In the thread entitled ADMN: RE: Doesn’t Belong Here, “Loco 112” made the following request:

[quote] I have an idea, lets talk about Trains and Railroads and even Railways! How could we possibly fight about those silly things? [/quote]

At about the same time someone calling himself “Jim Templin,” during an exchange touching on the propriety of on-line pseudonym usage, lobbed the following at yours truly:

[quote] maybe “socialist troll” would be an appropriate moniker for you, since I am fairly sure knowing the biography of the man, that Churchward would be less than enthusiastic with someone of your ilk using his good name. [/quote]

But enthusiasts of British railways in this forum no doubt perceived that “Jim” was apparently just trying to turn the subject in the direction “Loco 112” requested, inasmuch as the G.J. Churchward who was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway greatly encouraged the rise of Socialism among the men at Swindon Works, according to the contemporary account quoted within the following:

[quote]....any account of the rise of Labour has to give special attention to the years 1892 to 1910, when the modern Labour Party was born ....One book from this period is Life in a Railway Factory, Alfred Williams's 1915 account of life as a factory worker in Swindon. ... It is a key source for socialist historians. So why did Williams's contemporaries turn to the Labour Party? He describes the 1900s as a time of growing class consciousness: "the perfectly natural outcome of modern conditions of labour." Williams perceived the employers’ offensive in terms of mechanisation, speed-up, decreased piece rates and increased managerial supervision. "A decade and a half ago, one could come to the shed fearlessly...the worker was not watched and timed at every little operation." ... By 1910 Williams perceived a flood of socialism engulfing his friends and workmates. [/quote] (Dave Renton, Class Consciousness and the origins of Labor, Issue 88 of INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM JOURNAL Published Autumn 2000 Copyright ©© International Socialism)

Call me a socialist, but the history of labor on the railroads (and even railways) is inherently political. There is a context to the nuts and bolts more frequently discussed here, and reducing the rise of labor to a hurled insult - in this Forum of all places, or in the broader political discourse of our times, suggests not just a misunderstanding of history but its very rejection. As preservationists, rejecting aspects of history which do not mesh with one’s own personal beliefs is about as appropriate as turning a historic steam locomotive into a hot rod ....but that’s another thread.....

-G.J.C.