Railways a National Industry 411 



railways by independent companies or manufacturers. Tak- 

 ing, for instance, railway - carriage and waggon-building 

 factories in the United Kingdom, providing for the wants of 

 the smaller companies at home or for railway companies in 

 the colonies or abroad, I find from the Census of Production 

 that this particular phase of " the railway industry " (for 

 it must needs be regarded as included therein, notwithstanding 

 the fact that a few of the items relate to tramcars, horse 

 vehicles, etc.), led in 1907 to an output of goods made or of 

 work done valued at ^9,609,000. The items are : 



Railway carriages for passengers, and parts thereof 1,676,000 



Railway waggons, trucks, etc. . . . 5,340,000 

 Parts and accessories of railway carriages and waggons 



not distinguished . . . 129,000 



Railway wheels and axles complete . 771,000 



Tramcars and parts thereof . . 572,000 



Vehicles for goods, horse-drawn . 75,000 



Machinery and accessories . . 135,00 



Iron and steel manufactures and structural work 174,000 



Other products 93 000 



Total value of goods made . . 8,965,000 



Repair work (including repairing contracts) . 644,000 



Total value of goods made and work done . 9,609,000 



The number of persons engaged in these railway-carriage 

 and waggon-building factories when the census in question 

 was taken was 28,193, namely, 26,492 wage-earners, and 1701 

 salaried staff. 



When one tries to form some idea of the further volume 

 of employment that results from the supply of the thousand 

 and one necessaries which even the most enterprising and 

 independent of railway companies must still procure from 

 outside manufacturers, makers, growers or providers, it is 

 obvious that the railways, both as an industry in themselves 

 and in their dependence, in endless ramifications, on other 

 industries concerned wholly or in part in supplying railway 

 wants, must provide more or less employment for an army 

 of workers vastly in excess even of the aforesaid 600,000 or 

 800,000. 



In many respects the railway service proper that is to 

 say, the particular branches thereof which deal with actual 



