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Beeching Report: Then And Now

  • Then and now composite photo showing the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
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    Then and now composite photo showing the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.

    Then and now composite photo showing the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
  • A dog walker strolls along the track-bed at the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire
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    A dog walker strolls along the track-bed at the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire

    A dog walker strolls along the track-bed at the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire
  • A ghostly composite combining old scenes with new shows a dog walker strolling along a footpath between the platforms of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
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    A ghostly composite combining old scenes with new shows a dog walker strolling along a footpath between the platforms of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.

    A ghostly composite combining old scenes with new shows a dog walker strolling along a footpath between the platforms of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
  • Then and now composite photo showing the Newbury A34 by-pass, the route of which follows the course of the old Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) near Newbury, Berkshire
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    Then and now composite photo showing the Newbury A34 by-pass, the route of which follows the course of the old Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) near Newbury, Berkshire

    Then and now composite photo showing the Newbury A34 by-pass, the route of which follows the course of the old Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) near Newbury, Berkshire
  • <p class="item-overlay_description">Porter John Sugg at Aldermaston Station the day after the Beeching Report was revealed. </p>
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    Porter John Sugg at Aldermaston Station the day after the Beeching Reportwas revealed.

    Porter John Sugg at Aldermaston Station the day after the Beeching Report was revealed.

  • John Sugg polishes off the Aldermaston sign. It was one of over 2,000 stations axed
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    John Sugg polishes off the Aldermaston sign. It was one of over 2,000 stations axed

    John Sugg polishes off the Aldermaston sign. It was one of over 2,000 stations axed
  • Colyton Station: The station was built in 1868 to service the branch line - a route closed in the Beeching cuts. The Seaton Tramway now runs through it
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    Colyton Station: The station was built in 1868 to service the branch line - a route closed in the Beeching cuts. The Seaton Tramway now runs through it

    Colyton Station: The station was built in 1868 to service the branch line - a route closed in the Beeching cuts. The Seaton Tramway now runs through it
  • Graffiti painted under a bridge beside the footpath which follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
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    Graffiti painted under a bridge beside the footpath which follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.

    Graffiti painted under a bridge beside the footpath which follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
  • A footpath follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
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    A footpath follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.A footpath follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.

    A footpath follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
  • Dr Richard Beeching (right) Chairman of the British Railways Board and Mr S. E. Raymond (from left), Mr G.A.V Phillips and Mr P. Peyman examining the newly painted arch of Paddington Station's Brunel roofin 1963
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    Dr Richard Beeching (right) Chairman of the British Railways Board and Mr S. E. Raymond (from left), Mr G.A.V Phillips and Mr P. Peyman examining the newly painted arch of Paddington Station's Brunel roofin 1963

    Dr Richard Beeching (right) Chairman of the British Railways Board and Mr S. E. Raymond (from left), Mr G.A.V Phillips and Mr P. Peyman examining the newly painted arch of Paddington Station's Brunel roofin 1963
Then and now composite photo showing the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
A dog walker strolls along the track-bed at the site of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire
A ghostly composite combining old scenes with new shows a dog walker strolling along a footpath between the platforms of the shut-down former train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
Then and now composite photo showing the Newbury A34 by-pass, the route of which follows the course of the old Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) near Newbury, Berkshire
<p class="item-overlay_description">Porter John Sugg at Aldermaston Station the day after the Beeching Report was revealed. </p>
John Sugg polishes off the Aldermaston sign. It was one of over 2,000 stations axed
Colyton Station: The station was built in 1868 to service the branch line - a route closed in the Beeching cuts. The Seaton Tramway now runs through it
Graffiti painted under a bridge beside the footpath which follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway (MVR) at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
A footpath follows the former track-bed of the Meon Valley Railway at the site of the train station at West Meon in Hampshire.
Dr Richard Beeching (right) Chairman of the British Railways Board and Mr S. E. Raymond (from left), Mr G.A.V Phillips and Mr P. Peyman examining the newly painted arch of Paddington Station's Brunel roofin 1963

It's the 50th anniversary of the Beeching Report today. It was on March 27 1963 that the British Railways Board, chaired by Richard Beeching, produced a report that was to lead to a savage axing of train routes and stations. Here's a look at how that one report changed the face of our railways for ever.