Documents for further study
Documents for further study
The fabulous Railways Archive website hosts a collection of documents relating to the Beeching Report, railway investment and the closure programme. Below you will find links to the relevant page, from which you can download PDF copies.
The Reshaping of British Railways (Part 1: Report)
Published in March 1963 by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and was written by BTC.
The Reshaping of British Railways (Part 2: Maps)
Published in March 1963 by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and was written by BTC.
Review of Dr Beeching’s Report The Reshaping of British Railways
Paper by Prof E R Hondelink on the contribution branch lines make to traffic on trunk routes.
The Mis-shaping of British Railways (Part 1: Retort)
A blunt response to the Beeching Report by the National Union of Railwaymen.
Development Of The Major Railway Trunk Routes
Published in March 1965 by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and was written by BTC.
A lecture and interviews given by Beeching in February 1965 on The Development Of The Major Railway Trunk Routes.
A government paper from 1966 introducing the concept of a socially-necessary railway.
British Railways Network for Development
A 1967 leaflet explaining the routes to be retained under a system of public service grants.
Modernisation and Re-Equipment of British Railways
Known as the ‘modernisation plan’, this 1954 report attempted to stem the railway’s losses.
A 1982 report from a committee chaired by Sir David Serpell which effectively advocated the decimation of the railway network.
Click here for our combined version of maps 9 & 10 from the Beeching Report (321kB PDF)