Recently Uploaded Snippets
This webpage allows regular visitors to the SCRCA web-portal to quickly and easily view recently uploaded 'snippets'. Show / hide tips
- If desired, use the filter below to display only snippets of the matching type.
- Snippets are grouped by month/year (with the most recent at the top), then displayed in reverse date order for each period.
- If the snippet text is shorter than 500 characters, the snippet is shown in full. Longer snippets are trimmed to 500 characters. Trimming is denoted by the elipse (...) and by the addition of a 'Read more' link. To improve the readability of the trimmed text, all formatting within the snippet extract is removed except for paragraph breaks, line breaks and hyperlinks.
- To open the full snippet, click / tap on its title or 'Read more' link.
News reports relating to a landslide at Dent Head aqueduct on 20th February 1935Created on 21 Jun 2023. At about 1pm on Wednesday 20th February 1935, a significant landslide occurred in the vicinity of Bridge 83 (an aqueduct carrying a small stream that drains part of the western flank of Wold Fell, near Dent Head). The landslide completely blocked both the 'up' and 'down' lines for two weeks and necessitated single-line operations for a further six weeks or so. The slip destabilised the cutting and seriously damaged both the aqueduct and the adjacent sections of retaining wall. To reduce the… Read more |
SCRCA Note: YDNPA planning application 36161 for Horton station booking officeCreated on 8 Apr 2023. On 26/4/2022, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority granted planning consent for the conversion of the former Booking Office building at Horton-in-Ribblesdale station into a small short-stay holiday let, with a separate cafe-bar / meeting room / community space. The holiday let is to be located in the former Ladies' Waiting Room at the north end of the building, while the cafe-bar etc. will occupy the former Booking Hall, Station Masters' Office and Porter's Room at the south end. The… Read more |
Lever frame reference drawing for Hawes Junction signal box (circa 1910 - 1932)Created on 5 Dec 2022. The image below was created by photographing a framed original displayed at "Shed 24H" (the cafe at Hellifield Station) on 14/10/2022. It has been uploaded here with the kind permission of Stuart Dean. For a larger (1800 pixel wide) version, click / tap on the image. |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Arten Gill ViaductCreated on 11 Nov 2022. Source: "The Midland railway: its rise and progress. A narrative of modern enterprise" by Frederick Smeeton Williams, published by Strahan & Co London (1876). The following selected extracts are from pages 508-511: Image 1 Engraving showing Arten GIll Viaduct under construction circa 1873 (from F.S. Williams). Arten Gill ... is deep; the banks on each side are steep; and before the viaduct was commenced there was a waterfall of 60 feet descent. The stream is spanned by a viaduct 660 feet… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Contemporary accounts relating to Appleby Station FootbridgeCreated on 9 Sep 2022. These notes were made as part of a quest to answer two seemingly simple questions: 1) Why was Appleby Station provided with a passenger footbridge in 1901 (25 years after the line opened for passenger use, but more than 90 years before the other 'large' Settle & Carlisle Railway stations received theirs)? 2) What exactly was the 'mishap' / 'shunting incident' that befell the footbridge less than a year after it was installed (and what were the implications for the bridge)? The second… Read more |
SCRCA Note: the origin and installation of Settle Station FootbridgeCreated on 9 Sep 2022. The notes below were compiled by Mark Rand for publication in the August 2020 edition of the FoSCL Journal. Mark has kindly given us permission to reproduce them here. "Where did the Settle footbridge come from?" I and many others have believed it to have come from Drem, Scotland. That information is repeated in numerous printed sources. Doubt was raised however by Scottish Railway Heritage committee member John Yellowlees who, when e-mailing me with kind comments about the Settle water tower's… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Dandrymire ViaductCreated on 30 Aug 2022. Source: "The Midland railway: its rise and progress. A narrative of modern enterprise" by Frederick Smeeton Williams, published by Strahan & Co London (1876). The following selected extracts are from pages 508-511: On leaving the tunnel, the line emerges into Garsdale. ... Soon we see, upon our right, a roadside inn, called "The Moorcock," notable in the district as standing at the junction of three roads. This inn is at the head of three valleys: the Wensleydale, winding eastward down to… Read more |
