Tracking Down 3 - Full

Tracking Down 3: The Settle & Carlisle Railway in the 1980s

by Craig Oliphant and Colin Alexander

Tracking Down 3: The Settle & Carlisle Railway in the 1980s

by Craig Oliphant and Colin Alexander

© Images and design: Transport Treasury 2025 Text: Craig Oliphant and Colin Alexander ISBN 978-1-913893-73-6 First published in 2025 by Transport Treasury Publishing Limited. 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe, HP13 7PJ. Totem Publishing an imprint of Transport Treasury Publishing.

The copyright holders hereby give notice that all rights to this work are reserved.

Aside from brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this work may be reproduced, copied by electronic or other means, or otherwise stored in any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the Publisher. This includes the illustrations herein which shall remain the copyright of the copyright holder. www.ttpublishing.co.uk Printed in Tarxien, Malta by Gutenberg Press Ltd. ‘Tracking Down 3: The Settle & Carlisle Railway in the 1980s’ is one of many books on specialist transport subjects published in strictly limited numbers and produced under the Totem Publishing imprint using material only available at The Transport Treasury.

Front Cover: One particular class of BR diesel locomotive that was synonymous with the Settle & Carlisle line was the 2,500hp BR Sulzer Type 4, later Class 45. 45126 is seen here passing Ais Gill on 3 March 1984 with 1Z28, the return leg of the Midland Railway Trust’s Butterley to Carlisle excursion. This had travelled north via York and Newcastle, then west along the Tyne Valley before heading south over the Settle & Carlisle. The locomotive was previously numbered D32, being built at Derby Works in 1961 and withdrawn in April 1987.

Frontispiece: The National Railway Museum’s Stanier Coronation Class 4-6-2 46229 Duchess of Hamilton approaching Appleby with the ‘Cumbrian Mountain Pullman’ on 30 May 1983. At this time, the crews of steam specials were competing for an unofficial ‘Blue Riband’, an accolade that went to the quickest southbound climb of the 15 mile ‘Long Drag’ to Ais Gill Summit. On this day, the Duchess did it in 19 minutes and 25 seconds, the all-time record for a fourteen-coach load. The locomotive entered service on the LMSR in 1938, lost its streamlined cladding in 1947, and was withdrawn in 1964. It now resides in the NRM at York, where it is displayed with its original streamlining restored.

Rear Cover (collage of four images): (1) In 1947, snowdrifts blocked the line at Blea Moor. A Mickey Mouse toy, which was the footplate mascot on a snowbound locomotive, was attached to a telegraph pole to mark the depth of the drift. He was marooned there for decades until he was rescued by a railwayman and taken to Settle station, where he was put in an alcove in the gable at the same height as the snowdrift. (2) A campaign poster appealing to the public to help save the railway. (3) In January 1990, Graham Nuttall of the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line went fellwalking with his Border Collie, Ruswarp. When Graham’s body was discovered almost three months later, the faithful dog was still with its owner. In 2009, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Settle & Carlisle’s salvation, a statue of Ruswarp was unveiled at Garsdale, Graham’s favourite station. (4) One of the many infamous closure notices, much modified over the years after challenges to its content and accuracy.

Introduction

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wenty years after Dr Beeching’s infamous ‘Reshaping of British Railways’ report appeared, January 1983 saw the publication of the lesser-known Serpell Report. This was commissioned by the Transport Secretary, ‘to secure improved financial results in an efficiently run railway in Great Britain over the next 20 years’. One of the outcomes was that on 18 August, 1983, British Railways announced that the iconic, 72-mile Settle to Carlisle line, England’s most celebrated scenic railway route, was to close. This news was received with dismay by railway enthusiasts everywhere. In December of that year, the poster that nobody wanted to see was pasted onto station notice boards, confirming BR’s intention to withdraw passenger services. At the bottom of the poster, along with the date, appeared the words, ‘If no objections are lodged to the proposal, the service will be discontinued on 14 May 1984’. The first part of that sentence would become very significant.

The Settle & Carlisle Railway was a relatively late addition to Britain’s main line railway network, being built in the 1870s by the Midland Railway, which in partnership with the Glasgow & South Western Railway, was then able to operate luxurious trains from London St Pancras to Glasgow St Enoch.

A hundred years later, BR decreed that the cost of maintaining the line, with its 20 viaducts and 14 tunnels, was uneconomic.

To say that the railway had been deliberately run-down by BR is an understatement. All but one of the intermediate stations between Settle and Carlisle had been closed, and the remaining train service was infrequent and inconvenient, with just two trains each day in each direction, and only from Monday to Saturday. The threat of closure had three immediate effects.

The first was that photographers, ourselves included, flocked to locations along the route to capture it for posterity. The second effect was that people suddenly wanted to travel on the line

while they could, creating so much demand that BR had to provide extra trains! The third, and most significant effect was the large-scale public and political outcry that was generated in opposition to the move, led by the redoubtable Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line (FSCL), which had been formed in 1981. I met with my MP, Neville Trotter, to register my formal objection to the closure.

In order to achieve our photographic aims, we hostelled in Horton in Ribblesdale, we camped in a field at Garsdale, and under Dent Head Viaduct. These were not necessarily summer forays, either; for it was not unknown for us to be there with our tent in February and November. We tramped up and down hills and across bogs and limestone pavement; we stood patiently in all weathers at windswept Ais Gill and Ribblehead.

At Blea Moor, we were welcomed into the warmth of the signal box, surely the remotest in England. Very few of the photographs that I took were suitable for publication, but fortunately, Craig’s superb monochrome compositions capture the mood to perfection.

Hansard, the official report of Parliament, gives us an insight into Westminster debates about the proposed closure. Kenneth Clarke, Transport Secretary raised the question of freight and diversions. He told the House that the Settle & Carlisle line carried something like thirty freight trains daily. He warned that if the line closed, those trains would have to use the West Coast Main Line over Shap, which was already operating at capacity.

Furthermore, he pointed out that if the WCML ever had to close for maintenance, the only other alternative was the circuitous Cumbrian Coast line with its restricted-clearance tunnel at Whitehaven. The plot thickened on 12 March 1984, in the words of David Maclean, MP for Penrith and The Border, ‘..... there have been some recent developments which are reducing the

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line’s importance as a freight artery. For example: Trains that should use the Settle to Carlisle line are being re-routed to other, less convenient lines. A classic example is the Clitheroe to Scotland cement trains. These used to travel over the line as it was the most direct route. Now they travel south to Blackburn and use the already busy West Coast Main Line. BR has turned away substantial local quarry traffic on the grounds that there are no locomotives available. This has made it necessary for lorries to use small local roads for which they are not suited’, and, ‘BR are planning to open the line for only one shift per day.

This means that night freight, parcels and newspaper trains now have to use other routes.’

He went on to reveal some of the underhand tactics used by BR to engineer what it saw as an inevitable closure. He cited an article in Steam World magazine: ‘An air of optimism prevailed over the whole route in the late 1970s and at that time even British Rail itself boasted about the importance of the route. A BR publicity leaflet said, ‘The Settle and Carlisle Railway serves today as part of BR’s Inter City network, and also as a magnificent monument to Victorian engineering . … the Settle and Carlisle is no obscure branch line meandering through the gentle countryside but a main line railway built to take its trains over the hills at speed.’

BR’s attitude then changed, when a notice appeared in The Times on 17 November 1983 stating its intention to close the line. In that same edition of The Times, Alan Whitehouse said: ‘Behind that bald announcement lies an extraordinary story of leaked documents, contradictory letters of reassurance to MPs and others, and a secret closure plan which had become partly implemented before its existence became known.

