I recently acquired a copy of a book entitled "The Railroad and the Art of Place" by the US photographer David Kahler. This was as a result of a book review by Dafydd Whyles on the Phoenix Railway Photographic Circle website ( Phoenix Railway Photographic Circle, Creative, Artistic and Progressive Railway Photography (phoenix-rpc.co.uk) and a video recording on the website of the US Center for Railroad Photography and Art, (The Railroad and the Art of Place, presented by David Kahler - YouTube).
The book looks at the relationship between the railway and the environment of the West Virginia coalfields in the early 1990's. It is a superb piece of work. In this scene I have attempted to recreate the atmosphere of these images in today's Birmingham. This is a view along Pickford Street in Digbeth, a locality about to undergo significant redevelopment, not least because of the HS2 project. Look at these old brick industrial buildings and the block paved roadway. Soon this will all be gone. The builders hoardings are already in place at the end of the street. The view of the railway arches will disappear. Get here with your camera while you still can and capture a location with a real sense of place.