SCRCA Secondary Reference: Review of Anderson & Fox (1986) for 269910Created on 26 Jul 2022. Plate 125 includes an oblique view of the rail-facing elevation of the goods shed. The caption states that the latter was "for three wagons". |
SCRCA Secondary Reference: Review of Anderson & Fox (1986) for 236330Created on 26 Jul 2022. Plate 9 is a very useful B&W context photograph taken from the south end of the 'Down' platform looking south. It shows the trackwork leading past the original 'Up' side water crane (SCRCA Structure ref 236400) into the goods yard. Settle Station Signal Box (in its original location - SCRCA Structure ref 236340) and the goods shed (SCRCA Structure ref 236330) are visible in the distance. The caption states that a five-wagon goods shed was provided. Plate 12 is a close-up of the north… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Why is Armathwaite Signal Box painted yellow?Created on 16 Jul 2022. The short answer to this often asked question is that "it is believed to be an authentic period colour scheme". Armathwaite signal box was constructed in 1899 by the Midland Railway Company and, at that time, its standard colour scheme for painting signal boxes was: 'Venetian Red' for the structural frames; 'Lemon Chrome' for the wall panel in-fills; white for the window frames; and white lettering on an 'Ultramarine Blue' background for the name board. However, while there is general agreement… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Material relating to Hellifield station bookstalls in the University of Reading W.H. Smith ArchiveCreated on 8 Jul 2022. Following receipt of the information regarding railway bookstalls operated by W. H. Smiths from Christopher Rule, the SCRCA Project Coordinator contacted Reading University on 1st July 2022 with the following request for information: Are you able to provide any additional information relating to W.H. Smith's operations at Hellifield and / or the associated bookstall structures? We are especially keen to ascertain the number of different bookstall structures and their precise or approximate… Read more |
SCRCA Memory by Christopher Rule: Railway bookstalls operated by W. H. SmithsCreated on 7 Jul 2022. The following information was kindly supplied by Christopher Rule in response to a post on social media seeking information about the bookstall / news kiosk on Hellifield station (see structures 231285 and 231300). I don’t have any specific information about Hellifield bookstall as the W.H.Smith Archive is now housed at the University of Reading. The Archive is accessible to researchers and there may also be a photo of the stall in the 1940s. Any bookstall at Hellifield would have been operated… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Proposals for a modern footbridge at Horton-in-Ribblesdale StationCreated on 1 Mar 2022. Network Rail recently announced a £1.9m scheme to replace the current foot crossing (Location ID 242490) at Horton-in-Ribblesdale Station with a modern footbridge (complete with lifts). The reasons given for this proposal include: increased accessibility (e.g. for passengers with mobility impairments); the increased usage of the footpath (which lies on the 'Three Peaks of Yorkshire' challenge route); the poor sight lines for both train drivers and pedestrians; and the proposed reinstatement of… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of MRC's Weekly Notices for Blea Moor Signal BoxCreated on 31 Oct 2021. According to entries in the Midland Railway Company's Weekly Notices, the opening dates for the four signal boxes at Blea Moor were: Opened 2.8.1875 Replacement box opened 4.12.1892 Replacement box opened 28.6.1914 Replacement box 60 yards to the south opened 16.12.1941 This information was kindly supplied by Dave Harris (the Study Centre Co-ordinator for the Midland Railway Study Centre in Derby). |
SCRCA Secondary Reference: Review of Anderson & Fox (1986) for 248590Created on 30 Oct 2021. Plate 47 is a useful (but undated) black & white photograph showing Blea Moor Signal Box in its pre 1941 position (beside the 'down' line), a water crane (Location ID 248540), the semi-detached workers' houses (Location ID 248580) and their outhouses and the 'up' side water tower / tank-house (Location ID 248530). The accompanying text refers to ["Way and Works Committee Minutes No. 12660, 4/11/1892"] and quotes a ["renewal cost of £200"] for this signal box. The text also states that this… Read more |
