“Thoughtful and well-researched analysis…” – Edinburgh Evening News

“This book tells the full story behind the Beeching cuts.” – Your Family Tree

During the course of the 1950s England lost confidence in its rulers and convinced itself to modernise. The bankrupt steam-powered railway, run by a retired general, symbolised everything that was wrong with the country; the future lay in motorways and high speed electric – or even atomic – express trains. But plans for a gleaming new railway system ended in failure and on the roads traffic ground to a halt.

Along came Dr Beeching, forensically analysing the railways’ problems and delivering an expert’s diagnosis a third of the nation’s railways must go. This was the point at which the reality of modernisation dawned and rural England fell victim to the road and car – at least that is how Dr Beeching is remembered today. Last Trains examines why and how the railway system contracted, exposing the political failures that bankrupted the railways and examining officials’ attempts to understand a transport revolution beyond their control.

It is a story of the increasing alienation of bureaucrats from the public they thought they were serving, but also of a nation that thinks it lives in the countryside trying to come to terms with modernity.


ABOUT THE NARRATOR

Read by MICHAEL FENTON STEVENS (The Science of The Discworld, Long Earth, Long War, David Jason: Autobiography, Spitting Image, KYTV)

 


 

DOWNLOADING INFORMATION

Our audiobooks download as zipped files (due to their size and for your convenience). Once unzipped you will find all of the mp3 files for your audiobook named, and in correct file order.  Due to the way Apple has designed iOS, iPhones and iPads don’t recognise these zip files automatically (unlike Android devices).  So, if you buy one of our titles via your iPhone or iPad, there are two ways to find and listen to your files:

[1] Download for FREE iZip for iOS – then download the audiobook using the link provided either on the webpage or the email we sent you. After the file has downloaded click on the Open With option and choose iZip. The app will open and ask if you want it to unzip all the files, say yes. A minute or so later you will have a list of mp3 files in order, and you just need to tap on the one you want to play and it will start playing in the Audioplayer. You can easily play, pause, jump forward or back.

[2] Slightly easier – download the zip file to your PC or MAC, unzip it to a folder you know the location of (such as your Music or Documents folder), then use iTunes to transfer the files in the same way you would a music album.

We hope you enjoy your audiobook and come back for more soon!

Narrator

Michaeal Fenton Stevens

Editor

Oliver Denman

Producer

Neil Gardner

Released

2013

File Size/Quality

192kbps (better than CD), 256kbps (superb quality), 320kbps (highest quality)

3 reviews for Last Trains

  1. SpokenworldBoss

    “Thoughtful and well-researched analysis…” – Edinburgh Evening News

  2. SpokenworldBoss

    “This book tells the full story behind the Beeching cuts.” – Your Family Tree

  3. SpokenworldBoss

    “…made informative and entertaining by the team at Spoken World and I am enriched for the experience.” 7/10 – The Cult Den

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