Last Trains: Dr Beeching and the Death of Rural England

(Paperback)

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During the course of the 1950s England lost confidence in its rulers and convinced itself to modernise. The bankrupt steam-powered railway, run by a retired general, symbolised everything that was wrong with the country; the future lay in motorways and high speed electric - or even atomic - express trains. But plans for a gleaming new railway systemended in failure and on the roads traffic ground to a halt. Along came Dr Beeching, forensically analysing the railways' problems and expertly delivering an expert's diagnosis - a third of the nation's railways must go. This was the point at which the reality of modernisation dawned and rural England fell victim to the road and car - at least that is how Dr Beeching is remembered today.

Reviews

"Prepare to be impressed, shocked and saddened if you read this fine publication - This is undoubtedly one of the best books of the year - a riveting read." Railways Illustrated

Author Bio

Charles Loft was born in London at the height of the Beeching era and spent much of his youth exploring abandoned railway lines. He received his PhD from the University of London in 1999. He currently works as a policy adviser and still occasionally gets lost while looking for forgotten railways. He lives in London.