Between 1998 and 2010 I photographed a train line that ran across London’s northern inner-suburbs. Initially intrigued by the social polarisation of neighbourhoods along the line, the story became a meandering one with seemingly no end - until the Kodachrome film with which I shot it was discontinued.

The work has emerged from my archives as a reflection of the emptiness of the Blair years, and a tacit indictment of rail privatisation: The Railways Act of 1993 was the last significant act of the Tory administrations which preceded him, and Labour failed to fulfil their promise to repeal it.The book is also a celebration of those who knew Silverlink. It ends with an essay written by Panik, a graffiti artist, whose ATG crew were well known on the line. His standing as the son of a senior member of the train workers union gives his perceptive and deeply personal analysis of the changing London we witnessed added poignancy.

Based in London and renown for his intimate portrayals of the city, Simon Wheatley was recently described as 'unquestionably one of the most influential British photographers of the twenty-first century'. He is the in-house photographer at Abbey Road Studios, counts Leica and Hennessy amongst his current sponsors, and has published his work in most of the world's major magazines.

The North London Line
1998 - 2010
Photography: Simon Wheatley
Essay: Panik
Design: Mitchell Bradshaw