This is a holding page, shortly to be updated with the full life story of ganger John Edwards. For now, an outline sketch is included. Please check back again soon.
For most of its existence, the tracks between Llangollen and Corwen were maintained by hand. It was hard work, often undertaken in gangs made up of several men. Track workers were based at key stations along a line, and sometimes between stations.
This included ‘ganger’ (supervising track worker) John Edwards. Born in Shropshire, he joined the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1894. By 1901 he was married, to Catherine Davies, and they were living in Llangollen. He joined the National Union of Railwaymen in 1913.
On 7 September 1914, John had an accident at Carrog. He was using a long-handled hammer to knock wooden ‘keys’ into place. They fit between the rail and the ‘chair’, the clamp that holds the rail in place. John missed the key and hit his leg!
Though painful at the time, it didn’t have a lasting effect. John spent the rest of his working life on the GWR, retiring by 1939.