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During the mania of 1837 a new sort of investor was drawn into the market. Small shareholders began to chance their savings, or even the working capital from their businesses, on the value of railway shares.
Wetness on the rails caused driving wheels to lose traction
A reference to the system whereby a man waited at home util he was called out to work. If he wasn't there when the knocker-up called, he lost a day's pay.
If footplate men finished their turn a long way from home they slept in the barracks: company hostels where drivers and firemen ate at separate tables. Below is the Banbury Lodge owned by the Great Western. Note the partitions do not reach the ceiling
