THERE is nothing, says the author, more charming and evocative to railway enthusiasts than a rural branch line. Most were built before the advent of motorised road transport and provided a vital lifeline for the communities served, but many of these lines inevitably declined in the age of the car — especially after Dr Beeching's infamous cuts.

The Rise and Fall of British Railways Branch & Minor Lines by John Vaughan looks at rural branch lines from the steam age through to the present time of diesel and electric multiple units.

Perhaps indicative of the legacy of a dark time in British railways when many branch and minor lines were closed in the 1960s, there is, on page seven, a small photograph of an everyday street sign of a road in Halwill Junction.

The land once had a railway line before Dr Richard Beeching, the chairman of the British Railways Board, recommended its closure along with many British branch and minor lines in the early 1960s. So perhaps Beeching Close was a natural name to give the newly constructed street.

There are plenty of examples of Devon and Cornish lines mentioned in the book. One such is the branch line termini of Callington at the end of the Bere Alston line.

There is a picture of 'the last train' between Okehampton and Exeter on Saturday, June 3, 1972 with a host of well wishers, including the Mayor and Mayoress. Anyone in that picture would have no idea that nearly 40 years later the re-opening of that very line might once again see passengers board a train between town and city.

This book is obviously aimed at those who love their railways. It will not disappoint them.

Published by Haynes, price £30, ISBN: 9781844257041.

JOHN HUTCHINS