The Trent Valley Railway was first proposed in 1838 (just 8 years after the introduction of the first regular passenger service by George Stephenson) as an extension between Stone and Rugby. However, as a result of stiff opposition from local landowners, the scheme was revised to become a 49 mile link between Rugby and Stafford. The Act of Parliament required to enable the building of the railway was finally passed in 1845 (the bill was strongly supported by Robert Peel, so much so that the railway was known at the time as "Peel's Line").
Work began in 1845 under the supervision of engineer Thomas Brassey. To span the River Anker at Polesworth, Brassey designed and had built the viaducts seen on the western and eastern (top left) flanks of the village. Brassey went on to work on many other engineering projects around the world.
The line was opened in 1847, when it was leased to the London and North Western Railway, then one of the largest and most successful companies in the world.
Polesworth Station (left) was demolished in the 1970s; however, the station building at Atherstone still stands today and gives a flavour of what the station would have been like in its heyday.
(See also: the transportation map.)
The M42 motorway runs north-south along the edge of Polesworth, cutting through the nearby settlement of Birchmoor. Openned in August, 1986, the motorway has grown to become a major route through this part of the Midlands, with the stretch of the road between Junctions 9 and 10 (immediately north and south of Polesworth, respectively) alone carrying over 55,000 vehicles per day.
The structure on the left of the picture is a mobile telephone mast located just outside of Birchmoor. Dubbed the "Skylon", the mast was erected in the late 1990s and won a design award in 2000.
(See also: the transportation map.)