THE
LAST OF THE RAILWAY KEEPERSHe
lives on a remote country lane. His only work colleague is a parrot.
He possibly has the most isolated job in the East Midlands. He is
the last railway keeper. Michael
Weston works on the Liverpool to Stanstead line. A busy
route it may be, as the train speeds through the countryside linking
bustling cities. But spare a thought for the one man who opens the
gates for a handful of people wanting to cross the track in Wyfordby,
Leicestershire. A
remote residence
 | | Michael
lives and works on the railways |
Michael
lives on a remote country lane, used by few apart from a local farmer.
His job is to open the gates for anyone wanting to cross the railway
line. Until
April, Michael had to be alert 24 hours a day, for any traffic wanting
to cross. Now he has TV monitors installed in his house and a pet
parrot who also helps by squawking if anyone arrives at the crossing. As one
of the last railway keepers, Michael's job may soon become a piece
of railway history in itself. | "They
will put barriers in here one day, but nobody knows when" | | Michael
Weston |
A popular
film location,
The Great
Central Railway has restored and preserved the golden days
of railway travel. But how long before the job of the railway keeper
joins the annals of railway history? A
lonely living | | There
are nine manned signal boxes on the Leicester - Peterborough
line |
As
one of only a handful of gatekeepers left in Britain, it is unclear
how long Michael's job will continue to exist. Like
signal boxes, which have become largely machine operated, the job
of the gatekeeper may become a thing of the past.
If this is the case, then like the Central
Railway at Loughborough, the gate keepers cottage will become
a piece of railway history of a bygone era. 听 | 
听听Inside Out - East Midlands: Monday 18th October, 2004
