Settle and Carlisle Railway

The Settle and Carlisle Railway was built be the Midland Railway to give them their own route to Scotland - as far as Carlisle anyway - so they were not beholden to the LNWR. At Carlisle, it briefly joined the NER line from Newcastle, before going into Citadel Station, which was run by the Citadel Station Committee (LNWR and Caledonian Railway), and then on to Scotland on the Caledonian.

It opened to goods in 1875, and to passengers the year after.

The line runs through some bleak countryside, with few towns, and post nationalisation it became more and more run down, and was threatened with closure when the Ribblehead Viaduct needed repairs. A public campaign dissuaded government, and it remains open, and has become popular as a tourist route.

The bleak countryside makes it popular with modellers, and anyone doing modern day has a good excuse to run steam trains as they are (relatively) frequent visitors. Plus it still has semaphore signalling!

From a 3d modelling perspective, the line is attractive because the MR used the same design for most of the structure. Design one waiting room, and most stations are covered.

This post describes visits to various points along the line, and will be updated if I visit more. It is ordered from South to North. If there are no photos, I have not visited that location yet.

Settle Station

I visited Settle wanting to get photos of the footbridge to model, but when I got there realised the potential for the other buildings.

The water tower has been turned into accommodation. This design is unique to Settle I think; others were rather smaller. The area underneath was used for horses for a while.

The footbridge.

The signal box. The line still has semaphore signaling, though this box is no longer used. However, it is preserved, and you can go inside and operate the signals. 

Lineside hut (and mobile phone hub to the right).

The station building. The design is used on the bigger towns on the route, also Kirby stephen and Appleby.

From the other side; note that there is no entrance from this side, passengers need to access via the platform. Was this so there was no opportunity for wind to sweep straightthough, and hence it keeps it warmer?

The waiting room; this design is seen on the other stations, sometimes on both sides. No chimney, so cold in winter!

Horton in Ribbledale

Has a small station building, and standard waiting room.

Ribblehead

Not visited. The down platform seems to have been moved south, and I guess the waiting room is modern, though done in a MR style. The station building on the up side is the medium size.

Ribblehead Viaduct

Not the only viaduct on the line, but the biggest and most famous. The line is now single track over the viaduct to limit stresses.

Blea Moor Tunnel

Not sure how accessible it is.

Dent

Medium sized station building and standard waiting room.

Garsdale

Garsdale station is over three miles from Garsdale, and there are precious few houses in Garsdale. The reason for the station was probably a point to get water - the water troughs here were the highest in the world - and to service the junction. A line going to Hawes, and hence to Northallerton, was opened in 1878, only a couple of years after the mainline; it was part of the same Act of Parliament. 

The station was was originally called Hawes Junction. The line closed to passengers in 1959, and completely in 1964 and I guess the station was renamed because of that.

A general view. Note the water tower on the left - I assume not the original structure.

A closer look at the waiting room, almost identical to that at Settle, and signal box. The waiting room on the other side is the same.

One notable difference is the red structure in the wall, providing water. A recent addition - 2008 - but done in a sympathetic style. This reflects the new status of the line as a tourist destination; a place where walkers can get water - and perhaps wash mud off their boots before boarding the train?

Looking northeast, you can see the Dandry Mire or Moorcock Viaduct to the left, and where the line to Hawes curved off on the right.

A class 185 Trans-Pennine Express train passed through while I was there, unheard of on this line I am told. The driver got out to take a photo of the train in the station.

Comparng the signal box to that at Settle, this one is three quarters the length, presumably because there were less levers in it. It also has an extension to the left of the door. This is probably the toilet, and a recent addition. Originally the signal man would just go behind a bush.

Kirby Stephen East

This is one of the bigger stations, with a big station building and standard waiting room. The goods shed is still standing.

Appleby

Another big station, with a big station building and standard waiting room. This was a junction, a line to the south went to another Kirby Stephen station, and then to Barnard Castle, and then Darlington.

To the north, a line diverged to the right, then went under the extant line, going to Penrith. A double track spur is still in place.

Long Marton

A medium sized station, now closed. Looks like the station building is a private property.

Just north of Long Marton, there is a gypsum plant, just west of the line. there are still tracks serving it.

Langwathby

A medium sized station. The waiting room is wooden, but otherwise the standard design.

Lazonby & Kirkoswald

A medium sized station.

Just south of the station, beyond the River Eden, a short spur lead northeast to a Gypsum mine.

Armathwaite

A medium sized station with a rather ugly extension to the north.

Cumwhinton

A medium sized station, now closed. Looks like the station building is a private property.

A short line headed off east a short distance to a plaster factory in Cocklakes. The area is just woodland now. There may have been a gypsum quarry here too. The factory closed around 1950 maybe.

A second lines headed off east to Boaterby Quarry, which closed maybe 1915.

Further notes

The wings of the bridges on the route feature arches. These photos are from Settle, but I also saw near Garsdale.