The Railway System To-day 383 



manager, who meets the district officers responsible for the 

 goods working, and discusses with them the various subjects 

 that arise from time to time in connection with the goods 

 traffic. 



The minutes of both conferences are submitted to the 

 directors, who are thus kept still better informed of all that 

 is happening. Nor do the officers themselves, whether chief 

 officers or district officers, fail to benefit from the opportunities 

 for the exchange of views and experiences which the con- 

 ferences afford. 



Periodical inspections of the line, or of the stations, in 

 various districts by the directors and the chief officers 

 whether both together or by the chief officers alone afford 

 further opportunities for checking any possible irregularities, 

 for ensuring the provision of adequate station accommodation, 

 for seeing that rules and regulations are properly observed, 

 and for maintaining the thorough efficiency of the system in 

 general. 



The locomotive works of the London and North- Western 

 Railway Company at Crewe extend over 140 acres, including 

 48 acres of covered-in shops, mills, etc. These works give 

 employment to about 10,000 men and boys. In addition to 

 the making of locomotives, the various processes carried on 

 include the production of steel rails, girders for bridges, under- 

 frames for carriages, hydraulic machinery, cranes, bricks, gas- 

 pipes, water-pipes, drain-pipes, and a great number of other 

 objects and appliances necessary to the construction and 

 operation of the railway. Created by the London and North- 

 Western Railway Company, Crewe has developed from an 

 agricultural village into a flourishing industrial town of 

 42,000 inhabitants. 



At Wolverton, half-way between London and Birmingham, 

 the company build and repair their own railway carriages 

 and road vehicles, and do much work besides in the making 

 of station furniture, office fittings, and other requirements. 

 The works cover 90 acres, and give employment to about 

 4000 hands. 



The Earlstown waggon works extend over 24 acres and 

 employ 1800 persons, Earlstown, like Crewe and Wolverton, 

 being essentially a railway colony. In each instance as will 

 be shown more fully in Chapter XXVIII liberal provision is 