SCRCA Note for Location ID 299780 (platelayers' hut)Created on 4 Aug 2021. This structure was demolished at some point between 21/4/2015 and 3/8/2021. |
SCRCA Note: Drainage repair works inside the ventilation shafts of Rise Hill TunnelCreated on 18 Jan 2021. During a twelve week project in late 2017, CAN Geotechnical Ltd undertook repair work to the drainage systems lining the two ventilation shafts associated with Rise Hill Tunnel (Air Shaft 1 and Air Shaft 2). A brief summary of the work is available at: https://www.can.ltd.uk/casestudies/risehill-tunnel-shaft-works |
SCRCA Note: Construction of new spillway for Bridge SAC/100Created on 18 Jan 2021. During 2015-16, significant engineering works were undertaken to address surface water and groundwater problems in the vicinity of Bridge SAC/100 (a ten-foot wide culvert) to the south of Rise Hill Tunnel. A brief summary of the work is available at: https://www.storycontracting.com/building-blocks/ |
SCRCA Note: Conversion of former goods shed at Long Marton to two dwellingsCreated on 4 Jan 2021. On 6th October 2015, planning application number 15/0923 was lodged with Eden District Council for the conversion of the former goods shed at Long Marton station into two dwellings. The application includes the addition of a small extension to the south east gable end wall similar in scale to the original projection at the north west end. The plans include the construction of two adjacent garages. Consent was initially granted on 1st December 2015. However, an amended application was submitted… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Alterations to structure 281180 observed during a site visit on October 14th, 2020Created on 14 Nov 2020. Network Rail have carried out work on the embankment and the drainage in this area and, when photographed in October 2020, it looked significantly different to a Google Earth image from 2016. On the 2016 image, the culvert can be clearly seen outfalling into a ditch, which agrees closely with the arrangement depicted on the 1911-12 land plan. The ditch then flows into the stream that emerges from culvert 281190. The Google image also shows trees and shrubs along the slope of the embankment.… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Rebuilding of bridges SAC/21 and SAC/25 during October 2020Created on 28 Oct 2020. The decks of Bridge SAC/21 ('Banks') and Bridge SAC/25 ('Fosters') were replaced during a five day full engineering possession between 24th and 28th October, 2020. The new pre-built decks were lifted into place by crane after the old decks had been removed and preparatory works had been completed. In both cases, the majority of the existing abutments and wing walls were retained, although the new decks are sigificantly more prominent than the originals. The composite image below shows the… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Appleby North Signal Box repairs, Spring 2020Created on 27 Oct 2020. The signal box is being refurbished and work is being carried out to rectify structural problems. For further details, see:https://www.foscl.org.uk/recent-news/appleby-signal-box-repairs |
SCRCA Knowledge Base for Appleby Station Tank HouseCreated on 6 Sep 2020. The original tank house was demolished circa 1968. The current structure is a modern replacement that is similar in design to the original, but slightly smaller (e.g. there is just one window in the front wall of the base, rather than two). A commemorative plaque fixed to the front wall states that the current structure was: BUILT 1991 BY APPLEBY ROUND TABLE TO COMMEMORATE ITS SILVER JUBILEE It is a functional structure and it supplies the nearby water crane located at the south end of the 'Up… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Accessibility / visiblity of Bridge SAC/50 (Location ID 243350)Created on 2 Sep 2020. This structure is not accessible or visible at short range from any publicly accessible location. Photographs of the south elevation can be obtained using a very high-powered telephoto lens from the north ends of the platforms at Horton Station. It may also be possible to obtain long-distance images from high-level vantage points along the valley sides. |