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SCRCA Note: Virtual visits to heritage hotspotsCreated on 21 Oct 2018. 'Virtual visits' are available for the following SCRCA 'heritage hotspots': Hellifield Station Settle Horton Station Ribblehead and Blea Moor Dent Station Garsdale Kirkby Stephen Station Appleby Langwathby Station Lazonby and Kirkoswald Station Armathwaite Station Carlisle Citadel Station These correspond with the 'open' railway stations listed below. (Long Preston Station has been excluded as virtually all of the historic structures have been demolished.) |
SCRCA Note: Heritage features inside Ormside Station booking office buildingCreated on 28 Aug 2018. The former main station building at Ormside is no longer accessible to the general public, although a distant view of the west facade can be gained from the former station drive. The following observations relating to the interior of this building were made during an open day held on Thursday 23rd August 2018. It is clear that building's owners are proud of the building's heritage and that they have retained (and intend to continue to retain) as many of the historic interior features as… Read more |
SCRCA Knowledge Base for Ormside StationCreated on 24 Aug 2018. Ormside Station (general) Ormside station opened to passenger traffic on May 1st, 1876 and to goods on April 1st, 1880. On the 15th August 1876, three people (2 passengers and a guard) were injured near Ormside when a Carlisle to St. Pancras express passenger train was hit by runaway wagons that had become detached from a northbound Bradford to Carlisle goods train. This incident is believed to be the first recorded operational accident on the Settle-Carlisle railway. The accident report can be… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Office Of Masters In Lunacy Order Dated 14th February 1894Created on 6 Jun 2018. Executive summary This document relates to a lease of land belonging to "the Reverend Richard Sedgwick Clerk a person of unsound mind" for the erection of snow fences beside the Settle-Carlisle Railway line in Dentdale "for the period of 21 years from 25th March 1894 at the annual rental of £2". The document states that the Midland Railway Company reimbursed Adam Sedgwick the sum of £90 18s 0d to cover "the estimated cost of draining the land on which the said snow screens are erected".… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of 1912 Midland Railway Landplans for Dentdale Snow ScreensCreated on 18 Feb 2018. On sheets 23 to 25, a pair of broadly parallel "snow screens" (snow fences) are depicted as lying to the east of a series of railway cuttings. Location 251850 Sheet 23 includes the following text associated with the snow screens between Dent Head Signal Box and Arten Gill Viaduct: "Earl Bective 8751 10353 Lease of right for snow screens expired Sept. 29th 1900. (A to B)" "Lady Henry Bentink 13436 Lease of right for snow screens expires Sept. 29th 1914. (C to D)" Sheet 24 includes the following… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of 1911 Midland Railway Land Plan for Dentdale Snow ScreensCreated on 18 Feb 2018. On sheets 23 to 25, a pair of broadly parallel "snow screens" (snow fences) are depicted as lying to the east of a series of railway cuttings. Location 251850 Sheet 23 includes the following text associated with the snow screens between Dent Head Signal Box and Arten Gill Viaduct: "Earl Bective 8751 10353 Lease of right for snow screens expired Sept. 29th 1900. (A to B)" "Lady Henry Bentink 13436 Lease of right for snow screens expires Sept. 29th 1914. (C to D)" Sheet 24 includes the following… Read more |
SCRCA Secondary Reference: Review of Mitchell "Life on the Settle-Carlisle Railway" for Dentdale Snow ScreensCreated on 18 Feb 2018. The following is an extract from page 33 of W.R. Mitchell's book "Life on the Settle-Carlisle Railway", published by Dalesman in 1984). It is quoted here by kind permission of Dr Mitchell. Dent, high and prone to being overblown by snow, was a place selected for snow fences - several lines of railway sleepers, set on the side of the cutting and on part of the moor, where hopefully the snow would be intercepted before it could block the line. "In some shops, there were three lines o' sleepers.… Read more |
SCRCA Secondary Reference: Review of Mitchell "Men of the Settle-Carlisle" for 253040Created on 18 Feb 2018. The following is an extract from page 34 of W.R. Mitchell's book "Men of the Settle-Carlisle", published by Dalesman in 1985). It is quoted here by kind permission of Dr Mitchell. Dent's snow fences looked impressive but were not always effective. "There wasn't much maintenance done. They were just sleepers on end, with fencing wire to hold them up. When I worked as an inspector, I'd sign a form to say that they were still in existence. I suppose the railway was still paying rent on 'em." |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of "Dent in the 1950s" by Rodney Hampson for Dentdale Snow ScreensCreated on 18 Feb 2018. On page 18 of his pdf-format notes entitled "Dent in the 1950s" (see https://www.foscl.org.uk/content/history/dent-1950s), Rodney Hampson states that the snow fences were "pretty dilapidated in my time". (Mr Hampson "was Station Master at Dent from March 1952 to September 1955".) |
SCRCA Note regarding Garsdale Water Troughs and the associated reservoir and tank houseCreated on 19 Nov 2017. The length of the railway between Risehill Tunnel and Garsdale Station includes the former water troughs. These were installed in 1907 at a cost of £4,396 and, when built, they were the highest water troughs in the world. The troughs ran from 255 miles 63 chains to 256 miles 8 chains (a distance of just over a quarter of a mile). It has been suggested that this location was chosen because there is plenty of water and because it is the only section of line between Settle and Carlisle that is… Read more |
SCRCA Note: The origin of the name "Sheriff Brow Viaduct"Created on 19 Oct 2017. The origin of the name "Sheriff Brow Viaduct" is currently unknown. Illustration of 'Sheriff Brow Bridge' from F. S. Williams (1876). Click / tap on the image to open a larger version.F. S. Williams included a line-drawing of this viaduct in his book "The Midland railway: its rise and progress. A narrative of modern enterprise" (published by Strahan & Co, London, 1876) and labelled it 'Sheriff Brow Bridge' (see extracted image, right). On the Midland Railway Company's distance diagram… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of IAG Excavation Report for Ribblehead Construction Camp Building n6Created on 13 Oct 2017. The excavation In 2007 the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) asked the Ingleborough Archaeology Group (IAG) to undertake a 'mitigation programme' for the archaeological remains of 'building n6' (one of the structures within the Ribblehead Construction Camp). The aims and objectives of the mitigation programme were to: - remove existing rubble within the stone spread to reveal the structure’s external form, - expose any external wall lines and internal features, - provide a… Read more |
