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The Rise and Fall of British Railways: Branch and Minor Lines, published by Haynes, tells the story of the much-loved British branch line through a glorious collection of nearly 400 monochrome and colour photographs, extended captions and a comprehensive text.
The book's detailed historical coverage begins with the early days of railway mania, and recounts the financial struggles and closures of the 1920s and 1930s, which saw more than 1,000 miles of track declared redundant, and continues through to the nationalisation of the railways in 1948. The main focus is on the problems experienced by British Railways in its 50-year struggle to make the railways profitable while being subjected to regular political interference.
Faced with mounting losses, the government famously called upon industrialist Dr Richard Beeching to chair the British Railways Board and look at ways of reducing BR's losses. The result of his deliberations was a report, published in 1963, called the Reshaping of British Railways, which proposed the widespread closure of loss making lines and stations.
In The Rise and Fall of British Railways: Branch and Minor Lines, expert author and photographer John Vaughan examines the report's findings, analyses the effects of its subsequent implementation - popularly known as 'the Beeching axe' - and offers insight into public reaction to the controversial recommendations.
These measures threatened little used branch and minor lines that provided a lifeline for many rural communities. Although increasing car ownership had seen their usage gradually wane, the depth of public affection for the local branch line was such that considerable opposition to Beeching's plans quickly emerged. Nevertheless thousands of lines and stations subsequently closed.
Fortunately, several branch lines survived and many have since been regenerated, with a number of new stations opening as a result. These more recent events are also included as part of the book's nationwide coverage, leading up to the privatisation of British Rail and beyond. The Rise and Fall of British Railways: Branch & Minor Lines's wealth of evocative images taken by leading photographers past and present will invoke much nostalgia amongst railway enthusiasts, for whom there can be no more charming sight than that of a classic rural branch line in all its glory.
The author:
John Vaughan has been a rail fan since the age of ten, when in 1953 he took his first railway photograph on a simple plastic camera. Following the publication of his first book in 1968 he has gone on to write more than 40 railway titles. Since the end of steam on BR he has specialised in diesel traction and the County of Cornwall. He is a former Editor of Modern Railways Pictorial magazine and the writer of scores of articles in various railway periodicals. He lives at Goring by Sea in West Sussex.
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Notes to Editors:
The information on this page is supplied courtesy of Haynes Publishing, please credit accordingly if you intend to use it. For further information or to request a review copy please contact Max Boon at Spirit PR on 0117 944 1415 or email haynes@spiritpublicrelations.co.uk
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Haynes & Co Ltd.
Registered in England, Number: 1449587 Registered Office: Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ
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