News

FoSCL features prominently in the latest edition of Northern Rail's Eastern Region newsletter., for two completely different activities.

The tea rooms on Hellifield Station (on the Leeds-Settle-Carlisle Line) have now re-opened with new proprietors.   A railway family from Clitheroe have taken on a sub lease and have already carried out refurbishment works.   The tea rooms have been renamed SHED24H the number of the erstwhile Hellifield locomotive depot.

Details are as follows:

Hellifield Station, Station Road, Hellifield BD23 4HN

07854 457063

The 2019 FoSCL Christmas Lunch is being held at the Golden Lion (Duke Street, Settle, BD24 9DU) on 30th November..

The guest speaker is Paul Brown, FoSCL Chairman, who will outline his hopes for the future.  

There will be a raffle in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

There may be a few places left, contact Martin or Rachel Pearson, 01729 824428, email [email protected]  

at the Royal Oak, Settle, Friday 29 November at 8 pm.

Featuring Karin Grandal-Park and her new production of "Lives on the Line", songs about the men and women who built the Settle-Carlisle Line. Narration by Mark Rand.  

The annual offer for Dales Railcard and WYCNTs holders is back for Winter 2019 and Spring 2020!

A railway cutting that was edging towards the Settle – Carlisle railway line has been strengthened thanks to a £1.2m investment from Network Rail.

The upgrade near Kirby Stephen is being delivered as part of the Great North Rail Project.

It will help keep the line between Leeds, Settle and Carlisle safe and reliable for passenger and freight trains.

Photo courtesy Network Rai, text Rail Advent.

A one-off opportunity on Saturday 19th October: a tutored wine tasting and lunch at Langwathby Station.  Come by train, this is a great chance to enjoy your wine without having to worry about driving home!  Seven Portuguese wines and a two-course lunch of Portuguese fare will be served.  Places are strictly limited, book early - see the attached document for full details.

New electric Northern Rail Class 331 trains are scheduled to commence service between Leeds and Skipton, the Airedale Line, on Monday 9th September.  They will eventually replace the existing Class 322 electric trains.  There was a launch event involving a trip in one of the 331s from Skipton to Leeds on 3rd September and those who attended were highly impressed.  The photo, courtesy of Douglas Hodgins, shows one of the new trains at Skipton station.  

Appleby Station held a highly successful Open Day on Bank Holiday Monday.  There were a great variety of stalls stretching all the way along the car park to the Heritage Centre, a brass band and even a real live owl!  It was very well attended, the photo shows just how many people were waiting for the train home - only 2 carriages, but we're working on getting all our trains increased to 4 cars.  

All credit to the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company for organising the event, let's hope there'll be another next year.

A truly amazing exhibition in Carlisle, you can travel there on the Leeds-Settle-Carlisle Line, see https://settle-carlisle.co.uk/tickets-times-travel/ for all travel information.  Our 7-year old granddaughter was enthralled, we spent an hour and a half in the one gallery alone.

On 10th August our good friends at Kirkby Stephen East station - on what used to be the Stainmore Line - are running a Railwayana Collectors' Fair.  There's also loads more going on this summer, see http://www.kirkbystepheneast.co.uk/StainmoreRailway-Events.html.

A German visitor to the line recently wrote a very comprehensive and informative blog about her visit to the Settle-Carlisle Line.  It's in German, so any German speakers out there may like to have a look through it, some nice photos too - and there's always Google Translate.  it is to be hoped that this will encourage more visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to the line.  https://lillys.news.blog/

Our fantastic new heritage style waiting shelter at Appleby is now open for use. Cleverly designed, matches the station buildings. Project management was by FoSCL, it was part funded by The Railway Heritage Trust, Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Co and Northern Rail. Great workmanship by Hopleys builders of Settle, who also built a similar shelter for us at Settle.  

Now passengers will be able to shelter from the rain and cold at times when the ticket office is not open.  Actually it still needs some seats inside, but they won't be long in coming!

A CD of original songs written to celebrate the lives of the men and women who built the Settle-Carlisle Railway in the 1870s has been released by well-known folk singer, Karin Grandal-Park.

Exhibitions at 3 stations...

The organiser says: just a quick note to say thank you to those who came to the shows at Settle Victoria Hall this season, I appreciate your support. I hope you have found the evenings as interesting and entertaining as I have. The 'bring your own' evening last Wednesday I found very enjoyable and I plan to add it again to next year's programme. Thanks to everyone who brought such a varied and creative range of subject matter!

Now and again the Settle-Carlisle trains are overcrowded.  Not unusual on the Northern Rail network and there are various reasons quoted, primarily shortage of rolling stock.  This is partly due to completion of the electrification of the Manchester-Bolton-Preston line being delayed for around two years, with a corresponding delay in the availability of the diesel units which were expected to be freed up by this. 

Appleby has a superbly restored water tower and crane which is regularly used to replenish southbound steam trains.  Northbound, there is more of a problem: Hellifield, where there is a water supply both sides, is a long way from Carlisle and there is a need for watering at Appleby northbound.  So what to do?  Often, a water tanker arrives by road and parks at the north end of the car park.  A long hose can reach to the tender of the locomotive, the train stops for up to half an hour, passengers stretch their legs and buy souvenirs in the FoSCL shop.  Ever

A new timetable comes into force on Sunday 19th May.  There are big changes to some lines, but very little change to the Settle-Carlisle Line.  The southbound express will now leave Carlisle at 1340 instead of 1404, which goes some way to fill the gap between the 1049 departure and the express.