In the October 1983 issue of Steam World magazine, David

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Wilcocks said: ‘In fact British Rail made its decision to pursue the closure of the Settle & Carlisle three years ago but senior management knew full well that any attempt to shut a line which was still part of the Inter City network and an important Anglo Scottish freight link, would involve a considerable public outcry. BR also knew that its case for closure would be measurably more powerful if it could demonstrate to the Transport Minister that the line was a loss maker which had become surplus to requirements. And so, while publicly insisting for the past three years that ‘no decision has yet been reached’ on the future of the Settle & Carlisle, BR has been privately planning and executing the running down of the line in pursuit of what might be termed, a ‘formality closure’.’

This was achieved by removing the Settle & Carlisle from the Inter City map in May 1982 when the six daily expresses between Glasgow and Nottingham were replaced by a woefully inadequate Leeds to Carlisle service with just two trains in each direction and none at all on Sundays. The new timetable was as unattractive as possible with the first southbound arriving in Leeds in the early afternoon, missing important connections for the south.

John Watson, MP for Skipton and Ripon described an independent report on the line which showed that ‘the maintenance of the line has been run down to such an extent that repairs to the value of £10 million would now be necessary to ensure the line’s long-term survival in any form. The problems of the Ribblehead Viaduct are well known and widely acknowledged, but I understand that the structural problems of the line now go far beyond that single cost and, crucially, are far greater than they would ever have been if reasonable maintenance schedules had been maintained’, and, ‘... British Railways Board will effectively have ensured that no one, neither

it nor any other operator, will be able to run a service over the line at any time in the future.’ BR had in fact been encouraged to apply for grants towards the restoration of Ribblehead Viaduct from the National Memorial Heritage Fund and the European Economic Community, but did not take the opportunity.

Ronald Lewis, then MP for Carlisle and member of the National Union of Railwaymen told the House that there was ‘an unanswerable case to the Government about the Carlisle-Settle railway line’, and that as early as 1978 he was ‘approached by my constituents when rumours were circulating that British Rail intended eventually to close this stretch of railway.’ He also quoted Cumbria county council’s ‘A Rail Charter for Cumbria’, saying that if the closure went ahead, ‘it will be in direct contradiction of the Cumbria plan, which was agreed and signed by the then chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker, and the then chairman of the Cumbria county council, Mr. Naylor.’

As well as the hours of debate in Parliament, petitions were handed in with almost 8,000 signatures, and formal objections to the closure had been received by the Transport Users’ Consultative Committee (TUCC) from 32,000 people and a dog.

That dog was Ruswarp, a Border Collie, the faithful companion of Graham Nuttall, co-founder of the FSCL. BR subsequently withdrew the requirement for dogs to have a valid ticket for travel, and some said it was to prevent dogs being classed as ‘rail users’ in future, saving red faces over cold noses! Eventually, in February 1987, the report of the TUCC was presented to Parliament and it concluded, ‘On the basis of the undoubted hardship the closure of the line would cause together with the strength of the commercial case presented for its retention, the Committee strongly and emphatically recommend that consent to British Rail proposals to close the Settle to Carlisle line be refused.’

Happily, thanks to people like Graham Nuttall, common sense and public pressure prevailed, and in 1989, one of the line’s other champions, junior transport minister Michael Portillo formally sanctioned its reprieve. Interestingly, prior to that, eight intermediate stations had reopened in July 1986, although the line would remain under threat of closure for a further three years. The train service has since improved drastically, and been successfully marketed to the extent that passenger numbers, which were as low as 90,000 per annum in the early 1980s are now at 1.2 million each year. The line has also continued to demonstrate its value as a freight and diversionary route, but it is probably best known for its regular special trains using steam and heritage diesel traction.

As this book goes to print the line marks the 150th anniversary of its opening to freight traffic, which occurred on 2nd August 1875. We should all be grateful to Graham Nuttall, Ruswarp the dog and the other tireless campaigners of the 1980s who saved this great monument to the spirit of Victorian engineering and the thousands of navvies who built it.

Acknowledgements: Thanks are due to the excellent BR Loco Database, Six Bells Junction, settle-carlisle.co.uk and Settle Carlisle Steam websites; along with the following people: Les Abram, Jimmy Bradley, David Buckle, David Johnson, Neil Jordan, Stuart Woods, and the late Arthur Ranson. All photographs are by Craig Oliphant.

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We begin our journey on 28 April 1984 at Carlisle Citadel station, with 1E23, the 10.40 to Leeds awaiting departure from platform 1. This train was a favourite of enthusiasts, as it regularly featured an English Electric Class 40 on the front, such as 40015, seen here. The locomotive entered service in 1959 as D215, and in 1962 it received the name Aquitania, after the Cunard liner. It was withdrawn in November 1984. A Royal Mail Travelling Post Office vehicle is to the left. Citadel station opened in 1847 and before 1923 was shared by seven companies, including the Midland Railway with its line to Leeds via Settle. Upon leaving Citadel, 40015 will snake across the West Coast Main Line then descend the sharp eastward curve, which is also used by services to Newcastle. After a mile or so, the Midland line to Settle diverges southeast.

At the north end of Citadel station on 31 October 1981, Western Region visitor 50011 Centurion has arrived with 1Z38, ‘The Citadel Express’, which was operated by Severnside Railtours. Having left Plymouth at 04.00, 50011’s journey to Carlisle was via Settle, returning south via Preston. Craig had hoped to be on it from Appleby but was cruelly thwarted (see below). From their introduction in 1967 until the electrification of the West Coast Main Line saw their reallocation to the Western Region, the 2,700hp English Electric Class 50s were an everyday sight at Carlisle, often doubleheaded. Apart from the East Coast Main Line’s Deltics, they were BR’s only 100mph diesel locomotives. The Class 50s could also be seen frequently on the Settle & Carlisle line. The former D411 had the unfortunate distinction of being the first Class 50 to be withdrawn, in February 1987.

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If it hadn’t been for public pressure and the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line, 13 May 1984 would have gone down in history as the last day of operation on the line. Instead, it saw the three-day ‘Skirl of the Pipes 4’ railtour on its final day, with the Class 40 pairing of 40122/D200 and 40091 hauling the train from Carlisle to Birmingham via Settle and Blackburn. It left Plymouth on the morning of the 11th and involved a total of twenty locomotives of eight different classes!. It is seen here passing Durranhill on the eastern edge of Carlisle and heading for Settle. As we know, the threatened closure, originally due to take effect the following day, 14 May 1984, never happened, although the line remained in a state of uncertain limbo for several years.

Shortly after leaving Carlisle, the village of Cumwhinton is reached. There was a station here until 1956. Just south of it was the junction for Howe & Co Sidings, with its own signal box, one of the Settle & Carlisle line’s lesser known locations. The box and sidings once served the alabaster works at Cocklakes, one of several rail-connected industries that used to generate regular freight traffic on the line. Material from the mine at Long Meg (see below) was brought here by rail to be processed. In this view taken on 15 May 1983, the disused, overgrown and partially lifted track can be seen, with the back of the Midland Railway signal box beyond. This dates from 1916, and is still operating today. The trackwork from the sidings was in the process of being reclaimed by the 300 year old Tanfield Railway on the other side of the Pennines.

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BR’s versatile 1,250hp Sulzer-engined Class 25s had a long association with the Settle & Carlisle line, and could be seen on every type of train, either singly or in pairs. 25224 was photographed running ‘light engine’ past Low House Crossing signal box, between Carlisle and Armathwaite, on 13 May 1983. The signal box dates from 1900 and still guards the level crossing today. 25224 was one of a class of 327 locomotives, and was built at BR’s Derby Works in 1963 as D7574. It spent most of its days allocated to various depots in the London Midland Region, with a spell at Laira, Plymouth. It was withdrawn in 1986 and scrapped the following year.

