Tracing Railway Workers: Exploring the lives of our ancestors who worked on the railways by Ian H Waller FSG FGRA

It is not all about navvies and engines! Engine drivers, platelayers and navvy gangs; porters, shunters, pointsmen and boilermakers; signallers, flagmen, firemen and wheel tappers; gatekeepers, guards and ticket collectors; cooks, cleaners, hotel staff and laundry workers to name a few. Thousands of people were employed on the railways at the height of the railway system – and census entries may not have suggested “railway”.

There were dozens of railway companies prior to reorganisation in 1923, after which “the big four” were established. This book will help researchers to identify the companies, unions and more - and then discover what records exist and where.

This Really Useful Guide will help family historians with different railway workers in their tree or local historians telling the story of a railway in a particular place. Read about British workers involved in overseas railways, how orphans of railway servants were provided for and marvel at the work of the ‘collecting’ dogs!

With extensive information on records, websites and further reading, this is a Really Useful Guide for all historians.