Settle to Carlisle Line

The Settle–Carlisle line (S&C) had its origins in railway politics; the expansion-minded Midland Railway company was locked in dispute with the rival London and North Western Railway (LNWR) over access rights to the latter's tracks to Scotland. The Midland's access to Scotland was via the "Little North Western" route to Ingleton. The Ingleton branch line from Ingleton to Low Gill, where it joined the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, was under the control of the rival LNWR. Initially the routes, although physically connected at Ingleton, were not logically connected, as the LNWR and Midland could not agree on sharing the use of Ingleton station. Instead the LNWR terminated its trains at its…

The line was built by over 6,000 navvies, most of them Irish, who worked in remote locations, enduring harsh weather conditions. Large camps were established to house them, with many becoming complete townships with post offices and schools. They were named Inkerman, Sebastapol and Jericho. The remains of one camp – Batty Green – where over 2,000 navvies lived and worked, can be seen near Ribblehead. Scripture readers helped to counteract the effect of drunken violence in these isolated communities. A plaque in St Leonard's Church, Chapel-le-Dale, records the workers who died, both from disease and from accidents, while building the railway. The death toll is unknown, but 80 people died at…

approaching Long Marton heading south along the Settle and Carlisle Line in 2019.]] From April 2016, Arriva Rail North Ltd took over all passenger services on the line from the previous operator which was run by Serco & Abellio. As part of the new franchise agreement with the DfT, service improvements were implemented from the May 2018 timetable change with one extra weekday service each way and two extra trains each way on Sundays. Arriva also began work to install digital information screens and ticket machines at each station in early 2019. As from 1 March 2020, passenger services are now operated by the publicly run company Northern Trains, who have maintained this level of service. In…