A cautionary tale from Halloween 1981: This is 46229 Duchess of Hamilton during a run-past at Armathwaite. Craig was told incorrectly that he could buy a single to Appleby on the steam special. Excited for his first run on the S&C, he departed Carlisle recording the sound of his favourite loco on his Binatone cassette, which annoyingly also caught the West Country burr of the inspector informing him that tickets to Appleby were unavailable and, ‘You can get orf at Armathwaite - nattin’ else stops there!’ Stranded at the long-closed station with his plan to join the northbound 50011 (see above) in shreds, the village postmaster told Craig there was ‘a bus to Carlisle in a few minutes, the one after that is Tuesday!’ - a bit of luck that got him to Citadel to witness 50011’s arrival. The inspector who ejected him was none other than the late Bernard Staite of SLOA!

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Passenger discontent with services on the Settle & Carlisle went back to 1970 when all intermediate stations apart from Appleby were closed.

A ramblers’ group complained that this stopped them going fellwalking, so the Yorkshire Dales National Park announced the Dales Rail initiative.

This provided weekend charter trains for walkers, using diesel multiple units, serving specially reopened stations, including Dent and Garsdale, from May 1975. At first, they ran from Leeds to Appleby, where local residents could board the now empty train to Leeds for shopping. Happy shoppers were then replaced by tired walkers on the return trains. Dales Rail demonstrated the potential of the Settle & Carlisle line, and undoubtedly inspired the later opposition to its closure. This mixed DMU was photographed near Lazonby on 10 May 1985. Its two halves came from Blackpool and York, and were united at Hellifield (where they divided later on the return).

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2,000hp English Electric Class 40 40086 passes Long Meg sidings, between Lazonby and Little Salkeld, with a long fitted freight train consisting of empty mineral wagons, on 13 May 1983, which was intended to be the last day of freight operation on the line, a year before passenger services were due to end. The sidings originally served a mine producing gypsum and anhydrite, which closed in 1976. Trains originating there in the 1960s were famed for their use of BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0s. The signal box was built by BR in 1955 and was pulled down in 2013. The location takes its delightful name from the nearby prehistoric stone circle known as Long Meg and her Daughters.

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On 31 July 1983, the Locomotive Club of Great Britain and the Steam Locomotive Owners Association (SLOA) chartered the ‘Hadrian Pullman’ from King’s Cross to Carlisle via Settle, hauled by pioneer Class 40 40122/D200 in green livery. Its passengers also enjoyed a sojourn along the Warcop branch from Appleby. It is seen here passing a handsome semaphore signal and a former goods loading gauge at Culgaith, 24 miles from Carlisle.

This was one of the stations that closed in 1970, never to reopen. D200 was the first of the Class 40s, entering traffic in March 1958, and was the last to be withdrawn, in April 1988.

Representing a class of locomotive that was a regular sight on the Settle & Carlisle line in the days of steam, LMSR Stanier Jubilee Class 4-6-0 5690 Leander was photographed at Culgaith on 20 April 1985. It is hauling ‘The Thames-Clyde Express’, its name harking back to a famous titled train from the heyday of the line. The railtour used a variety of traction, with Class 81 electric 81006 from Euston to Carlisle then Class 37 37215 to Kilmarnock, where the Jubilee took over. Leander hauled the train from Kilmarnock as far as Hellifield. From there, Class 31/1 31311 was used to Carnforth, and electric loco 86234 returned the tour to Euston. Culgaith station opened later than most of the stations on the line, in 1880. Leander was built in 1936 at Crewe Works, and withdrawn from BR service in 1964.

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The Midland Railway’s architect, J H Sanders, produced three bespoke designs for the Settle & Carlisle route. Although of modern design for the 1870s, no expense was spared in their construction. They differed from each other in size but shared the same ‘Midland Gothic’ aesthetic. Another way in which some of the stations varied was in the materials used, with locally-sourced red sandstone towards the Carlisle end of the line, and golden freestone further south. Painted weatherboarding was employed for buildings of less importance, such as this waiting room at Newbiggin, the vandalised shell of which was photographed on 3 May 1982 on the remains of the down (northbound) platform. The station was just south of Culgaith, about halfway between Carlisle and Garsdale, and was another of the 1970 casualties.

Photographed on 13 May 1983, English Electric Class 40 40169 heads north with a short freight train near Kirkby Thore. Formerly D369, it was built at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, in 1961 and withdrawn in December 1983, just seven months after this photograph was taken. Kirkby Thore is the location of an extensive gypsum industry, which, unlike Long Meg to the north, is still operational today, and is rail connected at McGhie’s Siding. The mines here have suffered at least two roof collapses, one of which was fatal; and at times, subsidence caused by mining under the railway has resulted in speed restrictions on the line. Although the Settle & Carlisle route had no station here, the village of Kirkby Thore used to be served by the parallel North Eastern Railway Appleby to Penrith line, about a mile to the southwest of the Midland line.

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One of the line’s lesser viaducts, at 60 feet high and 108 yards long, the five arches of Long Marton Viaduct carry the Settle & Carlisle railway over Trout Beck, a tributary of the Eden. Serving a village with a population of about 800, Long Marton station closed in 1970, but its attractive buildings remain, and like many of the closed station buildings along the route, they now provide holiday accommodation. One type of diesel locomotive that was not so commonplace on the Settle & Carlisle line was the 1,750hp English Electric Class 37. On 8 June 1985, 37023 heads north over Long Marton Viaduct with a solitary VEA van from the military facility at Warcop. 37023 was built at Vulcan Foundry in 1961 as D6723 and remained in service until 2007. It is now preserved at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway.

Uniquely among J H Sanders’ stations on the line, Appleby’s was built mostly of brick. In the early 1980s, it was the only stop between Settle and Carlisle for the four passenger trains each day. The station’s graceful curved footbridge frames the activity on the platform as the second-man boards Brush Class 47/4 47561 on 1M26, the 16.00 Leeds to Carlisle on 24 April 1984. The locomotive was fitted with electric train heating (ETH) in 1980 and renumbered from 47034, having previously been D1614. It was built at Crewe Works in 1964 and withdrawn in 1996. The 2,580hp Brush 47s were the most numerous BR main line diesel locomotives, totalling 512 units.

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English Electric Class 40 40012 calls at Appleby with 1Z09, ‘The Class 40 Farewell Circular Railtour 1958-1984’ a.k.a. the ‘Conwy-Forth Express’ on 22 September 1984. This ran from Llandudno Junction to Carlisle via Blackburn and Settle, before continuing to Edinburgh and returning to Wales via Newcastle and York. With the exception of the green-liveried 40122/D200, the remaining Class 40s were all taken out of service in January 1985. The former D212 was previously named Aureol, after the Elder Dempster Lines ship, but by the time this photo was taken, its handsome nameplates had been replaced by hand-painted versions. Fortunately, 40012 is one of seven Class 40s in preservation, and can be enjoyed in working order at the East Lancashire Railway, complete with nameplates.

A much missed ‘fixture’ of Appleby and its railway station, volunteer Harold Spensley asks a cheery ‘How a ya?’ of Carlisle driver Lenny Trickett.

Harold, whose father had been a works inspector on the line, had lived in Appleby since 1947. Class 40 40079 has the board for departure towards Carlisle with 1M26, the 15.55 train from Leeds on 22 September 1984. Earlier, it had travelled south with 1E23, the 10.40 from Carlisle.

