Little Boxes– A Tribute to An Iconic Institution

‘Little Boxes’ is a railway book with a difference. One man’s attempt to record the passing of an iconic institution – the wayside railway signal box. Decades past, such structures, of all shapes and sizes, were to be found every few miles on the railway system; today they are a dying breed and will likely soon be gone forever. Enthusiast, artist and cartographer Roger Elson made it his ambition to visit and draw many of these from around Britain, adding maps and notes to each. The result is a veritable delight, a record of past excellence, nowadays being swept aside in the name of modernisation. More than 30 individual locations are so described together with heart-warming tales from the past and some personal observations. ‘Little Boxes’ may be a personal tribute but it is one that so many others will similarly relate to.