip enabled the 'trippers' to travel initially all over the GWR system, then up and down the country and, in later times, even across the Channel to Europe. It was a masterpiece of management and in its heyday numbers up to 26,000 would leave Swindon in a matter of hours. Over the years Trip became part of the fabric of life for Swindon Works' railway families and they invested it with their individual rituals and traditions. It was talked about with hushed breath and hopeful longing for many months before the event and is now remembered long years after with great fondness. This book provides an evocative record of Trip for those who remember the excursions and for anyone interested in the history of Swindon and the administrative prowess of the GWR. Archive photographs and postcards offer a fascinating glimpse of Swindon Works and the families on holiday at an array of Trip destinations.
Author: Sandra Gittins Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0750962569 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
In August 1914 the GWR was plunged into war, the like of which this country had never experienced before. Over the years that followed life changed beyond measure, both for the men sent away to fight and the women who took on new roles at home. Not since 1922 has the history of the GWR in the First World War been recorded in a single volume. Using modern data-bases and enjoying greater access to archives, Sandra Gittins has been able to produce a complete history which traces the GWR from the early, optimistic days through the subsequent difficult years of the Great War, including Government demands for war manufacture, increased traffic and the tragic loss of staff. From GWR ships and ambulance trains to the employment of women, every part of the story is told, including the saddest of all, which is represented by a Roll of Honour.
Author: John Cattell Publisher: ISBN: Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 196
Book Description
In the pioneering days of early Victorian railway engineering the decision of Gooch and Brunel to locate an engine house and works just to the north of Swindon led to the creation of a sizeable engineering enterprise and a new settlement. This book is the result of a project commissioned in 1984, when many of the works buildings came under threat. By looking at the buildings themselves it traces the architectural history of the railway engineering works and the associated railway village. A fascinating guide revisting one of Britain's finest monuments to the early days of the railway age.
Author: Rosa Matheson Publisher: History Press ISBN: 9780752453019 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
GRW's Swindon Works had a proud reputation. The boast was "if you had worked in Swindon Works, you could get a job anywhere!," and that meant anywhere in the world. The Works was referred to by locals as "Inside," and thousands of men did "time Inside" for eleven decades until the swinging '60s brought changes to the way young boys trained to become "modern" journeymen with flexible skills. Apprenticeship, when a young man was bound over to a master for years, was hard work and came with a lot of history and baggage. In early years the conditions and rules were awesome--including no marriage and no letting harm come to your master--but when the old ways were abandoned did it lose much of its ritual mystique? Doing Time Inside expresses the collective voices of the Swindon apprentices, recording the life of apprenticeship, and how it changed, the differences between apprenticeships, the good times and the rotten jobs. Including many first-hand accounts and unpublished photographs, this fascinating book will appeal to the thousands of workers who remember this period with affection.
Author: Robin Jones Publisher: Crowood ISBN: 1847976549 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 321
Book Description
The name 'Great Western Railway' immediately conjures up images of Stars, Castles and Kings, the legendary express passenger locomotives that were the envy of the world in their day. However, the Swindon empire also produced extensive fleets of all-purpose tank engines - everyday reliable workhorses and unsung heroes - which were standout classics in their own right. The most distinctive and immediately recognizable type in terms of shape, all but unique to the GWR, was the six-coupled pannier tank. With hundreds of photographs throughout, Great Western Railway Pannier Tanks covers the supremely innovative pannier tank designs of GWR chief mechanical engineer Charles Benjamin Collett, the appearance of the 5700 class in 1929, and the 5400, 6400, 7400 and 9400 classes. Also, the demise of the panniers in British Railways service and the 5700s that marked the end of Western Region steam, followed by a second life beneath the streets - 5700 class panniers on London Underground. Also covers Panniers in preservation, plus cinema and TV roles and even a Royal Train duty. Superbly illustrated with 260 colour and black & white photographs.
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Author: Jeremy Clements
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