Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

CONVERSION OF GAUGE OF G.W.R. MAIN LINE. 113 Labour Organiza- tion. previous Thursday special trains crowded with workmen were converging on Devon and Corn- wall from all parts of the Great Western system—from Dolgelley and Chester, Wel- lington and Market Drayton, Milford and remote parts of South Wales, from London and the quiet agricultural districts of of operations were dropped in gangs of sixty all along the track to be converted, and the broad gauge trains in which they had travelled were then hurried Lodging away to Swindon. They biv- Men ouacked in station waiting- rooms, goods sheds, and tents pitched along- side the railway, these latter being the object SHIFTING THE RAILS. Gloucester and Wilts. At hundreds of stations these trains embarked about 3,500 workmen (1,500 others were indigenous to Devon and Cornwall), with their permanent-way imple- ments. Even this embarkation was arranged in the most methodical manner. One com- partment in four was reserved for tools, while the accommodation for each batch of men was indicated by labels on the carriage win- dows. The men thus conveyed to the scene (1,408) of much local attention. Each man provided his own food, but the railway company sup- plied many tons of oatmeal, which, in the form of thin gruel—oatmeal, water, and sugar —was the staple beverage. To carry out the work the men were divided into gangs of twenty, each under a ganger. An inspector or foreman was in charge of every three gangs, while controlling the entire work were the chief engineer of the Great Western