Standlynch - The Beeching Belle
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Standlynch - The Beeching Belle by Dave Bevis as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Standlynch - The Beeching Belle
Image: © Dave Bevis Taken: 26 Oct 1965
Although taken in black & white on a poor-resolution Brownie 127 camera, this is one of my all-time favourite photos. For me, this picture taken near dusk on a dreary autumn day in 1965 somehow portrays the unremitting gloom of this era. The demolition train somehow symbolises the death of Britain's rural railways. The Salisbury to Bournemouth railway line was closed in March 1964. Demolition started at the West Moors end in March 1965 and finished at Alderbury Junction in late 1965. The locals nicknamed this demolition train the "Beeching Belle" after Dr Richard Beeching, who consigned much of Britain's railway network to the dustbin.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.01757
Longitude
-1.723807