SCRCA Note: Map showing the location of 'Victorian railway workings at Ribblehead' in the 1870sCreated on 13 Oct 2017. The map below shows the approximate location of key sites associated with the construction of the Settle-Carlisle Railway in the Ribblehead area during the first half of the 1870s. The map is protected copyright (all rights reserved) and it is displayed here with the prior permission of Nigel J. Mussett. Tip: To view a larger version (JPG format, 620Kb), click / tap on the map. Map showing the location of 'Victorian railway workings at Ribblehead' in the 1870s. © Nigel J. Musset (2017) |
SCRCA Note: PDF version of annotated image for Littledale Limestone QuarryCreated on 9 Sep 2017. A larger version of Bill Fraser's annotated image is available in pdf format via the following link: 248900_2017_WFr_AR_Little-Dale-Quarry_v5 .pdf The text beneath the image reads: In Little Dale the Hardraw Scar Limestone was quarried to provide stone for the viaduct. Here it is around 7 metres thick and made up of individual beds of limestone approximately 40-50 cm thick, separated by thinner layers of mudstone. The thickness of the beds was ideal for the size of stones required in the… Read more |
SCRCA Note: PDF version of annotated image for Force Gill Limestone QuarryCreated on 9 Sep 2017. A larger version of Bill Fraser's annotated image is available in pdf format via the following link: 249290_2017_WFr_AR_Force-Gill-Quarries_v5 .pdf The text beneath the image reads: At Force Gill the Simonstone Limestone was quarried to provide stone for the viaduct. This is a hard, dark blue-grey limestone approximately 4 metres thick made up of a number of individual beds, up to 1 metre thick, separated by thin layers of mudstone. In the highest workings nearly half of the limestone lies… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Dent Head Viaduct (Bridge SAC/77)Created on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extract is from page 501: Alighting from our engine, we stroll forward to look at the next viaduct: it is in the magnificent Dent Valley, the town of Dent being, however, some eight miles to our left. This viaduct is 200 yards long, of ten semicircular arches, rising 100 feet above the public road, and also over a little… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Ribblehead Viaduct (Bridge SAC/66)Created on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extract is from pages 497-498: Image 1 An artist's impression of Batty Moss Viaduct during construction. Meanwhile the task of erecting the viaduct at Batty Moss was laboriously carried on. It stands on the watershed of the Ribble and on Little Dale Beck, and is the largest work on the line, consisting of 24 arches,… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Blea Moor TunnelCreated on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extract is from pages 494-497, 498 and 501: The first work at the tunnel itself was the sinking of the shafts. This was done by the aid of a “jack roll," which is like the windlass over a common well, until horse gins could be got into position; and these in their turn were superseded by four winding engines, placed at… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Rise Hill TunnelCreated on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extract is from pages 506-508: A short distance from the northern end of Cow Gill is Black Moss or Rise Hill Tunnel, one of the largest works on the line. Let us visit it as it appeared when in course of construction. We toil up the steep side of the Cow Gill ravine, and come to a small opening in the side of the hill… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of Lancaster Guardian (22/6/1872) for Rise Hill TunnelCreated on 5 Sep 2017. The following contemporary account appeared in the June 22nd, 1872 edition of the Lancaster Guardian. It recounts a visit by the writer to Black Moss / Rise Hill Tunnel. Being curious to see what was going on in the tunnel, I descended with two of the men number one shaft. The gloom in the rocky excavation, the hammering of drills, the voices of the men and the dim lights of candles gave to the murky scene a novelty that will long be remembered. The tunnel needs no lining with bricks on account… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for the Ribblehead - Blea Moor TramwayCreated on 5 Sep 2017. Image 1 Winch or 'Crab' mechanism for winding chains. A wash drawing by John Cooke Bourne. Science Museum Group Collection Online - Ref: 1990-7255. This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence. The following is a direct quote from pages 493 to 495 of "The Midland railway: its rise and progress. A narrative of modern enterprise" by Frederick Smeeton Williams, published by Strahan & Co London (1876): . . . the work of construction… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for the Ribblehead Railway Construction CampCreated on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extracts are from pages 489-493: Image 1 Line drawing: An artists impression of the 'caravan' known as the Contractors' Hotel, Blea Moor. Four miles from Selside we cross the turnpike that runs from Ingleton to Hawes; and now the heaviest part of the works begins. The changes here made by the construction of the… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Helwith Bridge (SAC/33)Created on 5 Sep 2017. 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 extract is from pages 486: "Here a county road has for many years been carried over the Ribble by a little bridge; but the county authorities refused the railway company permission to make a level crossing, so the public road had to be diverted and conducted over the river and the railway by a viaduct of considerable… Read more |
SCRCA Primary Reference: Review of F.S. Williams (1876) for Sheriff Brow ViaductCreated on 5 Sep 2017. Image 1 Sheriff Brow Bridge, crossing the River Ribble near Stainforth. 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 extract is from pages 486: "A mile beyond Stainforth we for the first time pass over the wide rocky bed of the Ribble by a three-arched bridge. Here the engineers had great difficulty in selecting the best route to be taken; the alternatives being… Read more |