THEO STEEL looks at the prospects for this scene route
The geography and geology of the spectacular Settle to Carlisle railway make this a challenging stretch of line to operate. The Eden Brows formation failure in February 2016 was the latest in a series of challenges the line has faced. The formation was rebuilt to schedule and the line was reopened throughout in March 2017; the cost was £24 million. The tone of the excellent Settle and Carlisle line Development Company website is very positive in terms of the work done by Network Rail, incidentally.
The Eden Brows incident followed landslips in 1995 and 1999 that resulted in derailments (and in the former case, a fatality). Many of the embankments and cuttings are visibly supported and monitored closely.
The line reopened throughout with a spectacular Flying Scotsman hauled special, following a well-publicised Tornado hauled set of scheduled steam workings south of Appleby in February 2017. The national TV news broadcast in February showed the line at its winter best with snow around. One of the strengths of the railway is its contrasting scenery, both by season and along its length, var…
