Settle-Carlisle Line
The Settle–Carlisle Line (S&C) is a 73-mile (117 km) long main railway line in northern England. It is also known as the Settle and Carlisle. It is a part of the National Rail network and was constructed in the 1870s. Apart from temporary diversions (such as the closure of the West Coast Main Line) all passenger trains are operated by Northern Rail.
The line runs through remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, from near the town of Settle, beginning at a junction with the line from Leeds to Morecambe, extending to the city of Carlisle close to the England/Scotland border. On the way the line passes through the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland and a number of small communities.
History
The 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 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 a station at the end of Ingleton viaduct, and Midland Railway passengers had to change into LNWR trains by means of a walk of about a mile over steep gradients between the two stations.