On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 18:45:29 -0000, David Marsh
Post by David Marshbegin Hugh Spicer's quote in free.uk.scotland.transport-railways
about: Thank you Dr Beeching
Post by Hugh Spicerhttp://www.beechingreport.info/
It is incredible what this report had in store for Scotland's rail network
back in the 1960's......! ;-(
I haven't read the text, but looking at the maps,
http://www.piccadillypilot.co.uk/beeching/Map09-1.htm
it looks as if we ended up pretty much with "what the doctor ordered", with
* the North Highland Lines being retained (whew),
* Stirling - Alloa - Dunfermline closing (not entirely sure why?),
* Dunfermline - Perth closing (why did they ever do this?)
(but the 'empty' Ladybank - Perth retained: it's not even shown on the map),
* St Andrews closing (again, why on earth?),
* certain lines luckily retaining their intermediate stations
(eg, Abdn-Inv and Gla-Dumf-Carlisle)
If you ignore the fact that essentially everywhere south of Edinburgh
and Ayr ceased to exist (a not entirely metaphorical description, which
is very evident in these areas to this day), we actually got off
relatively lightly, compared to, say, Wales (which lost virtually all of
its north-south connections) and the southwest of England.
I lived in Hawick at the time of Beeching. We were promised a public
enquiry/debate on the closure of the rail services. While we were
actually inside the meeting, gangs of workmen were already dismantling
the rail lines. Within a couple of days, every inch of line between
Hawick and Edinburgh was raised. So much for public debate.
Mind you, in all fairness, I was amazed at the number of objectors to
the closure who admitted they rarely if ever used the service !
These days I don't live in the central Borders, and don't regard
Hawick/Gala as the centre of the known universe - so I'm one of the
many Borders residents who doesn't much care whether the link is
restored or not. I'd rather see better and cheaper bus services.
JJ