03-10-2009, 07:36 AM
It's hard to believe (in 2009) how much work got done "in the old days" by a guy and a shovel. I find it difficult sometimes even to think about how much work it was to stoke a hand-fired coal burning steamer (8 tons shovelled in a shift...!). Then think about the construction of the transcontinental railways (UP/CP in the USA, CPR in Canada) - done by guys with shovels and horses with dump carts. 
Andrew
Andrew