Fifty years since Dr Beeching axed East Lancashire railway stations (From Chorley Citizen)
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Fifty years since Dr Beeching axed East Lancashire railway stations
10:00pm Monday 11th March 2013 in East Lancashire
East Lancashire Railway is thriving
IT is almost 50 years since the infamous Dr Beeching produced his report that saw miles of East Lancashire’s railway lines axed.
And campaigners said the former chairman of the British Railways Board was still very much seen as a villain following his 1963 report.
Richard Beeching was assigned to his post in March 1961 and tasked with sorting out the huge problems on the country’s railway network.
His Reshaping of British Railways called for the closure of a third of the country’s 7,000 railway stations and withdrawing passenger services from about 5,000 miles of tracks.
The move, it was predicted at the time, would save £18million per year.
In East Lancashire, four routes were lost due to the Beeching Report. They were:
- East Lancashire Railway
- Colne to Manchester Victoria
- Earby to Barnoldswick
- Rose Grove to Todmorden
The Skipton to Colne line survived the Beeching axe but went on to close in January 1970. Campaign group SELRAP (Skipton East Lancashire Rail Partnership) has been fighting for years to have the stretch of railway reopened.
Stephen Martin, chairman of Save The East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA) said Dr Beeching’s legacy was still felt 50 years on. He said: “People still haven’t forgiven him. He is still not a very well liked man, nobody has a good word to say about him.
“He had a huge impact on East Lancashire. I think we caught the brunt of it. But if he hadn’t done it when he did, would the lines have gone by now anyway?
“They might have stayed open for a bit longer, but would probably have faced the axe anyway.”
The East Lancashire Railway reopened in July 1987 thanks to volunteers, with four miles of the track taking passengers between Bury and Ramsbottom.
Now it runs for 12 miles, from Heywood to Rawtenstall, and a further extension to Castleton is being explored, with the possiblity of linking it in with National Rail services also being investigated.
Mr Martin said despite the cuts 50 years ago, the East Lancashire Railway was now thriving. He said: “They are looking into getting it reconnected to the mainline.
“It is the only preserved railway that runs during the week when the markets are on in Bury and Rawtenstall.”
And the recent announcement that Todmorden Curve is to be reinstated, providing a direct line between Burnley and Manchester, has also been welcomed.
Mr Martin said: “At least we are getting Todmorden Curve put back in.
“That is probably the only bit of good news the railways in East Lancashire have had for a number of years.”
Comments(5)
Kevin, Colne
says...
10:31am Tue 12 Mar 13
As a young man I accepted the narrative promoted heavily by the railway lobby that Beeching had butchered the railways but when I came to look at the evidence I realized that the reality was far more nuanced and I refined my view.
Beeching was fulfilling the remit of the government of the day. Re-reading Beeching’s Report fifty years later one is struck by the core message: let’s work-out what transportation the railways are most suited for and good at and direct our efforts accordingly; let’s improve costing systems so that we can get a handle on pricing and financial performance; and let’s alter the way we think and improve the quality of the way in which we manage. Whether these were achieved in full or in part is open to debate, but the principles were sound.
The issue of closing lines is has been a subject of much rancor. In some instances the case for closure was beyond doubt, in others it was marginal and there were a few where closure should not have occurred. Thankfully some of the errors are now being corrected.
Richard Hardy’s 1989 book ‘Beeching: Champion of the Railway?’ gets it about right when he observes: ‘If Beeching was responsible for some policies and decisions that were not wholly correct, he was responsible for many more that were absolutely right’.
vicn1956
says...
12:38pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Are you commenting on the wrong story? Or just despearte to get your views on to any forum?
Noiticer
says...
12:52pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Fortunately, more enlightened policies have prevailed in recent years and our local rail routes have prospered and expanded again with the routes to Clitheroe and Hebden Bridge/Leeds reopened and highly successful.The next few years will see the Todmorden Curve rebuilt and a new service to Manchester via Todmorden to/from Blackburn and the Blackburn - Manchester service will go half hourly all day in a couple of years and may even be electrified at some point.
A renaissance - yes - but much more investment is required in the rail network of NE Lancs if it is to meet rising demand and the needs of the 21st century. Compared to local networks in many parts of Europe our network is third division especially in terms of clapped out rolling stock and lack of electrification not to mention the dumped rubbish and discarded rail equipment which creates such a poor impression of the local area as passengers, may be potential investors, pass through.Freight services also need to be reintroduced to take lorries of our road network.
liddle 'un
says...
7:04pm Tue 12 Mar 13
mavrick says...
8:45am Tue 12 Mar 13