Rail to the Rescue - Part 2
requirements from shipping, engineering and rail suppliers and agencies. The fact that the government had guaranteed prompt payment had encouraged immediate positive responses, and he already had 9 ships - state of the art screw steamers for the most part - guaranteed from the total of 23 required. With the location of his vessels established, where possible, close to his sources of supply, he could set about loading them as self-contained units, consisting of 50-80 men, an assistant engineer, two gangers a surgeon and a clerk. Construction material, fuel, stoves etc, would be similarly apportioned.
Betts' scale of clothing was more than generous - the Company had the benefit of the experience of major projects in sub-zero climates, and had no wish for their workforce to suffer the fate of the shivering British army. Besides ample bedding, each man had 3 coloured cotton shirts and 1 red flannel, 1 pr drawers, 1 pr grey worsted stockings, moleskin trousers and waistcoat, padded peajacket, worsted cravat, mittens, red bobble-hat, 1 pr lace up ankle working boots, 1 pr long waterproof boots, 1 pr fisherman's boots, waterproofs and sou'wester.
Back at the interviewing office at 6 am on Monday morning, the supervisors compared notes after having reviewed their Saturday selections. With the benefit of time for reflection and reactivation of memory, they had eliminated around thirty 'doubtfuls'; they could afford to be choosy, and the increasingly desperate mood in the queue of navvies showed their awareness to the situation. Monday followed as busy and frantic as Saturday had been. When in the evening they were finally able to place a notice 'No more men wanted' in the window, it was immediately knocked down by a stone smashing through, and a fusillade of kicks thudded into the door. After a few minutes the men drifted away but only as far as the nearby bars.
Before leaving the office, the supervisors snatched a beer and bread and cheese - they had had no time for a break - and Beatty announced that the tally for the day was 310; thus he had his target with a 10 per cent surplus for second thought rejections and drop outs. By the time they had roughed out the compositions of the detachments, all seemed quiet outside, and they decided to leave. However the quiet came from a general atmosphere of sullen truculence and there were still groups scattered around the pavements,
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