Photographers grab their shots of the locomotive from the bottom of the platform ramp, no doubt having captured the arrival moments earlier of ‘The Thames-Clyde Express’, headed by LMSR Stanier Black Five 4-6-0 5407. The tail end of that train can be seen beyond the diesel’s nose. 40079 was one of the last operational Class 40s, lasting until January 1985 after a quarter of a century in BR service.

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Sporting the then fairly new BR ‘large-logo livery’, Brush Class 47/4 47449 comes to a halt at Appleby with 1E20, the 10.30 Carlisle to Leeds train on 10 May 1986. The signal box controlling the junction for Appleby East and Warcop can be seen above the train. The entire 72-mile length of the line between Settle and Carlisle is picturesque, and the beautiful Yorkshire Dales scenery continues beyond Settle to Hellifield and Skipton. It is however the stretch between Crosby Garrett, north of Kirkby Stephen, where the line enters the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and Horton in Ribblesdale that contains the most drama. Here are the fells through which the navvies fearlessly tunnelled, here are the monumental, soaring viaducts that carry the trains across the landscape. 47449 was previously D1566, and is now preserved at the Llangollen Railway.

The 1,470hp English Electric-engined Brush Class 31s began to appear frequently on the Settle & Carlisle line in the early 1980s, especially the Class 31/4 variants with electric train heating, and they often ran in pairs. Here, 31426 leads 31446 at Appleby with 1M09, the 07.38 train from Hull Paragon to Carlisle Citadel on 22 September 1984. Both locomotives were late conversions to ETH, being fitted in October 1983 and June 1984 respectively. The ETH connection is clearly visible above the nearside buffer on 31426, which was previously numbered 31193 and D5617. 31446 was converted from 31316, formerly D5850.

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This is 25115 with a northbound engineers’ train at Appleby on 30 January 1983. With just over fifteen months to go until the projected closure date, the usual crowd of determined photographers is braving the wintry weather and freezing conditions. They were out in force to photograph preserved LNER Class A3 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman, which was due in the opposite direction on a private charter with the unusual destination of Blea Moor, for Sir William McAlpine, who owned 4472 at the time. 25115 was built in 1964 at Derby Works as D5265. It was withdrawn from service nine months after this photograph was taken, and sent to Swindon for scrap.

Here we have 40086 again, this time providing the motive power for the English leg of ‘The Border Raider’ railtour on 6 October 1984.

The train left Edinburgh Waverley behind Class 47 47117. The Class 40 took over at Carlisle for the run to Blackburn and back, including a detour along the Warcop branch. En route, it was photographed threading its way between an Austin Maxi and a Bedford lorry at the former Appleby East station. This was opened by the Eden Valley Railway in 1862 on what would become the North Eastern Railway route from Penrith to Darlington.

It closed to passengers a century later but the truncated line to Warcop was retained for quarry and military traffic.

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40035 was one of the twenty-five English Electric Class 40s which were named after ocean liners, in connection with their use on boat trains between Euston and Liverpool. Their attractive cast nameplates were removed by the 1970s, but the names reappeared in paint a few years later.

This one rejoiced in the palindromic name Apapa, after the Elder Dempster Lines ship launched in 1947 for the Liverpool to West Africa run. On 9 June 1984, 40035 was employed on 1Z12, a troop train from Stranraer to Warcop, where the abandoned signal box provided the vantage point for these two unusual views of the locomotive. Craig’s camera case, adorned with a ‘Save It - Settle & Carlisle’ sticker, can be seen on the left.

Still at Warcop, alongside the Mk1 brake end, an army Bedford truck makes its presence felt as military cargo is transferred from one mode of transport to the other. The turbocharger of 40035’s 16-cylinder English Electric power unit whistles away, as the locomotive waits for the ‘off’.

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It must have been unseasonably cold for June, judging by the use of the Class 40’s steam heating boiler. Luckily for him, Craig was allowed to travel on the footplate from Warcop back to Appleby as 40035 returned with the empty stock. The locomotive was built at Vulcan Foundry in 1959 as D235, and was named in 1962. It served BR’s London Midland Region for 25 years, being withdrawn in August 1984, just two months after Craig’s cab ride. Part of the line between Warcop and Appleby East is now preserved as the Eden Valley Railway.

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A pleasing lineside shot of ‘The Hadrian Pullman’ again, on 31 July 1983, this time in the tranquil surroundings of the Warcop branch, southeast of Appleby. The locomotive is carrying its original number, D200, along with the TOPS number 40122. The train took a leisurely nine hours to get from London to Carlisle, and returned south to London (Euston) via the West Coast Main Line behind Class 81 electric 81022. D200 is preserved at ‘Locomotion’, the National Railway Museum’s outstation at Shildon, County Durham.

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Eight days earlier, on 23 July 1983, the Warcop branch was visited by the ‘Warcop Wanderer’ railtour, organised by the Branch Line Society. A six-car BR Derby-built Class 108 DMU consisting of vehicles M51901, M59386, M52055, M51943, M59388 and M52058 left Manchester Victoria at 07.20 and toured Merseyside and south Cumbria before heading to Carnforth, Hellifield, Settle and Appleby. It traversed the Warcop branch before returning to Manchester via Leeds and Blackburn, reaching its final destination at 22.44 - a long day to spend on a DMU with no catering facilities!

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William Stanier’s numerous LMSR Class 8F 2-8-0s were simple, dependable freight locomotives and for many years prior to dieselisation, they were the prime movers of goods over the ‘Long Drag’. This attractive composition portrays 48151 during a pause to take water on the connection between Appleby West and Appleby East while hauling the ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ on 29 October 1988. The locomotive was built in 1942 at Crewe and withdrawn from BR service in January 1968.

Like so many of our preserved steam locomotives, it was rescued from Dai Woodham’s scrapyard at Barry in South Wales.

The 571-yard Helm Tunnel is located between Appleby and Crosby Garrett. Photographed in the cutting to the north of the tunnel is BR Sulzer Class 25 25080, nearing its Appleby stop with 1M09, the 08.57 Leeds to Carlisle train on 13 November 1982. It is making easy progress with a typical four-coach rake of Mk1s as it descends the long, gradual gradient from Ais Gill to the Border City.

The locomotive was built at Darlington Works in 1963 as D5230, and was withdrawn from service in 1985. Cross Fell, to the north of Appleby and the highest point on the Pennine Way, is home to The Helm Wind, England’s only named wind. We assume that the farm from which the tunnel took its name was in turn named after the wind.

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Left: On 2 April 1983, further south again at Gallansay, and dwarfed by lineside forestry, is Class 47/4 47541 The Queen Mother, complete with snowploughs. The train is 1S53, the 08.10 from Birmingham New Street, diverted from the West Coast Main Line. It will divide at Carstairs, with portions for Glasgow and Edinburgh. 47541 was one of many Class 47s belatedly named in the early 1980s. It was previously numbered D1755, built by Brush at Falcon Works, Loughborough in 1964, and still operates on the main-line as 47773 in two-tone green livery.

Right: On its leisurely way to join the River Eden, Crosby Garrett Beck runs through the middle of the village of the same name. Aside from the type of motive power, this timeless scene is one that has barely changed in a century and a half. The rural peace is shattered by BR Sulzer Class 45/0 45026 as it crosses the six arches of Crosby Garrett Viaduct with 1M09, the 09.07 Leeds to Carlisle train on 24 April 1984. It returned to West Yorkshire on the 16.35 from Carlisle. 45026 entered service as D21, being built at Derby Works in 1961, and was withdrawn in 1986.

