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This study concentrates on the choice of the site for the railway's Montreal terminus (and shops) in 1853, and on analyzing the shops' payrolls for the period 1880-1917. The most important findings are: [1.] The site chosen at the head of the Victoria Bridge was farm land purchased from four religious communities. It had been recommended in 1852 in an independent report based largely on its proximity to the water which would permit easy trans-shipment between rail and water transport. [2.] The Shops were divided into the Motive Power and Car Departments; the former being mainly a metal-working area with anglophones strongly predominating, the latter a wood-working area with francophones predominating (from 1902 onwards). [3.] Working hours in the Shops generally amounted to 7 1/2 to 9 hours per day or to 45 to 55 hours per week. The skilled metal workers usually earned more than the skilled woodworkers. [4.] The majority of the workers, including 90% of the anglophones, lived within two miles (3.2 km) of the Shops. Early in the period, 82% of the fraancophones did likewise but, by l9l7, this had dropped to 55%.

OCLC: 18982173