England’s Most Scenic Mainline Railway
Mention Settle in Yorkshire to many people and they will say “Settle to Carlisle Railway Line” As the head line suggests the views are magnificent, and all from the comfort of your seat on the train.
From the iconic Yorkshire Three Peaks of Pen Y Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, the dry stone walls and limestone outcrops, vast uninterrupted moorland vistas and of course sheep! When on the train you don’t see much of the famous Ribblehead Viaduct itself, but you certainly know when you travelling over it! Then after passing the highest mainline station in England at Dent you venture into Westmoreland then onto the green pastures of the Eden Valley to reach Carlisle two hours after leaving Settle.
The station in Settle is very quaint and a step back in time, with the back drop of the Yorkshire Dales.
You can catch the train north departing about every 2 hours (or so during the day) timetables from Northern Rail
For something special you can pre-book one of the Steam trains that travel up the line during the summer or one of the specials during the year – you must contact the operator direct
Dalesman Steam runs from 26th May to 6th October 2022
Here is a list of other Steam Excursions Operators on the Settle to Carlisle Railway
History
Construction began in 1869 and lasted for seven long years with about 6,000 men working on the line for the Midland Railway company,
It consisted of 72 miles of tracks, with 17 major viaducts and 14 tunnels blasted through the seemingly impossible hillsides, the line was constructed by men with little to supplement muscle power other than dynamite and temporary tramways. It was advertised as the most picturesque route to Scotland, and the Victorian and Edwardian travelling public took it to their hearts,
Hundreds of railway builders (“navvies”) lost their lives building the line, from a combination of accidents, fights, and smallpox outbreaks. In particular, building the Ribblehead (then Batty Moss) viaduct, with its 24 massive stone arches 104 feet (32 metres) above the moor, caused such loss of life that the railway paid for an expansion of the local graveyard. Memorials along the line, especially that at St Leonards’ Church, Chapel-le-dale, near Ribblehead, commemorate the lives of some of the men who died building the line.
The line opened to passengers on the 1st of May 1876 and since then has stood the test of time. Apart from when British Rail announced it was closing the line in 1983 but the formation of the Friends of the Settle to Carlisle https://www.foscl.org.uk/ campaigned to save the line from closure.
The final decision would rest with the then Minister of State for Transport and Thatcher loyalist Michael Portillo told British Rail that he was refusing its closure in 1989. The success of the campaigners that fought hard to save the line is now a thriving route clocking up to 1.2million journeys a year!