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Left: Following their introduction in the late 1950s, the English Electric Type 4s were regular performers on the most prestigious West Coast Main Line expresses, but by 1983, it was unusual to see one on ‘The Royal Scot’. An exception to this was 40152, seen passing Crosby Garrett on 2 April 1983 with 1M20, the 10.10 Glasgow Central to London Euston, diverted via the Settle & Carlisle line. 40152 was built at Vulcan Foundry in 1961 as D352, and was one of the last to be taken out of service in January 1985. It spent its 24 year career based at depots in Yorkshire and the northeast, and its appearance on this working was probably what locomotive ‘bashers’ would have called a ‘big fix’. While they were enjoying rare Class 40 haulage, the majority of passengers were no doubt bemoaning the locomotive’s inability to supply either train heat or air conditioning!

Right: One can imagine the sound of the Sulzer sixcylinder engine reverberating in the cutting at Crosby Garrett as 25313 hauls the heavily-loaded, diverted Perth to Red Bank (Manchester) empty van train up the ‘Long Drag’, also on 2 April 1983. Another photographer who was at Ais Gill the same day said the locomotive was ‘struggling’ by the time it reached the summit. 25313 was one of the last batch of Sulzer Type 2s, built at Derby in 1966 as D7663. It survives in preservation, and is currently in storage at Worksop under the ownership of the Harry Needle Railroad Company. When taking this photograph, Craig failed to record the locomotive number. Thankfully, decades later the invention of the internet provided the evidence, and it turned out to have been the only Class 25 he had never seen!

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Left: After Crosby Garrett, southbound trains cross Smardale Viaduct over the deep, wooded valley of Scandal Beck, a major tributary of the River Eden.

Perfectly framed by a pair of trees and a tumbledown dry-stone wall is streamlined ex-LNER Gresley Class A4 4-6-2 60009 Union of South Africa on the northbound ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ on 20 April 1984. 60009 is one of six A4s to survive in preservation. Two are in North America, but both were temporarily repatriated in 2013, and all six gathered at the National Railway Museum sites at York and Shildon to mark the 75th anniversary of 4468 Mallard’s world speed record for steam. 60009 was originally LNER No. 4488, and was built in 1937.

Withdrawn from BR service in 1966, it is now retired in Scotland following a long operational career in the preservation era under the ownership of John Cameron.

Right: A classic side-on view of Smardale Viaduct as Class 47/4 47490 crosses with the Honiton & District Round Table’s ‘Border City Express’ excursion to Carlisle on 20 April 1985. The train left Templecombe, Somerset, behind another 47/4, 47509, and featured English Electric Class 50 50024 Vanguard from Yeovil Junction to Crewe. A mile upstream from here is a second railway viaduct, which used to carry the North Eastern Railway’s Tebay to Barnard Castle line, the trackbed of which passes beneath the Midland Railway structure. Although its surroundings are not as wild as those seen further south at Arten Gill, Dent Head and Ribblehead, Smardale Viaduct is no less impressive as a monument. It is 238 yards long and is the tallest viaduct on the line at 131 feet. 47490 was built by Brush at Loughborough in 1964 as D1725, and was in service until 2000.

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The gentle, rolling agricultural landscape of the broad Eden Valley to the north of Kirkby Stephen contrasts with the wild scenery of Mallerstang, Dentdale and Ribblehead to the south. With its distinctive outsize bilingual nameplates, Brush Type 4 47537 Sir Gwynedd/County of Gwynedd passes Waitby, on 11 March 1984. The train is the diverted 14.00 Carlisle Citadel to London Euston train, composed mainly of Mk3 coaches, which it would work as far as Preston via Hellifield. Built at Crewe Works in 1965 as D1657, the locomotive was renumbered again in 1993, becoming 47772. It is now part of the West Coast Railway Company fleet and carries their unflattering maroon livery.

Brush Class 31/4 31404 was a regular performer on the line in 1983, and on 2 April of that year, it was photographed passing Kirkby Stephen West with 1M09, the 08.57 Leeds to Carlisle train. Later in the day it returned south with 1E33, the 15.57 from Carlisle to Leeds. 31404 was one of several to be adorned with a white stripe on each side by Finsbury Park depot. It was originally D5605 and had spent most of its days on King’s Cross suburban services, before being displaced north by electric multiple units. It was in service from 1960 until 1991. The maroon London Midland Region station running-in board is a relic from early BR days, and is now happily retired in private hands.

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One of the first series of twenty Brush Type 4s, the so-called ‘Generator’ 47s, 47410 slows to a halt at Kirkby Stephen West station on 11 March 1984 with a special train to Watford Junction for the Scouts Association. 47410 entered service in 1963 as D1509, and spent most of its career allocated to either Finsbury Park or Gateshead sheds. It was withdrawn in 1987. Note the Mackintosh-clad passengers with their wicker baskets and tea chests, all of which had been conveyed to the station in a fleet of around a dozen double-decked buses from their campsite in the dales, making an incongruous sight as they passed through the Mallerstang valley.

One hopes that the train heating was operational in the rake of four Mk1 coaches, as a youngster perches on a gate to observe Class 47/4 47482 passing a snowy Kirkby Stephen West on 1E23, the 10.00 Carlisle to Leeds train on the 5 February 1983. The station is situated about two miles from the centre of the market town. The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway’s Kirkby Stephen East (later operated by the North Eastern Railway) was slightly closer. This was an important junction where the line from Darlington via Stainmore Summit divided for Tebay, and for Penrith via Warcop and Appleby East. Much of Kirkby Stephen East station, which had opened in 1861 and closed in 1962, survives and is now the headquarters of the Stainmore Railway Company, a heritage railway.

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Left: 40150 was one of a batch of six English Electric Class 40s built with additional headboard brackets at each end, similar to those fitted to the Class 55 Deltics, for hauling titled trains on the East Coast Main Line. The former D350 passes between two of Kirkby Stephen West’s home signals with a train consisting of an ex-LMSR inspection saloon and two BR Mk1 full brakes, on 15 August 1984. The locomotive came from Vulcan Foundry in 1961 and lasted in service for another five months after this photograph was taken, until withdrawal in January 1985. The former Midland Railway goods shed can be seen above the rear of the train.

Right: The sunlit, ornate bargeboards of Kirkby Stephen West station stand out beneath a gloomy sky on 22 September 1984. The old loading dock siding is occupied by a set of converted wagons forming the line’s dedicated tunnel inspection train. This would have been used to take engineers through the line’s fourteen tunnels to identify any areas of concern. It appears to consist of an ex-Southern Railway box van, four Grampus wagons, two of which have rudimentary inspection platforms on them, and an ex-SR ‘Pillbox’ brake van. It also carries a compressor to provide electricity for lighting.

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This superb panorama taken on 3 March 1984 among the pastures of Birkett Common shows Maunsell’s four-cylinder Southern Railway 4-6-0 850 Lord Nelson against a breathtaking, wintry Cumbrian backdrop. The train is the southbound ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’, which will soon enter Birkett Tunnel. Lord Nelson was built in 1926 and withdrawn in 1962. It belongs to the National Collection and is currently at the Mid-Hants Railway, just eighteen miles from its Eastleigh birthplace.

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BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 92220 Evening Star was famously the last steam locomotive built for British Railways. It was constructed at Swindon Works in 1960, and like all 250 of its sisters, it had a scandalously short working life, being withdrawn in 1965. It is now a static exhibit in the National Railway Museum at York, but in the 1980s BR recouped some of its original outlay on the locomotive when it saw regular use on steam specials. The dry-stone walls and rolling hills of Birkett Common provide the perfect setting for ‘The Pennine Limited’, a Pullman special from Carlisle to York on 23 April 1988.

