Scotland's Lost Branch Lines Where Beeching Got It Wrong

The infamous 'Beeching Axe' swept away virtually every Scottish branch line in the 1960s. Conventional wisdom viewed these losses as regrettable yet inevitable in an era of growing affluence and rising car ownership. This ground-breaking analysis of Beeching's flawed approach to closures has unearthed strong evidence of a 'stitch-up' - the Beeching Report ignored the scope for sensible economies which would have allowed a significant number of axed routes to survive and prosper. David Spaven traces the birth, life and eventual death of Scotland's branch lines, and outlines the controversial closure process through the unique stories of how a dozen routes lost their trains in the 1960s: the lines to Ballachulish, Ballater, Callander, Crail, Crieff, Fraserburgh, Kelso, Kilmacolm, Leven, Peebles, Peterhead and St Andrews. He concludes by exploring a potential renaissance of branch lines, propelled by concerns over road congestion and the climate emergency. Features rarely seen photographic material including 96 photographs and maps.

ISBN:	9781839830198
Publisher:	Birlinn Ltd
Imprint:	Origin
Published date:	03 Mar 2022
DEWEY:	385.09411
DEWEY edition:	23
Language:	English
Number of pages:	320
Weight:	722g
Height:	163mm
Width:	243mm
Spine width:	34mm

Write a review

Your Name:

Your Review: Note: HTML is not translated!

Rating: Bad           Good

Enter the code in the box below: