Building a Railway AIM! By the end of this lesson I can describe: The living and working conditions of the Navvies.

System A contractor would agree to build a section of the line for a certain price The contractor would then make arrangements with the ganger to do part of the job The ganger paid the navvies by the set A set was a train of 14 wagons, each holding 2 cubic yards of earth A pair of navvies was expected to fill the set in a day (that’s 20 tonnes of earth!)

Rates of Pay Navvies got paid once a month Their pay packet was usually handed out in a pub which just happened to be owned by the railway company. The company also owned the Tuck shop where the navvies bought all their food and supplies. Navvies usually bought things on credit, so when payday did come, there was very little left All work would stop for a couple of days while the navvies went on a drinking spree

Wages 5 shillings (25p) a day for skilled workers 2-3 shillings (10 – 15p) a day for unskilled workers

Living Conditions Most navvies lived in a tin or earth shack next to the railway line. Up to 15 men living together – bunk beds stacked on top of each other.

Living Expenses Single man: 1 shilling 6 pence a week Married/family: 2 shillings a week Or 2 pence a day for a bed (which may have to share with another) ½ pence a day for a place on the floor

Food At one end of the room was a large cooking pot. The food was put in a net, and hung from a stick and boiled. Food was not very good. There could be a bad piece of meat and the maggots from it would infest all the other food. In some places, the hut keeper’s wife would prepare and cook the food, which the navvies would then pay for.

ACTIVITY 1 Complete the tasks on the task sheet by using the information sheet provided. Success Criteria: Write in full sentences with question wording. Aim for detail, detail, detail. Think – do I have enough to answer an exam question?

Shovel Wheel Barrow Pickaxe Lamp Bottle Sword