Survivors of Beeching

John Jackson looks at some of the branch lines that survived Dr Beeching's report and are flourishing in the twenty-first century.

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Dr Beeching’s infamous 1963 report recommending cuts to a number of Britain’s railways has long been etched into the consciousness of the British public, but a look at the rail map of Britain today reveals some survivors. These survivors avoided the chop for various reasons - and their future today is probably as secure as could ever have been hoped for.

The original plans included the closure of lines that many today would find surprising - Leicester to Peterborough; Derbyshire’s Hope Valley and Buxton lines; and the world-famous Settle to Carlisle line. Towns as contrasting as Ilkley and Skegness would have been removed from the rail map altogether. Lines such as Kettering to Corby, Nuneaton to Coventry and Nottinghamshire’s Robin Hood line linking Nottingham to Mansfield and Worksop were closed and subsequently reopened. Indeed, at one time Mansfield had the dubious distinction of being the largest town in England with no rail connection. But not so today.

This book takes a look at some of these survivors, from the Island Line on the Isle of Wight to the branches of Devon and Cornwall, the Far North line in the Scottish Highlands and many more in between.