Full steam ahead for comedy

MARION MCMULLEN climbs on board for the 30th anniversary of TV's Oh, Doctor Beeching!

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STEAM trains, a sleepy rural railway station and a 1960s setting were at the heart of Oh, Doctor Beeching!

The comedy launched 30 years ago on BBC1 on August 14, 1995, and followed the fortunes of the staff at Hatley railway station which was under imminent threat from closure.

The title of the comedy comes from Dr Richard Beeching who was responsible for the nationwide restructure of the British railway system in the 1960s, which led to the closure of hundreds of stations and train lines.