Settle-Carlisle Line
The railway line Settle - Carlisle is a 117 km long railway line in northern England. It is part of the network of National Rail and was built in the 1870s. Apart from occasional diversions, for example due to blocking of the West Coast Main Line, all passenger trains are operated by Northern Rail.
The route passes through remote regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines. Considered the most scenic route in England. The dramatic circumstances of their planning and their construction have meant that it is regarded as one of the highlights of entrepreneurship and engineering during the Victorian era.
The route branches off about two kilometers south of Settle on the railway Leeds - Morecambe and leads up to Carlisle near the border with Scotland. Along the way she touched Appleby-in -Westmorland and several smaller places.
Prehistory
The origins of the Settle - Carlisle Line are due to the competition between the Midland Railway (MR ) and the London and North Western Railway ( LNWR ). The MR wanted to expand to the north, but could not agree with the LNWR on a shared use of their tracks to Scotland itself.
The existing access to the Midland Railway to Scotland took place on the route of the North Western Railway ( NWR ) to Ingleton. From there to the junction with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway in Low Gill and on to Carlisle route was controlled by the rival LNWR. Although structurally related, the two tracks were first separated operationally, as LNWR and Midland Railway could not agree on a common use of the station Ingleton. Instead, ended the traits of the LNWR at a separate station at the other end of the viaduct of Ingleton, and the passengers had a steep trail run about a mile between the two stations.
Finally, an agreement on access to the station was reached, and the Midland Railway could attach in Ingleton coaches to the trains of the LNWR. Now, passengers could continue their journey northward, without leaving the train. But the situation was still far from ideal, as the LNWR the coaches of their competitors deliberately handicapped by being anhängte for example to slow freight trains instead of fast passenger trains.
The route via Ingleton is closed today, but the larger buildings such as the viaducts on the Low Gill and Ingleton are preserved. It was a solidly built track that was perfectly suited for express trains, but its potential was never really used because of the rivalry between the Midland Railway and the LNWR. Finally, the Executive Board of MR decided that the only sensible solution was an own route to Scotland. The survey work began in 1865, and in June 1866, Parliament approved the plan. A little later, however, the bankruptcy of Overend Gurney - bank led to a financial crisis in the United Kingdom. The interest rates rose dramatically, and a number of railway companies had to file for bankruptcy. Prompted by a revolt of the shareholders, the Management Board of the Midland Railway changed his mind about the project whose cost has been estimated at 2.3 million pounds. Before starting work, the company therefore requested in April 1869, repeal of the Act of Parliament. This application was rejected in Parliament, and the work began in November of the same year.
Construction
The track was built by more than 6,000 workers, many of them Irish - excavator had not yet been invented. They worked under adverse weather conditions. To their great accommodation camps were built. The Midland Railway contributed to the cost of Bible readings to combat the effects of violence under the influence of alcohol at the secluded area. These camps resembled small towns. They had their own post offices and schools and had names such as Inkerman, Sevastopol and Jericho. The remains of these camps, Batty Green, where more than 2,000 workers lived and worked, one can see at Ribblehead.
A plaque in the church of the nearby hamlet of Chapel- le -Dale is reminiscent of the workers who died during the construction of the railway line through illnesses and accidents. Their exact number is not known, but alone in Batty Green 80 people died during a smallpox epidemic. In the cemetery of Outhgill in Mallerstang a memorial for the 25 men, women and children was established in 1997, who died during the construction of this section of line and were buried in unmarked graves.
The crossed area is one of the roughest areas of the UK, and the construction was held up for months at a time by ground frost, snow drifts and flooding of the construction sites. A participating contractor had to give up because he had underestimated the terrain and the weather - in Dent Head falls almost four times as much rainfall as in London.
The line was consistently traced out for express trains. Local traffic was secondary, and many stations are miles away from the villages, enter their names the stations. The vertex at Ais Gill, north of Garsdale is 356 meters above sea level the highest point of a main line in England. To allow for quick travel with steam locomotives, the slopes were limited to 10 per thousand. The 26 -kilometer section of Settle Junction to Blea Moor is traced out by almost consistently with this inclination, and was at the train drivers as the long drag ( German: " the long ascent " ) is known.
In addition to extensive earthworks 14 tunnels and 22 viaducts were needed. The most important is the Viaduct Ribblehead viaduct with 24 arches, 32 m high and 402 m long. Because of the marshy subsoil the piers had to be established in 8 m depth on concrete in order to have a suitable foundation.
Soon after crossing the viaduct, the route leads through the Blea Moor Tunnel, which is 2402 m long and 152 m below the moor is before she comes back to light and the Dent Head Viaduct crosses. In Garsdale there were water troughs between the rails, from which the steam locomotives could supplement their supplies without having to interrupt the ride.
