Beeching

Proper noun

Beeching (plural Beechings)

1. A surname from Old English.
   • Richard Beeching, wielder of the Beeching Axe.
2. (UK) The Beeching Axe; the closure of many branch lines in the UK in the mid-20th century.
   • Nationally, there were relatively few closures after Beeching and more recently some lines have reopened to passenger traffic, such as the Cannock Chase line, which for a number of years had been freight only.2014 March 31, Geoff Cryer, Shropshire Railways, Crowood, →ISBN
   • Like the ones on the Camp Hill line, the new stations are being built on the same site as the original platforms, both of which closed in the Beeching era in the 1960s.2026 January 21, Peter Plisner, “Rail's resurgence in the Midlands”, in RAIL, number 1053, page 34