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Left: Brush Class 47/3 47349 exits the 424 yards of Birkett Tunnel with 4M12, the 08.01 Perth to Red Bank (Manchester) empty van train on 29 March 1986.

The driver has another four miles of the ‘Long Drag’ to contend with until Ais Gill Summit is reached. In 2003 the locomotive was re-engined and renumbered 57603, and it remains in service today named Tintagel Castle.

A far cry from taking newspaper vans to Manchester, its duties now include the slightly more glamorous ‘Night Riviera’ sleeper between Paddington and Penzance.

Right: Angrholm, also spelled Angerholme, is the name of a tiny settlement nestling in the wide valley of Mallerstang Common, through which the River Eden flows north towards Carlisle. Three miles to the north, the sparsely-populated valley contains the romantic ruins of 12th century Pendragon Castle. About to pass beneath the occupation bridge at Angrholm on 9 June 1984 is 47479 with 1E23, the 10.40 Carlisle to Leeds train.

This was one of the Brush Type 4s built by BR at Crewe Works, as D1612. It was in service from 1964 until 1992.

Unbeknown to Craig at this time, his family had maternal ancestors who had long ago lived nearby in the hamlet of Outhgill.

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Another of the ‘Generator’ Class 47/4s, 47418 heads the 10.45 Glasgow Central to Penzance, a long journey made even longer by being diverted off the West Coast Main Line to the Settle & Carlisle. The date was 29 March 1986 and the setting is Ais Gill Viaduct, one of the shortest viaducts between Carlisle and Settle, with four arches and a length of 87 yards. Note the mixed liveries on the coaching stock, with the new Inter City colours breaking up the monotony of blue and grey. Despite the obvious chill in the air, a dedicated ‘duff basher’ flails an enthusiastic arm out of the window of the leading Mk1 full brake. 47418 was originally D1517 and began its BR career at Finsbury Park in 1963.

The BR Sulzer ‘Peaks’ were an everyday sight on the Settle & Carlisle line for a quarter of a century, especially on passenger duties. They replaced steam on the St Pancras to Glasgow expresses, and continued in use after the timetable was pared down to a Leeds to Carlisle service. The telegraph poles and wires that draw the eye into the image had been part of the scene for even longer, but like the locomotive, they have since been consigned to history. On 3 March 1984, Class 45/1 45142 was photographed at Ais Gill at the head of 1M09, the 09.07 Leeds to Carlisle train.

The locomotive was built at Crewe Works as D83 in December 1960, and taken out of service in June 1987.

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Although a Southern Railway design, Oliver Bulleid’s ‘air-smoothed’ West Country Class 4-6-2 34092 City of Wells has spent most of its preservation career in the north of England, at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and latterly, the East Lancashire Railway. It was one of a class of 110 such locomotives, and was built at Brighton Works in 1949, being withdrawn in 1964. Sixty of them were rebuilt along more conventional lines, and a total of twenty are preserved. During its preservation-era spell on the main line, 34092 was a regular on the Settle & Carlisle, making at least 38 appearances between 1982 and 1988. Here it is with the southbound ‘Cumbrian Mountain Pullman’ at Ais Gill on 3 May 1982. As always, the striking profile of Wild Boar Fell is an arresting sight.

A classic Ais Gill view taken from the east side of the line looking north, dominated by Wild Boar Fell. At 2,323 feet, it is the fourth highest summit in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, although it is actually in Cumbria. Within the park boundary it is exceeded in height only by the famous ‘Three Peaks’ of Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent, which surround Ribblehead. The overbridge, the telegraph wires and the neglected lineside hut complete a very pleasing composition featuring another appearance for 40086, this time on the ‘The Whistler Special’ railtour of 6 October 1984.

The train is unusually short, comprising only six Mk1 & Mk2 coaches. 40086 was previously numbered D286, built at Vulcan Foundry in 1960 and originally allocated to Gateshead where it spent most of its career. It lasted in service until January 1985.

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This is English Electric Class 37 37096 at the head of 5A32, an empty coaching stock movement from Carlisle to Preston on 15 April 1984, under a threatening sky. The locomotive had earlier that day dragged Class 86 electric 86261 and 1S61, the 06.45 London Paddington to Glasgow Central from Preston to Carlisle, as the power was switched off over Shap. 37096 was formerly D6796, built at Vulcan Foundry in 1962 and withdrawn in 1991. The distinctive, snow-flecked outline of Wild Boar Fell once again provides the background as the train passes Ais Gill Summit, 1,169 feet above sea level, making it the highest main line in England.

Class 47/3 47321 heads north past Ais Gill signal box on its way from Wales to Scotland with 6S98, the 07.55 mixed freight from Severn Tunnel Junction to Mossend on 3 August 1982. The signal box was built in 1900, and when no longer required, it was dismantled and taken to the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire, where it was rebuilt and restored for use at Butterley station. The 47/3s had no train heating equipment and were built as dedicated freight locomotives. 47321 was built by Brush in Loughborough in 1965 and its thirty year career ended in 1995.

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Shortly after beginning their descent from Ais Gill Summit, southbound trains pass through two short tunnels named Shotlock and Moorcock, about a mile apart. Between them is Lunds Viaduct, 103 yards long, which is here being traversed by 4M12, the lengthy Perth to Manchester vans on 15 April 1984, headed by 47202. The sweeping Pennine terrain of Wild Boar Fell and Mallerstang can be appreciated fully in this elevated view.

This spectacular landscape was the scene of an infamous rail disaster in the darkness of Christmas Eve 1910, when human error on the part of the Hawes Junction signaller led to a northbound express running into the rear of a slow moving pair of light engines, with fatal results.

With less than two months to go before the announced closure date, 1Z36 ‘The Border City’ railtour comes off Dandry Mire Viaduct and over the A684, having just passed Garsdale station on a very snowy 24 March 1984. The railtour featured English Electric traction throughout, leaving Paddington behind green-liveried Class 50 50007 Sir Edward Elgar. At Crewe, it was replaced by Class 40 duo 40028 and 40086, which ran via Blackburn and Hellifield to Settle for the northbound assault of the ‘Long Drag’. From Carlisle, Class 86 86249 took the train over Shap as far as Crewe, where 50007 was waiting for the return run to Paddington. 40028 was originally D228, and was named Samaria after the Cunard liner. The locomotive was in service for a quarter of a century, from 1959 until 1984.

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Four years after the original closure date, the line was still very much in operation thanks to people power, especially through the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line. Steam specials were by now a regular feature, mostly organised by the SLOA. This is the magnificent sight of ex-LMSR Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 48151 bringing the 12-coach ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ across Dandry Mire Viaduct, just north of Garsdale on 29 October 1988.

This should have been an embankment, using spoil removed from Moorcock Tunnel, but after 250,000 cubic yards of material had disappeared into the peat bog of Dandry Mire, it was decided to build the 227 yard viaduct instead! This was 48151’s second trip over the S&C, its exhaust beautifully lit by the autumn sunshine. The line’s official reprieve was announced the following year, and since then, the Settle & Carlisle railway has gone from strength to strength.

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On 4 May 1985, the Settle & Carlisle line once again demonstrated its value as a diversionary route. Double-headed Class 25s, 25324 and 25276 come off Dandry Mire Viaduct and approach Garsdale station with 4M09, the Stranraer to London Euston van train, which would normally travel via Shap. Garsdale was previously known as Hawes Junction, and the trackbed of the former Hawes branch is next to the sidings on the right. This used to continue through Wensleydale to Northallerton, and part of this line is now the heritage Wensleydale Railway. The locomotives were both built by Beyer Peacock of Gorton, Manchester, as D7674 and D7626, in 1966 and 1965, respectively.