Operation
The line was opened in August 1875 for freight, passenger trains were the first in April, 1876 Construction costs eventually amounted to 3.6 million pounds -. Was 50 percent above the estimate and at that time a large sum.
For a time dominated the market for the Midland Railway Transport London - Glasgow and offered more features in the day than their competition. But the MR 1923 was combined with the LNWR and numerous smaller railway companies for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). In the combined company, the disadvantages of the Settle - Carlisle line over the West Coast Main Line made it clear noticeable. The journey time from London to Glasgow was longer, which was not only due to the longer distance and the steep slopes, but also on more intermediate stops to serve larger cities in the Midlands and Yorkshire. In the past, the Midland Railway had been able to compensate for this disadvantage by using particularly comfortable rolling stock, but this advantage was accounted for in the combined company.
After nationalization in 1948, accelerated the decline. We looked at the track as superfluous, and since the control of the connection was London - Glasgow distributed on different operating regions, the planning of continuous connections proved to be difficult. Subsidence caused by mining affected the possible speeds in the East Midlands and Yorkshire. For example, in 1962 took the Thames - Clyde Express on the Settle - Carlisle Line almost 9 hours from London to Glasgow - on the West Coast Main Line was the travel time just 7 hours and 20 minutes.
The Beeching Report of 1963 on the restructuring of British Rail recommended the setting of total passenger traffic on the route. Some smaller stations were already closed in the 1950s. Beechings recommendations for the route were not initially implemented, but in May 1970, all stations were closed except Settle and Appleby, and reduced the transport of two pairs of trains a day.
In addition to the freight there were still some express trains: The Waverley from London St Pancras via Nottingham and the Waverley Line to Edinburgh Waverley ended in 1968, while the more important Thames - Clyde Express from London to Glasgow Central drove over Leicester until 1975. Sleeper trains from London to Glasgow to operate until 1976. Finally, the course of the long-distance trains ( three trains per day in each direction ) was shortened to Glasgow Nottingham, before they were all set in May 1982.
Threat of closure
During the 1970s, the Settle - Carlisle Line suffered from lack of investment, and the condition of many viaducts and tunnels worsened. Most of the freight was transferred to the West Coast Main Line, which had been electrified in 1975 and to Glasgow. The only good news came from the DalesRail rides, who attended some of the closed stations since 1974 on the weekends in the summer. These were organized by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to move hikers for arrival by train.
In the early 1980s, there was on the track, only about five pairs of trains a day, and British Rail decided that the costs for the repair of bridges and tunnels, given the low traffic volumes are too high. 1981, a citizens' initiative was established, the Friends of the Settle - Carlisle Line ( FoSCL ). This group started with the fight against the closure of the route, even before it was officially announced.
In December 1983, the decommissioning process was formally launched. However, neighboring communities and railroad enthusiasts started a joint campaign to save the Settle - Carlisle Line. They pointed out that British Rail the potential benefits of the route for tourism ignored, overlooked the need for a detour route for the West Coast Main Line and failed to promote the through traffic from the Midlands and Yorkshire to Scotland.
There was strong criticism of the closure plans. Critics pointed out that this was a main route. It was possible to provide convincing evidence that British Rail promoted the closure of the route with unclean means by the repair costs have been exaggerated ( just for the Ribblehead Viaduct 6 million pounds were called) and the traffic was directed intentionally around the track.
The success of these reports on the tactics used by British Rail was a strong increase in traffic. The number of passengers increased from 93,000 in 1983 to 450,000 in 1989. The campaign led to the government in 1989, the closure of the route refused and British Rail began with the renovation of decaying tunnels and viaducts.
The track today
On the Settle - Carlisle Line today there are probably more operational than ever in its history. Due to overload of the West Coast Main Line again use many freight trains the track. Coal is transported from the terminal carbon Hunterston (Scotland ) to the power plants in Yorkshire and gypsum from Drax power station to the factory of British Gypsum at Kirkby Thore. To toughen up the route for such heavy freight, excavation work was required. Further investments are to shorten the length of the block portions. The transport increased, and eight of the 1970 closed smaller stations were reopened in 1986. In Ribblehead railway station there is a visitor center. The track is still a major detour route during construction work on the West Coast Main Line. Since it is not electrified, electric trains like the Pendolino of a diesel locomotive (usually a class 57 ) must be taken.
Express trains were not reintroduced. As of 1999, there were indeed twice daily through trains Leeds Glasgow that were offered by Arriva Trains Northern and appealed for intermediate stops in Settle, Appleby, Carlisle, Lockerbie and Motherwell. However, this had to be stopped by order of the Strategic Rail Authority in 2003. Today is no direct connection to Glasgow via this route. Through trains from Lancashire are now only offered on Sundays in summer DalesRail rides.