Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails

[spoony]

Starting in 10 minutes on BBC4, just for anyone that is interested

 

[valentaman]

sky+ it thanks for advance warning

 

[Darandio]

Forgot to set the DVD recorder away at the start of "Railway Night" so will watch this one on iplayer.

Isn't there somewhere we can "rate" these programmes? Even if they are rubbish we could still all rate them highly in order for them to hopefully take notice and make more reailway related material.

 

[Crompton Karl]

Railway night was pretty cool. Some old programs there and the Hislop one was very good. But Victoria Wood winds me up, the program she made was in 1995, she wasn't funny back then either!

Karl

 

[mumrar]

Well said that man. I don't know why everyone thinks she's so ace, she just wittered on and on about stuff no-one wants to hear, taking the **** out of everyone, and mentioning nearly nothing about the journey with the exception of anything bad.

Loved the Ian Hislop one, much more informed and level-headed

 

[1D53]

Looks like loads of it isn't gonna be available on iPlayer - gutted

 

[theblackwatch]

Agree with the other comments, enjoyed Hislop, switched off Victoria Wood though as I saw that when it was first one TV years ago, and she wasn't funny then either!

I also found the programme on railway walks interesting, hadn't realised till this evening that was the first of a series.

 

[me123]

Looks like loads of it isn't gonna be available on iPlayer - gutted

Darn I only have iPlayer as well

 

[BJMorley]

I didn't mind the VW one, I just wanted to see all the RR, Intercity and ScotRail stock. Was the ScotRail branded stuff when it was owned by National Express, or was that before?
Brandon

 

[Metroland]

A tip with Iplayer. Look at the TV listings area before the programmes are due to be aired, some say 'not available' - which was the case with the Victoria Wood one. Which I watched on TV, though I though she made BR look crap (maybe it was). Considering the film was 1995, it has really dated!

The railway walks and Hislop ones are well worth seeing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00drtpj/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dtp4b/

 

[BJMorley]

That bridge looks in need of restoration (in the Ian Hislop one) hock:
The 2nd program was very interesting and is weel worth watching.
If only beeching had thought of the future instead of his pocket
I can think of a few Ive visited
Brandon

 

[AlexS]

I didn't mind the VW one, I just wanted to see all the RR, Intercity and ScotRail stock. Was the ScotRail branded stuff when it was owned by National Express, or was that before?
Brandon

It was 1995 - ScotRail had been privatised the year before in 1994 as the first of the franchises.

 

[BJMorley]

thanks for that Alex
Brandon

 

[JoshW1992]

Just watched the Hislop one on IPlayer. Very good, and he has made a brilliant point. The railways are not as majestic as they were back in their heyday between the 30's and 50's.

First class on these silly unit things is now either a different coloured seat, or a small enclosed area. Back then, it was luxury.
For those that have visited preserved railways and travelled behind old historic stock with a little steam engine puffing away at the front, you can really understand what Hislop is saying.

 

[spoony]

Beeching got a salary of £24,000 forty odd years ago.hock:

 

[Guinness]

Beeching was a rich man then.

 

[Galvanize]

I enjoyed Railway night yesterday Beeching's interview was pretty interesting, plus the Ian Hislop programme too.

Victoria Wood, i half agree that she was not funny then, but did make some funny quotes on that program, and it was really nice seeing all that old stock, and that man's garden near Crewe (?) with the signs, locomotives etc! Does anyone know if it still exists any more?

 

[Darandio]

Just watched the Ian Hislop programme on iplayer, really enjoyed it, well, apart from the constant bloody cash registers.

 

[BJMorley]

I think it's still around as I've seen a pic on Flickr. Mind you, I would have the signs and the cabs!! Would love to have a cab - now to find a scrapyard and room!!!
Brandon

 

[me123]

Just watched it, and there's something I don't get about the Beeching cuts: we're reinstating the lines just now. The Waverley Line is mentioned; it was losing money, so close it down. Now, we're spending money to reopen a line that was there 50 years ago and was closed, ironically, to save money. We're building exactly the same line twice!!!