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Although Garsdale station was closed, it was a regular stop for steam specials, where locomotives would take water and passengers could stretch their legs. On 3 April 1982, a pair of 4-6-0s, comprising Maunsell Southern Railway King Arthur Class 777 Sir Lamiel, and Stanier LMSR Black Five 5407 headed the southbound ‘Cumbrian Mountain Pullman’. 777 was built by North British, Glasgow in 1925 and withdrawn in 1961. It is part of the National Collection and resides at the Great Central Railway, Loughborough. 5407 was built at Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle in 1937, and was in BR service until the end of steam in August 1968. Today it is still a regular performer on the main line.

Frozen photographers jostle for position on the icy platform at Garsdale on 30 January 1983, as legendary, sole-surviving LNER Gresley Class A3 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman takes water, having been shunted onto the wrong line. It is being passed by Brush Class 47/4 47466 on yet another diverted West Coast train. Garsdale station is the location of a famous railway fable. Anyone who has been there will vouch for its exposed hillside position, and the story goes that one very gusty evening, the wind caught a locomotive as it was being turned, and spun it out of control.

Eventually, ash was shovelled into the turntable well to bring it to a halt. A 7-foot high timber windbreak was subsequently erected around the turntable.

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The low winter sun reflects off the snowy landscape and illuminates the soft exhaust from the broad chimney of ex-Southern Railway 4-6-0 850 Lord Nelson as it makes a dramatic getaway from Garsdale on 3 March 1984. The ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ is now heading towards Rise Hill Tunnel and Dent station. Having conquered the ‘Long Drag’, the hardest work is now over for both locomotive and crew as they travel down the easier, gentle gradient from Ais Gill.

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On 23 April 1984, Brush Class 47/4 47481 heads 1M26, the 16.00 Leeds to Carlisle as it passes an old lineside hut before entering Rise Hill (originally Black Moss) Tunnel, between Garsdale and Dent. This is the second longest tunnel on the Settle & Carlisle line, at 1,213 yards, which is less than half the length of the forbidding Blea Moor Tunnel. Both were wondrous feats of Victorian engineering, which were only achieved with the loss of countless, and sometimes nameless navvies. Several churchyards along the route contain the unmarked graves of these sturdy men who gave their lives to build the railway. The church at Chapel-le-Dale, near Ribblehead, has the graves of more than a hundred, and is one of several similar sites along the route.

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Also on 23 April 1984, Sulzer Class 45/1 ‘Peak’ 45150 is in charge of 1E33, the 16.35 Carlisle to Leeds train, which has just passed through Rise Hill Tunnel, seen in the distance, and is approaching Dent station. The handsome tunnel portal carries the completion date, 1875, on its parapet, although it can only be seen by train crews. The train is passing through the man-made forestry plantations of Dodderham Moss, which are today well-established and stand in marked contrast to the wild, sheep-grazed fells to the north and south. The locomotive was built at Crewe Works in 1960 as D78, and was withdrawn in 1988.

On 3 August 1982, 40035 Apapa was captured passing Dent station with 8E13, the 13.10 Carlisle to Healey Mills (Wakefield) mixed freight.

Note the locomotive number crudely scrawled on the yellow front. The overbridge beyond the train carries the Coal Road, which climbs to almost 1,800 feet above sea level before descending to Garsdale station. It was often impassable in winter, and has been known to remain blocked well into April. The timber snow fences, built long ago to prevent drifts on the railway, stand on the hillside to the right.

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Left: This is BR Sulzer Class 45/1 ‘Peak’ 45109 passing the semi-derelict signal box at Dent with 1E33, the 16.35 Carlisle to Leeds on 31 March 1984. Sadly, the former Midland Railway signal box was burned down six months later. Dent is one of the stations that has since reopened, despite being 4½ miles from, and 650 feet higher in altitude than Dent village. Craig once stayed in a former railwayman’s cottage at Dent station. Getting from there on foot down the hill and along Dentdale to the Sportsman’s Inn was somewhat easier than walking back in the dark! 45109 emerged from Crewe Works in 1961 as D85. It was one of fifty Class 45s to be fitted with ETH, and was withdrawn in 1986.

Right: Also at Dent on 31 March 1984, Brush Sulzer Class 47/4 47533 was photographed from inside the abandoned shell of the signal box. The train was 1M26, the 16.00 Leeds to Carlisle, one of the twice daily northbound services. As we look into the distance along Dentdale, the spectacular viaducts of Arten Gill and Dent Head can just about be seen. Beyond the latter is Blea Moor Tunnel, followed by the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct.

47533 was previously D1651, built at Crewe in 1965. It was a Western Region locomotive until 1974, and was withdrawn in 1991.

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The full majesty of Arten Gill Viaduct cannot be appreciated from this viewpoint as the steep V-shaped valley of Artengill Beck conceals much of its 117-foot height. It is the second tallest on the line, it measures 220 yards long and has 11 arches built of the local dark limestone known as ‘Dent marble’. The tenth member of the Class 40s to be delivered, 40009 was photographed crossing Arten Gill with a Carlisle to Healey Mills freight on 30 November 1982. Originally numbered D209 - it was the last of the original batch of ten that were ordered from English Electric’s Vulcan Foundry as part of BR’s Pilot Scheme. A production series of a further 190 locomotives would follow. 40009 was delivered in 1958 and served BR for 26 years.

Taking a train journey along the Settle & Carlisle line is a must, but perhaps the best way to appreciate the railway and its place in the landscape is to explore the lineside. Class 47/0 47104 is viewed from the western slopes of Dentdale as it crosses Dent Head Viaduct with 1Z13, a special from Carlisle to Cleethorpes on 31 March 1984. Being only slightly smaller than its neighbour Arten Gill, the viaduct is 100 feet high and 199 yards long.

The image illustrates how the railway has become an integral part of the scenery, enhancing its desolate surroundings. It is as much a part of the Dales landscape as the narrow, winding road, climbing out of the valley between its dry-stone walls. Contrast this with the intrusiveness of the M6 motorway in the Lune Gorge and over Shap to the west.

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Viewed from the opposite side, with the brooding mass of Rise Hill on the horizon, Dent Head Viaduct is traversed by 47439 on 1O25, the diverted 09.50 Glasgow Central to Poole train on 6 April 1985. Dent station can be made out above the second Mk1 coach, and Arten Gill Viaduct lies between the two locations. Like all of the major structures on the line, Dent Head Viaduct was designed by John Sydney Crossley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway. Soon, the train will plunge into 1½ miles of darkness when it enters Blea Moor Tunnel. As it passes beneath the moor, it will cross the border from Cumbria into Yorkshire.

South of Blea Moor Tunnel are the passing loops and signal box that share its name. Vehicle KDB977162 had previously been BR Mk1 Brake Corridor Second SC35403, but by the 1980s, it was in departmental use with the Signalling & Telecommunications Department, as a staff and generator coach, accessed by a short ladder. On 16 February 1985, it was parked in the siding at Blea Moor. One hopes that some form of heating was provided for its occupants at this remote outpost. Greensett Crags, the rugged eastern edge of Whernside, is in the background.

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8 March 1984 was one of the occasions when we found ourselves being welcomed inside Blea Moor signal box, giving us temporary respite from whatever weather conditions were being thrown at us in this Pennine wilderness. The signaller arriving for work can park their car a mile to the south, below Ribblehead Viaduct. Drinking water, and coal for heating have to be delivered to the box. This used to be done by train, but now an all-terrain vehicle does the job. The present signal box is a relatively recent building, dating from 1941, for in order to increase the capacity of Blea Moor Sidings during the Second World War, it was necessary to demolish the old signal box which had stood on the opposite side of the line.

