"I remember when this was all houses"

An explanation is required. My dad was born on the Wirral in 1908. “I remember when this was all fields” was how he frequently described the westward march of the Merseyside conurbation across the formerly rural parts of the peninsula he recalled from his childhood.

On a walk out of our own Nottinghamshire village this week to a vantage point that overlooks the steadily expanding settlement, I noticed that the trees planted for the Millennium celebrations have grown so tall that only one or two rooftops and the top of the church spire are now still visible - hence the title. Man-made landscapes change through time, including this intentional return to woodland.

Each time I go back to the Lakes or the Cornish coast, I am reassured and delighted to find them more or less as I last left them. The beauty of the largely natural landscapes, imprinted on me in my early years, has been regularly reinforced thereafter.

Not so, however, many of our man-made environments, including my own special area of interest, the railway landscape, which continues to evolve. In response to a recent announcement on a regional TV programme that our local line was going to be blessed with substantial investment, I had a sudden if somewhat belated urge to record scenes that might also be about to disappear forever. I thought I had better get there before they keep their promise to spend money on it. The penny had dropped that “invest in” means that visible changes are afoot, in just the same way that “close down” does.

Network Rail had announced their intentions, as posted on their website, to make improvements to the level crossings on what is now referred to as the Castle Line between Nottingham and Newark, involving the removal of the signal boxes and gate boxes and the upgrading of the barriers to “obstacle detection crossings with full barriers.” Once completed, all the signalling on the line will be controlled from the East Midlands Control Centre in Derby.

I’m pleased that there is to be investment in our local line. I know this involves the dismantling of structures that have become familiar landmarks and I feel sad about their disappearance, but there is, as in all things, a balance to be struck. We have an amazing proliferation of heritage railways which just keeps on growing, accumulating the artefacts from previous eras and using or displaying them appropriately.

We also have an army of determined photographers, historians, writers and modellers to remind us of the attractions of man-made landscapes which have been lost during the march of progress. Whilst we shall, no doubt, continue to be vigilant in our efforts to preserve as much as possible of value from our rich heritage, we should also take pride in the continued success of the railways themselves, which undeniably require, from time to time, everything from a little tinkering, through unrecognisable redevelopment, to the creation of whole new systems.

[Adapted from an article that first appeared in the Railway Antiques Gazette, with thanks to the editor, Tim Petchey]