An event that may be of interest - 'The Beeching Report - 50 Years On' (Dev & Corn)

[AMT]

Hello all.

I originally signed up to this website for help with a personal issue I was having and I found the advice I received extremely helpful so I just wanted to return the favour.

I am currently helping to promote an event and I thought it may be of interest to some of you in the Devon & Cornwall area. 'The Beeching Report - 50 Years On' has been organised by The IET's Devon & Cornwall Network and is free to attend.

The presenter (Dave Saunders) will explore the following: "The report detailing reshaping of British Railways was published on 27th March 1963 and is one of the most notorious government reports of the 20th century. The failure of the modernisation plan to stem BR's losses led Beeching to propose wholesale route closures, in an attempt to concentrate resources on the core routes. This influenced the world we live in today - was he misguided or a farsighted thinker?"

This lecture will take place twice, as follows:

Date: 25 February 2014
Time: 19:00 - 21:00
Location: University of Plymouth (Babbage Bldg), PL4 8AA

Date: 26 February 2014
Time: 19:00 - 21:00
Location: University of Exeter (Harrison Bldg), EX4 4PY

Complimentary refreshments will be available from 18:30 and these events usually offer good networking opportunities (especially for engineers). The IET Devon & Cornwall Network community page can be found at www.theiet.org/devoncornwall.

We also have a Railway Network that covers the engineering aspects of the promotion, construction, regulation, operation, safety and maintenance of railway, metro, tramway and guided transport systems (that some of you may be interested in). Their events are also free to attend - www.theiet.org/railway

 

[47802]

And does it actually matter?. Some lines proposed for closure under Beeching didn't close while some others not proposed for closure did at a later date.

Todays travel patterns and needs are very different to 50 years ago, and OK we do have to deal with the impact of some of Beeching's decisions today, but so what unless you have a time machine you can not change things, as per usual its easy to criticise a decision with benefit of hidesight.

 

[MidlandMainlie]

And does it actually matter?. Some lines proposed for closure under Beeching didn't close while some others not proposed for closure did at a later date.

IMO those closures that weren't recommended by Beeching seem to have been the worst/most short sighted. Just look at the reopening of the East-West rail link, Oxford-Bletchley and Bedford-Cambridge all closed in 1967 just as Milton Keynes was designated. :roll:

 

[w0033944]

...but so what unless you have a time machine you can not change things, as per usual its easy to criticise a decision with benefit of hidesight.

Congratulations, you've just argued against the entire activity of historical study and put every historian and history teacher/lecturer out of a job.

Of course, you may be missing the important point that, by understanding the events of the past, we're better-able to learn from them for the future.

 

[MarkyT]

All parallel routes were seen initially as wasteful duplication in the Beeching era retrenchment. That such lines may individually have been economic, often served important intermediate stations in entirely different corridors en-route between the large cities and could form some sort of back up function to each other rarely entered the closure equation. Redundancy in the engineering reliability sense was a bit too subtle a concept in the 1960s, although sadly in other senses it was very much in mind. The wider cultural rejection of 'old fashioned' railways was perhaps more to blame for the widespread disbelief that any closed line could ever be candidates for reopening (as a railway, tramway, busway or other public transport option) and that continues to result in blocking of so many critical sections of closed alignment in built up areas where diversions are often impossible, or uneconomic.

 

[rdeez]

And does it actually matter?. Some lines proposed for closure under Beeching didn't close while some others not proposed for closure did at a later date.

Todays travel patterns and needs are very different to 50 years ago, and OK we do have to deal with the impact of some of Beeching's decisions today, but so what unless you have a time machine you can not change things, as per usual its easy to criticise a decision with benefit of hidesight.

...wow. It's a lecture, which OP is kindly sharing for anyone interested (thanks for that , shame I'm a bit far away to make it). Many people do enjoy discussing and analysing past events of significance.

 

[Zoidberg]

...wow. It's a lecture, which OP is kindly sharing for anyone interested (thanks for that , shame I'm a bit far away to make it). Many people do enjoy discussing and analysing past events of significance.

Hear, hear! And I, too, am sorry that I'm too far away to take advantage of the event.

 

[CockneySparrow]

Congratulations, you've just argued against the entire activity of historical study and put every historian and history teacher/lecturer out of a job.

Of course, you may be missing the important point that, but understanding the events of the past, we're better-able to learn from them for the future.

Indeed, perhaps the thought that it might be about the history of what happened or didnt happen never crossed 47802s mind

Oh and the fact that some people might be interested in this talk or history in general even if 47802 isnt

 

[w0033944]

Indeed, perhaps the thought that it might be about the history of what happened or didnt happen never crossed 47802s mind

Oh and the fact that some people might be interested in this talk or history in general even if 47802 isnt

Thanks for your support for my comment. I was a bit concerned that I was perhaps a bit too sarcastic, and was ready to partially back down had there been criticism for what I typed. By the way, I've edited my post, as your quoting it showed me that I had made a typo - for "...but understanding the events of the past...", read "...by understanding the events of the past..."

 

[berneyarms]

And does it actually matter?. Some lines proposed for closure under Beeching didn't close while some others not proposed for closure did at a later date.

Todays travel patterns and needs are very different to 50 years ago, and OK we do have to deal with the impact of some of Beeching's decisions today, but so what unless you have a time machine you can not change things, as per usual its easy to criticise a decision with benefit of hidesight.

What an appallingly negative attitude.

It's a lecture and discussion about an historical event.

Many people are interested in history thankfully and I don't see what the problem is with having a discussion about it.

 

[TheKnightWho]

What an appallingly negative attitude.

It's a lecture and discussion about an historical event.

Many people are interested in history thankfully and I don't see what the problem is with having a discussion about it.

This kind of attitude is not uncommon from certain posters in this forum.

I shall say no more, lest I get told off.

 

[daikilo]

IMO those closures that weren't recommended by Beeching seem to have been the worst/most short sighted. Just look at the reopening of the East-West rail link, Oxford-Bletchley and Bedford-Cambridge all closed in 1967 just as Milton Keynes was designated. :roll:

Whilst I actually went on "customer-contact" strike to stop Beeching effects, something needed to happen. My personal opnion on the now privatised railway is that "we could have delivered that had we been given the freedom".

If we consider Dawlish is the famous 100-150 year waves then the decision was probably good, if it happens every year for the next decade it probably was not. If only we could have hindsight before it happened! And, as some suggest, if only the bay had been dredged. That is not NR.

 

[Muzer]

Heh, in two places so people either side of the sea wall can get to it by rail?