Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

 RAILWAY ENGINEMEN AND THEIR WORK. 109 the former are only picked men, forming the engine-drivers’ guard corps, so to speak, and receiving no extras save the honour and glory. A man, however, who has attained the rank of second-class driver need not seek promotion ; he may, if he prefers it, remain where he is, in charge of goods trains. As a matter of fact, a man in the higher grade of goods train driving will make more money than is possible in the case of passenger train driving ; but, on the other hand, his hours will be much longer, and his work altogether of a more arduous and less interesting description. On British railways the rule obtains that the same men — both driver and fireman—are kept to the same engines in the passenger and long main-line goods On .'ill the jv» "Tc.it American ;uul jigg Continental roads, however, the system -------------------- of “ first in first out ” has been adopted, which means that engines are sent out from the shed in the order in which they come in, and the men take whichever locomotive happens to fall to their lot. Before describing the routine peculiar to an engine-driver, the of enginemen, by means of examinations, must be explained. When a lad wishes to qualify for third-class fireman he must be able to read and write ; and at this stage also the sight test is of a rigorous character. The danger of colour blindness in the case of signals is guarded against by showing him a tray full of skeins of wool of all shades of colour. The examiner picks out a skein, and the candidate has to match it from among the heap. Further, the latter has to be able to read lettered cards at stated distances. The examination for sight is repeated at every rung of the ladder till the engineman rises to second-class driver ; it then takes place periodically, the interval between each varying with different companies—with the Great Western a driver over sixty years of age is examined every year—till he retires. Before a man becomes a first-class fire- man he has to pass an examination in the mechanical working of the locomotive, which examination becomes harder and more searching as he passes through the different grades of driver. Every incentive to study is offered by the authorities in the shape of placing working models at the disposal of the men. But the officials who examine him are not satisfied with theoretical knowledge alone; they require convincing that, if anything goes wrong, he is in possession of sufficient practical experience to locate the mischief, and even of duty education periodical Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd. OILING AN ENGINE WHEN RUNNING AT EXPRESS SPEED. effect repairs, as far as the tools placed at his disposal enable him to do so. The driver and fireman come on duty together, usually at 6 a.m., having been called at their homes an hour or so previously by call-boys attached to the running-shed. At the time office each signs on, and the driver receives his keys, which open the tool bunkers on the tender and the padlock round the fire- irons. They then proceed to the running-shed office, where the driver signs a book certifying that he has read the notices there displayed. These notices refer to permanent-way works in progress; warning him if single-line working is in operation between any two points, if the relaying of the track is proceeding