In 1963 the ‘Beeching Report’ was published.  The report was commissioned to calculate the appropriate action needed to rejuvenate Britain’s then National Rail infrastructure. Richard Beeching’s recommendations resulted in little rejuvenation, 5,000 miles of track disappeared, and 2,363 stations were closed in the pursuit of economic frugality.

This project focuses on the Cockermouth- Keswick- Penrith line, closed in 1972 and one of the many casualties stemming from the report. The images portray how the remaining track bed sits in today’s Landscape. Some sections are now a picturesque bridleway, others a passage for cattle and agriculture, whereas some sections have seemingly vanished altogether, flattened in the wake of new industrial complexes.

In his book The Cockermouth Keswick & Penrith Railway, Robert Western commented “There was it seemed no reason to believe this section would go, linking, as it did, the heartland of the lakes to the mainline at Penrith”.

Please feel free to view the E-Book