Members of the Midland Railway Society had a very enjoyable, if slightly soggy at times, visit to the Settle & Carlisle line last weekend. Led by our Trustee, Bryan Gray, who is also Chairman of the Settle & Carlisle Railway Trust and a very knowledgable guide, the weekend included a hike around Ribblehead and Blea Moor and a very hospitable evening in the newly opened bistro at Horton in Ribblesdale station. We were also treated to two very interesting presentations: Bryan gave us a talk about the history of the line, its construction and architecture, while our former Chairman, Dave Hunt used his expertise on locomotive matters to give us an overview of motive power used on the line in Midland and LMS times. Both these presentations were recorded and will be made available to Midland Railway Society members who were unable to join us to enjoy very soon.
A particular highlight of the weekend was a visit to Blea Moor signal box facilitated by kind permission and courtesy of Network Rail. The duty signaller, Mark, was a great ambassador for the rail industry and in between his safety critical duties of signalling trains, provided us with an informative commentary on his role.
Our weekend ended with Settle station where we enjoyed visiting the impressively restored Settle Station signal box. We are very grateful to their volunteers who opened it specially for us.
The Settle & Carlisle line is rightly regarded as one of the jewels in the Midland Railway’s “scenic crown” and a single weekend barely scratches the surface of its history and stunning scenery.
Thank you to those members who attended, to Bryan Gray for organising it all and to the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line for hosting our evening events.