A member of 40174’s crew enjoys watching 1E23, our Carlisle to Leeds train hauled by 40015 Aquitania, passing on the up main at Blea Moor on 28 April 1984. 40174, previously D374, is in the down loop, awaiting the road south, having run around its train of ballast from Ribblehead. This was in the days when Ribblehead had an actual quarry. Subsequently, it became a ‘virtual’ quarry, with stone brought here from Horton and Ingleton by lorry to be taken by train. Happily, in 2025, the rail connection at Horton Quarry was reinstated, removing that source of lorry traffic from the roads.

Meanwhile, the inefficiency of the modern railway is Illustrated by the regular practice of a train driver travelling by van from the northeast to Ribblehead to drive the ballast train across the viaduct, run around at Blea Moor then cross the bridge again to hand over to a relief driver!’

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In the mid-1980s, Carlisle to Leeds services were extended to Hull. This is 31409 paired with 31432 on 1M09, the 07.40 Hull to Carlisle train, which has just come off Ribblehead Viaduct and is about to pass Blea Moor on 16 February 1985. The unmistakable outline of Ingleborough, together with the barren, wintry landscape in monochrome gives this image an almost lunar quality. 31409 was in service from 1960 until 1991, having previously been numbered D5656. 31432 was formerly 31153, being fitted with ETH in 1983. It was introduced in 1959 as D5571 and withdrawn in 1996.

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Whether experienced from the train, or viewed from the lineside, Ribblehead Viaduct never fails to impress. Its bleak, windswept location on the exposed limestone pavement of Batty Moss sets it apart from other structures on the line. It was the site of one of the largest temporary navvy settlements during construction of the railway, with colourfully-named districts such as Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol and Belgravia. Surprisingly, there were civic buildings and a hospital as well as shops and inns. There were also brickworks, quarries and limekilns with associated narrow gauge tramways. Traces of some of the above can still be found today. With Penyghent on the horizon, 34092 City of Wells makes a glorious sight as it strides across the viaduct on 1 October 1988 on the northbound ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’. Note the scaffolding which was possibly in connection with an inspection by an independent structural engineer, who quoted a far smaller repair bill than that published by BR.

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This wide shot emphasises the isolated location of Ribblehead station. BR Sulzer Class 25 25189 shunts empty ballast hoppers in the sidings at Ribblehead Quarry on 30 November 1982. In order for the quarry sidings to be constructed, the station’s northbound platform was demolished in 1970. 25189 will shortly haul a loaded train across Ribblehead Viaduct then run around the wagons in the loop at Blea Moor, before proceeding south. The locomotive was built at Derby in 1965 as D7539 and was withdrawn in 1985. The B6255 Ingleton to Hawes road dives beneath the railway on the left, and leads to the Station Inn.

A much closer view of Ribblehead station, also on 30 November 1982, with the return of 25189 having run around its train at Blea Moor. The station was eventually restored in 2000, complete with a new northbound platform, visitor centre, café and exhibition. This tells the history of the line, the men who built it, and the story of its salvation in the 1980s. Ribblehead Viaduct is visible above the rear of the train, with Whernside towering above. The viaduct is by far the longest on the line, at 442 yards. It is 104 feet high and has 24 arches. The structure was at the heart of BR’s argument for closing the line, as lack of maintenance had left it in a parlous state by the early 1980s. The track across the viaduct was reduced from double to single as part of its refurbishment between 1988 and 1991.

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During the seventeen year period it took to build the 842 Stanier Black Five 4-6-0s, their design evolved, resulting in some detail differences.

The unique Stephenson valve-gear fitted example, 44767 entered service on 31 December 1947 on the eve of nationalisation, and was in service for twenty years. It was photographed at Horton in Ribblesdale, about half way between Ribblehead Viaduct and Settle Junction, on 6 September 1986, working the Scottish Railway Preservation Society’s ‘The Keighley Flyer’ railtour from Edinburgh Waverley to Oxenhope on the Worth Valley Railway. The locomotive was named George Stephenson in 1975 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

At the time of writing, it is owned by the West Coast Railway Company and is being overhauled at Carnforth.

On 7 April 1984, double-headed Class 40s 40009 and 40033 pass the sylvan setting of Langcliffe, just north of Settle with Hertfordshire Railtours’ ‘Leuchars Aide’, which started at London Euston and featured seven different locomotives on its way to Dundee, Leuchars and Inverkeithing.

40033 was formerly named Empress of England, after the Canadian Pacific liner, while 40009 was the last of the original Pilot Scheme batch of English Electric Type 4s. It latterly gained fame by being the last vacuum-brake-only Class 40 in service. This day saw a flurry of seven special trains on the Settle & Carlisle line in quick succession, ahead of the approaching closure date, which at this time was just over five weeks away.

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Photographers line the platform at Settle station as the diverted 11.20 Glasgow to Harwich Parkeston Quay boat train, headed by 47475 recedes into the distance. Meanwhile, 47234 is passing with 1S74, the similarly diverted 10.15 London Euston to Stranraer train on 6 April 1985. 47234 was previously numbered D1911, and would become Class 57 57315, when its Sulzer power unit was replaced by an American EMD engine in 2004. It is still in service with the West Coast Railway Company.

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South of Settle station is Settle Junction, where the former North Western Railway Company route from Carnforth joins the Midland main line.

Known as the ‘Little North Western’, this is another useful diversionary route, as demonstrated on 25 April 1981 when the Deltic Preservation Society’s ‘North Briton’ railtour featuring celebrity two-tone green Deltic Class 55 55002 The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was halted at Settle Junction. Heavy April snowfall had blocked the Settle & Carlisle route, so after a delay, the train reversed before taking the Carnforth line then the West Coast Main Line to Carlisle. In better weather, Brush Class 31/4 31411 is passing with 1E33, the 16.35 Carlisle to Leeds on 20 July 1983.

The Carnforth line is on the left, and the difference in gradient can be appreciated in the photograph.

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We end our journey as we began, with Class 40 40015 Aquitania on 28 April 1984, sixteen days before the closure that never happened. The bashers’ favourite, 1E23, the 10.40 from Carlisle has arrived at Leeds City station. Today’s Settle & Carlisle service is a far cry from that provided when the line was under threat of closure in the 1980s. Instead of two trains per day in each direction, there are now eight each way, plus an evening service from Leeds to Ribblehead and back. The steam specials continue along with some hauled by heritage diesels, and a ‘Staycation Express’ was imaginatively marketed in the aftermath of the Covid lockdown. The timetabled locomotive-hauled trains may have been replaced by modern ‘Sprinter’ DMUs but the scenery is as glorious as ever, and the future of this magnificent railway is assured.

The Settle & Carlisle line gained national attention on 11 August 1968 when the Fifteen Guinea Special marked the end of British Rail steam.

Roads near Ribblehead, Dent, and Ais Gill were clogged with the cars of photographers capturing the event.

Fifteen years later, the line faced closure and the cameras were back.

British Rail had made services deliberately inconvenient to deter passengers - a tactic noted in Hansard and described by Sir Hector Monro as “ruddy chaos.”

Craig and I, often with our friend Neil in his Renault 5, were determined to document this engineering marvel before it vanished, photographing the line’s dramatic Pennine setting and dwindling traffic. Thankfully, public pressure prevailed. The Settle & Carlisle was saved and thrives today - a far cry from the 1980s. As MP Robert Adley said, “In its way, Ribblehead is as significant as Ingleborough, which God provided for this nation.”

This is our tribute to the railway we loved - and nearly lost.

ISBN 978-1-913893-73-6

£13.50