I also love the way you dislike Beeching just by looking at him Would love to have seen his interview, but it's not on iPlayer

 

[Broken Viking]

Beeching got a salary of £24,000 forty odd years ago.hock:

Beeching was a rich man then.

Rich man or no, he was still a complete idiot IMO. Thanks to him, we're now having to spend millions to re-lay and open lines that should never have been closed in the first instance!

I'll have to try and give this a spin at some point soon, but I'm just about to start some serious grindage on World of Warcraft...So not right now!

Farewell...
>> Death <<

 

[GWRtom]

Rich man or no, he was still a complete idiot IMO. Thanks to him, we're now having to spend millions to re-lay and open lines that should never have been closed in the first instance!

I'll have to try and give this a spin at some point soon, but I'm just about to start some serious grindage on World of Warcraft...So not right now!

Farewell...
>> Death <<

what whould you do then ?
the railways were loosing money,people were driving more
i am in no way a beeching supporter but i think what he did was right,
it was that or either privitisation again.

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail!

what whould you do then ? the railways were loosing money,people were driving more. i am in no way a beeching supporter but i think what he did was right, it was that or either privitisation again.

I'll point out that I'm not nearly as knowlegable about the Beeching cuts as most people here, but personally - If Id've been in his position - I would've limited the closures to lines that were never ever likely to be needed again (Such as lines that run dead parallel to other lines) and left other lines (Such as the Hayling Is. link) there and intact, but would've "mothballed" them in the meantime to reduce maintenance costs.

If nothing else though...Thanks to Dr. Beeching, we lost a lot of the backup railway infrastructure at a point just before most of the country's 75+ year old lines needed an overhaul. Personally, I would've postponed any such line closures until after a complete overhaul of known needed structure so that these lines could serve a final duty as diversion paths around such upgrade works.

Farewell...
>> Death <<

 

[BJMorley]

what whould you do then ?
the railways were loosing money,people were driving more
i am in no way a beeching supporter but i think what he did was right,
it was that or either privitisation again.

Yes, but half of that £24,000 would of been more better spent than in Beeching's Pocket. If you listened, a 1/3 of all lines closed weren't making any profit, and they were in a point useless, the rest would of had a very good valuble source of imcome, maybe not in 10 years, but probably 30, when people were more environmentally aware, and were using different forms of transport.
Brandon

 

[bunnahabhain]

Yes, but half of that £24,000 would of been more better spent than in Beeching's Pocket. If you listened, a 1/3 of all lines closed weren't making any profit, and they were in a point useless, the rest would of had a very good valuble source of imcome, maybe not in 10 years, but probably 30, when people were more environmentally aware, and were using different forms of transport.
Brandon

What do you think the world will be like in 30 years? If you can predict the future beyond statistics and facts gathered from the previous 30 years then you'll be doing a hell of a lot better than they did 30 years ago.

 

[Metroland]

Either way Beeching was a bean counter and applied far too simplistic economic doctrine to ailing branch lines which faced massive road competition because of, in part, government policy (such as common carrier obligations) and were run down after the war. The government bought the railways from the shareholders @ £22bn in today's prices and the money from the modernisation plan was a loan, which added hugely to costs. Actually revenue was rising at the time, but costs were increasing so much it made it unprofitable. To apply a simple profit/loss economic to lines when less than 50% of households owned a car, did the country no favours and was an act of recklessness. Especially as the cost of running a car was far higher than the public transport alternative. And that's where Beeching failed - sod the social and environmental consequences. Note, now we've all gone socialist, the bedrock of capitalism (the banks) have an open chequebook. We nationalise our banks, the Chinese privatise theirs.

 

[BJMorley]

What do you think the world will be like in 30 years? If you can predict the future beyond statistics and facts gathered from the previous 30 years then you'll be doing a hell of a lot better than they did 30 years ago.

Yes, but lets take the Midland Railway/Mainline to Buxton.
The Peak National Park was opened a few years before the closure of the line, and, if it was kept open, more people would of been able to access the National Park, other than the A6 (It's also a cycle path - try not to get skittled :roll: :roll, and people would be able to travel to Manchester without having to change everywhere to get one. Beeching was employed to make money for the BTC - not the public who use it.
Brandon