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| Britain's most hated civil servant | Britain's most hated civil servant |
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| By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Dr Richard Beeching has become one of the villains of British history for dismantling the railway network in the 1960s. But, Ian Hislop asks, how much did he really change Britain? | By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Dr Richard Beeching has become one of the villains of British history for dismantling the railway network in the 1960s. But, Ian Hislop asks, how much did he really change Britain? |
| In lists of the worst Britons, a physicist from the Isle of Sheppey commonly ranks alongside Richard II, Robert Maxwell and Fred West. | In lists of the worst Britons, a physicist from the Isle of Sheppey commonly ranks alongside Richard II, Robert Maxwell and Fred West. |
| Dr Richard Beeching's crime was to cut 5,000 miles of railway as boss of British Railways, and his sentence is having his surname as a byword for the senseless axing of public services. FIND OUT MORE... Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails on BBC Four on Thursday 2100 BSTOr catch up using the iPlayer | Dr Richard Beeching's crime was to cut 5,000 miles of railway as boss of British Railways, and his sentence is having his surname as a byword for the senseless axing of public services. FIND OUT MORE... Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails on BBC Four on Thursday 2100 BSTOr catch up using the iPlayer |
| Self-confessed train enthusiast Ian Hislop - an affection that turns to loathing on his daily commute from Kent - says Beeching had a huge impact on Britain. | Self-confessed train enthusiast Ian Hislop - an affection that turns to loathing on his daily commute from Kent - says Beeching had a huge impact on Britain. |
| "It marked the end of our romance with the train, the end of public transport and the rise of the car." | "It marked the end of our romance with the train, the end of public transport and the rise of the car." |
| With a business background at ICI and no experience in the rail industry, Beeching was appointed in 1961 by Harold MacMillan's government to take charge of an ailing network, in decline since the early 20th Century and indebted to the tune of £136m. | With a business background at ICI and no experience in the rail industry, Beeching was appointed in 1961 by Harold MacMillan's government to take charge of an ailing network, in decline since the early 20th Century and indebted to the tune of £136m. |
| His £24,000 salary was attacked on newspaper front pages but he confidently claimed he could make the railways pay for themselves. | His £24,000 salary was attacked on newspaper front pages but he confidently claimed he could make the railways pay for themselves. |
| Two years later he published his report, The Reshaping of British Railways. It called for the closure of more than a third of the country's 7,000 railway stations and the uprooting of 5,000 miles of track, saving £18m a year. | Two years later he published his report, The Reshaping of British Railways. It called for the closure of more than a third of the country's 7,000 railway stations and the uprooting of 5,000 miles of track, saving £18m a year. |
| An outcry followed, with demonstrations, petitions and protests at Downing Street, with poet John Betjeman at the vanguard of opposition. Beeching was lampooned in Private Eye with his arms and legs cut off. But Transport Minister Ernest Marples, himself a road builder, remained unmoved. WHO WAS DR BEECHING? Born in Sheerness in 1913Degree and Phd in physics at Imperial College London Appointed to ICI board aged 43Chaired British Railways 1961-65Back at ICI became life peerDied in 1985 | An outcry followed, with demonstrations, petitions and protests at Downing Street, with poet John Betjeman at the vanguard of opposition. Beeching was lampooned in Private Eye with his arms and legs cut off. But Transport Minister Ernest Marples, himself a road builder, remained unmoved. WHO WAS DR BEECHING? Born in Sheerness in 1913Degree and Phd in physics at Imperial College London Appointed to ICI board aged 43Chaired British Railways 1961-65Back at ICI became life peerDied in 1985 |
| Over the next 10 years, many of his proposed cuts were made, leaving ghost lines and phantom platforms across the UK. The British landscape was forever changed and thousands of jobs lost. | Over the next 10 years, many of his proposed cuts were made, leaving ghost lines and phantom platforms across the UK. The British landscape was forever changed and thousands of jobs lost. |
| "There are a lot of people that hate him," says Hislop. | "There are a lot of people that hate him," says Hislop. |
| "Not just people who were put out of work on the railways or had local lines closed, but people who see his model being applied to local hospitals or other not particularly cost efficient public services that come up against the bean-crushers. He was the first of those sort of accountants." | "Not just people who were put out of work on the railways or had local lines closed, but people who see his model being applied to local hospitals or other not particularly cost efficient public services that come up against the bean-crushers. He was the first of those sort of accountants." |
| Huge swathes of the country were suddenly cut off, including a large part of Cornwall, where people still link the Beeching closures to the economic troubles that plagued the county in the decades that followed. | Huge swathes of the country were suddenly cut off, including a large part of Cornwall, where people still link the Beeching closures to the economic troubles that plagued the county in the decades that followed. |
| Suddenly the means by which huge numbers of working class holidaymakers visited Cornwall's northern coastline was gone, the fishing industry suffered and agricultural produce could no longer be transported so easily. | |
