Life in a Railway Factory
Transport & Engineering Biography & Memoir History
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Life in a Railway Factory invites readers onto the shop floor of a Great Western Railway works through Alfred Williams’ sharp-eyed memoir. First published in 1915, this 1992 illustrated paperback reissue keeps the grime, clangour and camaraderie of early 20th-century rail engineering alive on every page.
Williams, a self-taught writer and former wagon-builder, records the back-breaking labour, craft skills and hard-won friendships that powered Britain’s railway boom. His mix of biography, social history and technical detail makes the book a rare first-hand account for transport historians and casual enthusiasts alike.
The volume carries 320 pages of clean text, peppered with period photographs and diagrams that highlight the tools, tasks and characters of the era. Minor exterior scuffs and light foxing to the page edges are noted, yet the interior remains crisp and unmarked—ready for reading or reference.
Collectors of railway, industrial or working-class history will appreciate this accessible edition from The History Press. An engaging, well-preserved copy of a transport classic, it is priced for the shelf of anyone curious about life on the footplate and in the forge.