Ha 'Branch' - I see what you did there Kath
The vilification of Dr Beeching is unjustified in my opinion - he was asked to produce the report based on usage and traffic figures of the day, provided by the Department of Transport (it actually makes for good reading - google it if you haven't got a copy).
He wasn't personally responsible for axing the lines (the vast majority of which were running at a huge loss) and indeed, many lines had been closed down prior to his report (like the East Kent which had struggled into nationalisation).
Scotland fared really badly by the axe, only now are steps being taken to put right the situation.