Settle Carlisle Railway

[MarkF]

I've been meaning to do this trip for decades and yesterday actually managed it, via the Keighley & Worth Valley Railay and the Bahamas steam engine. I'd not been on nor interested in a steam engine till I took a ride on the Flying Scotsman a couple of years ago, since then I've hardly been off the things using the KWVR event days/night.

The amount of people in Yorksire and Cumbria that lined the route to take pics was incredible, could have done with some more sun but you cant have everything, I'd urge anybody to take a day out on a steam engine.

 

[Dave7]

Nice one. Where I play golf is near the Scotland-London track and we ocassionaly see the Flying Scotsmam majestically going past.
In the 50s our house backed onto a railway so steam trains were part of our lives

 

[Globalti]

I used to live 50 yards from Pete Waterman's East Lancs Railway where some quite interesting locomotives are run. The big steam locos used to make my windows flex in tune with the exhaust chuffs.

Occasionally they would run the Nigel Gresley, the big blue streamlined Pacific class loco, which has a much lighter faster exhaust sound. Once when it blasted past my neighbour Rita exclaimed: "Eeeh.... did ya see that? It were that Nigel Dempster!"

The Settle to Carlisle is good for doing one-way bike trips, example Settle to Appleby via Buttertubs, a pint or two in the station hotel in Appleby then back on the train. A fantastic day out.

 

[pawl]

Is Settle Cycles still trading ?I think the shop was in the station yard or close by.

 

[Smokin Joe]

When I were lad steam was what nearly always pulled the trains we took. Filthy, horrible, uncomfortable things, and you'd choke when it went through a tunnel.

No love for them at all, give me electric any day.

 

[Paulus]

No love for them at all, give me electric any day.

Clean, modern, no soul, no sound. A steam locomotive is a magnificent piece of engineering that has to be coaxed into life and really driven instead of just being switched on.

 

[ColinJ]

When I were lad steam was what nearly always pulled the trains we took. Filthy, horrible, uncomfortable things, and you'd choke when it went through a tunnel.

When I were a very young lad (still a baby), my father nearly killed me with a steam train... It instantly put me off them!

 

[Paulus]

When I were a very young lad (still a baby), my father nearly killed me with a steam train... It instantly put me off them!

Tell us more.

 

[fossyant]

MY old man loves steam engines and does at least 1 trip a year. Did a few as a kid, then a 3-4 years ago we went on the 'real' Hogwarts Express train over to York and back. The only issue it had been incredibly dry and once we hot Yorkshire, the train was pushed by a diesel (worries over setting the surrounding ground alight). Oh, and it was a scorcher of a day - not much fun in an old carriage.

 

[Globalti]

What happened Colin? Did your Dad tie you to the rails in despair at your behaviour?

 

[ColinJ]

Tell us more.

What happened Colin? Did your Dad tie you to the rails in despair at your behaviour?

Thinking about it ... We don't recall experiences from babyhood. I was born down the road from the railway line and we moved when I was very young so I must actually have been 2-3 years old.

I remembered that I have mentioned this experience before on CC...

When I was about 3 years old, my dad did something incredibly stupid - he picked me up and dangled me off a railway bridge when a steam train was thundering by below! It traumatised me ...

I mentioned it to him a couple of years before he died and he was upset to realise that I remembered it. It's not the kind of thing that you tend to forget!

This bridge ...

Anyway - back to the Settle Carlisle railway... A fantastic line - Michael Portillo's greatest achievement!

 

[Paulus]

Anyway - back to the Settle Carlisle railway... A fantastic line - Michael Portillo's greatest achievement!

Possibly his only achievement. He stumped up the money for the necessary work on the Ribblehead viaduct thus keeping the line open.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

SWMBO & I saw it on Saturday, on our way up to Keswick

We were in the DCC Concepts showroom, which is in the old sidings, & had just about concluded our business, when one of the guys piped up, that if we stayed another 1/2 hour or so, we'd see some steam
Heck!!, they even offered to make us a brew, to take onto the station (quite literally yards away!!)

I knew that Bahamas was running last week, from Oxenhope, but didn't know about this week

It was just leaving Hellifield, having watered there, as we went onto the platform (according the guys in DCC, upon having rang someone)
It came through the Station at a fairly decent speed (50 - 60MPH?)


Sorry. not the best images

 

[MarkF]

Nice pics Richard, yep l recall it taking on water, some great vintage luggage trunks in the waiting room..

I use trains several times a week and take zero notice of them, used some super clean & efficient ones around North Brabant yesterday....blah...it's only steam trains that get me going

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

That's really cool man. I've lived in Cumbria for most of my life (about 3 years in Lancashire). I can't believe the 45 years in Cumbria I haven't taken this train. Looks really cool, I need to check it out.