Appleby North Junction (a.k.a. Midland Junction) was constructed to link the Settle Carlisle Railway (SCR) with the North Eastern Railway (NER) Company's route between Darlington and Penrith (via Appleby East and Kirkby Stephen East).
The track on the former NER route has long since been lifted, but the SCR half of the junction still provides access to the Engineers' Yard Sidings. These allow northbound SCR trains to be terminated and reversed at Appleby should the need arise.