Beeching

Topographic surname from either Old English bæc (“stream, brook”) or bēċe (“beech”).

Beeching (plural Beechings)

1. A surname from Old English.

   Richard Beeching, wielder of the Beeching Axe.

2. (UK, rail transport) The Beeching Axe; the closure of many branch lines in the UK in the mid-20th century.
   • 2014 March 31, Geoff Cryer, Shropshire Railways, Crowood, →ISBN:

     Nationally, there were relatively few closures after Beeching and more recently some lines have reopened to passenger traffic, such as the Cannock Chase line, which for a number of years had been freight only.

   • 2026 January 21, Peter Plisner, “Rail's resurgence in the Midlands”, in RAIL, number 1053, page 34:

     Like the ones on the Camp Hill line, the new stations are being built on the same site as the original platforms, both of which closed in the Beeching era in the 1960s.

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Beeching is the 67519^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 292 individuals. Beeching is most common among White (93.84%) individuals.

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Beeching”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 125.

• Chengbei