Here's another way in which the English differ from Americans: they have a love affair with trains. Witness the fact that BBC4 saw its best ever ratings this week because of two shows on trains. Here's an excerpt from a story about the channel's big night.BBC4's night of train programming secured the channel's best ever performance as Ian Hislop Goes Off the Rails averaged an impressive 1.3m (6.65%) at 9pm. The hour-long show presented by the Have I Got News For You captain, which looked at the notorious 1963 Beeching Report, was up by a staggering 365% on the channel's slot average for the year so far of 281,000 (1.43%).
The Beeching report was a debacle that the English still swear about. It resulted in the closure and dismantling of many train lines, including one we would love to have today, the Cambridge to Oxford route.--JT.
