hi ho, hi ho ...

...it's off to work we go at the Midland Railway Workshops.

Building and maintaining locomotives and rolling stock the workshops operated from 1903 to 1994. For many years debate raged as to what would become of the beautiful old buildings and the histories of those who worked there. At its peak the workshops employed 3000 workers.

Now at the heart of an 'urban village', the history is being remembered through sculptures, a memorial to the railway workers who fought and died in the two World Wars and a Workers' Wall, the framed brick walls to the left of the sculptures.
On each of the bricks are the names and occupations of the thousands of railway yard workers (extra pic).

When we came to live in the hills 30+years ago Midland was to be driven through and avoided as 'dodgyville'. Now it buzzes with street art, restaurants, festivals, markets and is claiming a place in the present, the future and a link from the past.