Foreigners Secret Artefacts of Industrialism

In October 2004, 201 products made at the Midland Railway Workshops by employees for their own use and smuggled out to use at home, were exhibited in the foundry at the now closed Workshops. From 1904 to 1994 the men of the workshops serviced the rail system while simultaneously operating a vast, clandestine network which produced illicit objects, known as foreigners, including meat tenderisers, wind vanes, bottle openers, 21st birthday keys, wall brackets, ashtrays and even a washing machine and parts for a boat. This illustrated book examines the world of foreigner production at the Midland Railway Workshops. Jennifer Harris was the curatorial leader of the 2004 exhibition called: Under the lap, over the fence, foreigner production at the Midland Railway Workshops.