Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman of the British Railways Board from 1 June 1961 to 31 May 1965, delivered The Reshaping of British Railways to Ernest Marples MP, Minister of Transport, on 27 March 1963. HMSO published it in two volumes; Volume One carried the narrative and the two schedules of proposed passenger-service withdrawal, Volume Two the mapping. 2,363 stations and around 5,000 route miles were listed for withdrawal, out of an active BR network of about 18,000 route miles.
The register
The archive holds a full closures database and a year-by-year chronology. Notable early withdrawals in 1963 included the Isle of Wight Sandown to Ventnor line (18 April 1966 actual date) and much of the Great Central London Extension. Later Reshaping-listed closures included the Waverley Route in January 1969, the Somerset and Dorset in March 1966, and the Woodhead Route passenger service in January 1970.
References
- British Railways Board (1963) The Reshaping of British Railways, HMSO, two volumes.
- Awdry, C. (1990) Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies, PSL, pp.148 to 152 for the closure timeline summary.
- Loft, C. (2013) Last Trains, Biteback, for the political history.
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