In message <[log in to unmask]>, E
& R Shanahan <[log in to unmask]> writes
>
>Are there any railway buffs on the local history list?
>I have another query that some members may be able to help me with - I
>have just found out that my great grandfather was listed in the 1881 census
>as living in Friar Street Reading, and being a 'railway labourer'. Does
>anyone know which railway would have been built around that area at that
>time ? The Great Western went from Paddington to the west country, and I
>think it went through Reading, but was it at that time ?
The railways employed thousands of labourers - they were continuously
employed on track and buildings maintenance - humping goods around yards
and all sorts of other manual jobs. In 1881 there were three railways in
Reading - The GWR, The SER and the LSWR - however there were also
several private railways - the biscuit makers Huntley and Palmers for
example had a huge system.
--
John M Chapman
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