| Prosecution rests | Prosecution rests |
| Boo-hiss, case closed, verdict guilty. Or is it that simple? | |
| Hislop concedes some lines had to close and Beeching did some good by being the first person to address the chronic problems facing a network that had been in decline for 50 years. | Hislop concedes some lines had to close and Beeching did some good by being the first person to address the chronic problems facing a network that had been in decline for 50 years. |
| The lorry had taken a lot of the freight business, and while British steam trains were breaking speed records in the 1930s, other countries were investing in diesel and electric technology. | The lorry had taken a lot of the freight business, and while British steam trains were breaking speed records in the 1930s, other countries were investing in diesel and electric technology. |
| After a botched attempt at modernising the network in the 50s, the state of the railways was the subject of the kind of grumbling familiar to travellers today. | After a botched attempt at modernising the network in the 50s, the state of the railways was the subject of the kind of grumbling familiar to travellers today. |
| "There is wonderful footage of people complaining in the 60s about the trains being dirty," says Hislop. "We are great at nostalgia and sometimes we need a shaft of light to expose what's wrong. | "There is wonderful footage of people complaining in the 60s about the trains being dirty," says Hislop. "We are great at nostalgia and sometimes we need a shaft of light to expose what's wrong. |
| "The growth of the railways is a brilliant story, but it's a story of anarchy, chaos and duplication and it was unplanned in every sense, which gave rise to a lot of problems. Soon after the start of the 20th Century, they fell into decline.Stations were left in disarray | "The growth of the railways is a brilliant story, but it's a story of anarchy, chaos and duplication and it was unplanned in every sense, which gave rise to a lot of problems. Soon after the start of the 20th Century, they fell into decline.Stations were left in disarray |
| "When Beeching came along there was huge debt and he was there to solve the debt and save money. He did that, but the question was how much he did and how it was administered." | "When Beeching came along there was huge debt and he was there to solve the debt and save money. He did that, but the question was how much he did and how it was administered." |
| Hislop thinks history has been a little unkind to Beeching, not least because it's forgotten that he proposed a much better bus service but ministers never delivered. And in a way, he did their dirty work for them. | Hislop thinks history has been a little unkind to Beeching, not least because it's forgotten that he proposed a much better bus service but ministers never delivered. And in a way, he did their dirty work for them. |
| "He was very useful to politicians," says Hislop. "We think that bringing in someone from industry to dismantle a public service is a new idea but it's not, it was done very well in the 60s." | "He was very useful to politicians," says Hislop. "We think that bringing in someone from industry to dismantle a public service is a new idea but it's not, it was done very well in the 60s." |
| Labour leader Harold Wilson pledged to halt the major closures but when he came to power he realised he could not afford to. And the nation's love affair with the motor car was blossoming. | Labour leader Harold Wilson pledged to halt the major closures but when he came to power he realised he could not afford to. And the nation's love affair with the motor car was blossoming. |
| Despite the political failures, Beeching can only blame himself for being so utterly convinced he was right and closing his ears to dissent. | Despite the political failures, Beeching can only blame himself for being so utterly convinced he was right and closing his ears to dissent. |
| "He was a technocrat and wasn't open to argument to romantic notions of rural England or the warp and weft of the train in our national identity. He didn't buy any of that. | "He was a technocrat and wasn't open to argument to romantic notions of rural England or the warp and weft of the train in our national identity. He didn't buy any of that. |
| "He went for a straightforward profit and loss approach and some claim we are still reeling from that today."Rail's golden age soon tarnished | "He went for a straightforward profit and loss approach and some claim we are still reeling from that today."Rail's golden age soon tarnished |
| Where Beeching only saw balance sheets, Betjeman like many artists saw romance and regarded railways as part of the British landscape. | Where Beeching only saw balance sheets, Betjeman like many artists saw romance and regarded railways as part of the British landscape. |
| "From [painter John] Turner onwards, trains are part of what we defined ourselves as, and no-one has really waxed lyrical about a motorway," says Hislop. | "From [painter John] Turner onwards, trains are part of what we defined ourselves as, and no-one has really waxed lyrical about a motorway," says Hislop. |
| But as road congestion worsens, so demand for rail travel has rocketed to record levels. | But as road congestion worsens, so demand for rail travel has rocketed to record levels. |
| So in a final twist, some of Beeching's ghost lines, such as Waverley linking Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders, are being reopened at great cost. | So in a final twist, some of Beeching's ghost lines, such as Waverley linking Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders, are being reopened at great cost. |
| The beleaguered rail traveller could yet have his revenge. | The beleaguered rail traveller could yet have his revenge. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |