- This event has passed.
How Dr Beeching saved the railways, and set the scene for the current rail renaissance
19/12/2023 @ 16:30 - 18:00
Tim Kendell, Retired Railway Civil Engineer
Lancaster, Barrow and Carlisle Section in-person meeting
Synopsis: Dr Beeching has a reputation for destroying the railway system in Great Britain, but is it deserved and was his report all bad news? Tim Kendell’s presentation reviews the growth of the railway network from the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 to a network of nearly 18,000 route miles in 1961. The two world wars took a severe toll on the railways, and he goes on to review the fitness for purpose of the post-war Modernisation Plan and the associated state of railway finances. Something had to be done and Dr Beeching was chosen to devise the solution. Tim looks at all that was in the report – not just the closures – from the perspective of sixty years on, and considers what would have happened, had it not been enacted.
Tim first worked for British Rail in 1972 at the start of the true modernisation. He has seen the resurgence of the railway since that time and has experienced sectorisation, followed by privatisation and partial renationalisation. He describes how all parts of the railway industry have grown since Beeching, enabled by his reforms.
Members and visitors are warmly invited to attend this Christmas social meeting, which includes a buffet, courtesy of The PWI, from 16:00 onwards and represents a particular opportunity for recently joined members to meet others in a social setting.
Meeting in-person from 16:00 for a 16:30 start.
Empire Services Club
Hartington Road
Preston
PR1 8PP
Directions: The club is located by leaving Preston station via the main access road and turning left to walk down Fishergate as far as the second traffic signals junction (Hartington Road) on the right. The premises are located adjacent to the junction (total distance from station 0.4 miles). Limited on-street parking is available on Hartington Road opposite the club.
If you are a PWI member and would like this event to be automatically recorded in your PWI CPD portfolio, you will need to register for the event. BOOK YOUR SPACE HERE
