ABSTRACT
Railway engineering works and their associated settlements are very much the poor relations of the railway heritage. Whereas stations, viaducts and bridges have attracted due attention, the buildings of these constructional and servicing elements of the railway system have received scant recognition, and accordingly they have suffered more harshly through neglect and demolition. Cattell’s chapter in this volume discusses the historical context, development and conservation of the railway housing associated with the Swindon Works, and this chapter will look at these issues nationally in respect of railway engineering works themselves. It will focus on the surviving legacy as seen from the perspective of emergency recording undertaken by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), and will thus provide only an introduction, illustrated by case studies, to a subject that warrants consideration in much greater detail.
