Life in a Loco Works: First-hand Experiences of a Crewe Engineering Apprentice in Wartime Book

The railway town of Crewe was dominated by the two-mile sprawl of its Works, where many well-known steam locomotives were built and maintained. Dating back to the 1840s, the Works once employed 20,000 people and continues in railway manufacturing today, catering for modern high-tech trains, with working conditions and practices vastly different to those of the steam era. Life in a locomotive works was certainly not all glamour, as recounted here in great detail, with the apprentice soon finding himself on such mundane duties as producing nuts and bolts and filing off burrs. However, the various processes were all essential parts of the overall training, as well as being necessary for building and maintaining steam locomotives for the giant LMS railway company. The author describes his progress through the Works, recalling the various jobs and personalities in the machine, boiler, welding and erecting shops, providing an insight into two bygone institutions - the steam railway and apprenticeships.Read More