There is a desire in some quarters to banish the war as an evil dream--to bury its sacred memories, to forget all about it. If we followed this shallow advice, we should merely prove ourselves to be unworthy of the sublime sacrifice, thanks to which we escaped destruction, besides making a recurrence of danger inevitable. To our author, who is an enthusiast in his calling, this book has been a labour of love, and he has certainly made us all his debtors by this brilliant and entrancing chapter of the history of the London and North-Western. L. J. MAXSE. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE FOREWORD v PREFACE ix I. BEING MAINLY HISTORICAL 1 II. ARMOURED TRAINS 39 III. MECHANICAL MISCELLANEA 51 IV. THE GRAZE-FUSE 75 V. CARE OF THE CARTRIDGE CASE 88 VI. GUNNERY AND PROJECTILES (RUDIMENTARY NOTES AND NOTIONS) 93 VII. THE CREWE TRACTOR 127 VIII. "HULLO! AMERICA" 135 IX. THE ART OF DROP-FORGING 139 X. 1914-1918 PASSENGERS AND GOODS 153 XI. INDISPENSABLE 176 XII. L'ENVOI 200 APPENDIX A THE SYSTEM OF CONTROL APPLIED TO THE ARMOURED TRAINS MANUFACTURED IN CREWE WORKS 211 APPENDIX B EXPLANATORY OF THE GAUGE 212 APPENDIX C THE THREAD-MILLER, AND THE "BACKING-OFF" LATHE, AS APPLIED TO SHELL MANUFACTURE 215 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE C. J. Bowen-Cooke, Esq., C.B.E., Chief Mechanical Engineer, London and North-Western Railway _Frontispiece_ Armoured Train 45 Various Types of Artificial Limbs 68 The Protector, or Mine-sweeping, Paravane 70 Gauges made at Crewe and used for the Manufacture of Graze-Fuses 78 Reversible Mechanical Tapping Machine for Fuse Caps Designed at Crewe 78 The Graze-Fuse, shewn in section 80 Rolling out Dents in 4·5-inch Fired Cartridge Case 89