Steaming Through the Yorkshire Dales

STEAMING THROUGH THE YORKSHIRE DALES

STEAMING THROUGH THE YORKSHIRE DALES

Ray Fincham

Published

This book is dedicated to all who volunteer.

Those engaged in rescuing others on our mountains or at sea must be held in the highest esteem, but on a day-to-day level, let’s applaud the folk who graft behind the scenes to keep ageing steam engines alive and well.

Copyright © Gresley Books, 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-857946-17-8

The right of Raymond Fincham to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Typeset by Druck Media Pvt. Ltd.

Picture credits: All photographs are by the author.

Acknowledgements: Thanks for help in proof reading, technical advice and general encouragement go variously to my son Garrick, his wife Gill, Nick Pearce, Geoff Wales and Denise & Ian Grant. To my wife Lynne goes thanks for encouragement and forbearance during the many months it has taken to research this work and her support throughout the longer period spent capturing, selecting and preparing the images which appear within this publication.

Front cover image: Stanier-designed 4-6-0 ‘Black Five’ No.45231

The Sherwood Forester makes a rousing approach to Garsdale station in command of ‘The Fellsman’ on the train’s return to Lancaster en route from Carlisle. August 2014.

INTRODUCTION

The topography of the Yorkshire Dales has long made travel through the district problematic. Transport links have evolved slowly over millennia to serve locals and travellers from further afield, paths and tracks for those on foot and horseback, pack-horse trails and drove roads for long-distance trade. Over the course of time, roads were made for horse-drawn carriages and carts, improved in the turnpike era when income from tolls paid for their regular repair. The hand of the canal pioneers rested lightly on the Dales, but then came the railway builders. At first, lines crept into the fringes and valleys, primarily to serve the need of local commerce and indigenous populations. Then in the mid-1870s, through this high landscape, came a mainline connecting Settle in the south with Carlisle to the north – a vital link to complete a throughroute between London and Scotland.

Much has been written of the Settle and Carlisle railway and its building, but suffice to say that competition for a direct route from London to the north independent of its rivals motivated the Midland Railway Company to undertake the construction of a line through such challenging terrain. Whatever the genesis of this ambitious engineering project, we have been gifted the wonderful legacy of the railway builders. Those with knowledge of the line will be aware of its many tunnels, bridges, cuttings and embankments, and of the stations and their ornate buildings, but the eye of the casual observer is drawn to the viaducts. First amongst these is Ribblehead which has become a honeypot for tourists, its twenty-four arches rising

magnificently 104 feet above Batty Moss. Other such constructions are of note: Dent Head, Artengill and Dandry Mire viaducts, all major edifices built with considerable difficulty in hostile locations. In fact, the whole route has left an indelible mark, its bold manmade structures contrasting with and enhancing the natural beauty of the Yorkshire Dales.

The future of the Settle and Carlisle railway came under threat in the 1980s, by which time other lines which once served the Dales had been lost. British Rail claimed that the route was no longer financially viable, was little used and that the cost of work required to keep the line open was too great. The plight of the route was raised in the public consciousness, and a long, hard-fought campaign to retain the railway was thankfully successful; by 1989 the future of the line was secured.

In recent years, the popularity of steam-hauled rail tours has grown, and the Settle & Carlisle enjoys its fair share of such services. Throughout the year two or three workings may be observed each month, and during high summer it’s no longer unusual to see a couple or more steam tours each week. It’s these trains and their locomotives which are the subject of this book as they traverse the thirty-three miles of route which lie within the Yorkshire Dales National Park between Langcliffe in the south and a point a little way beyond Crosby Garrett in the north.

Each locomotive featured has its own story, of its manufacture, its service life, and with the single exception of the recently built Tornado, the story of its survival.

Steaming through the Yorkshire Dales

Hellifield, some five miles south of the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundary, is where many rail tours swap their diesel locomotive for a steam engine before working north over the Settle & Carlisle line. In this instance, ex-GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 No.7029 Clun Castle, together with its support coaches, arrives from its home base of Tyseley to be stabled here overnight in preparation for working ‘The Cumbrian Mountaineer Express’ to Appleby on the morrow. April 2023.

Steam locomotives were withdrawn from service at a rapidly increasing rate during the 1960s as they were replaced by diesel and electric traction, and by August 1968 steam had been eradicated from Britain’s mainlines. Fortunately, a good number were saved from the cutter’s torch. Some locomotives were spared because of their historic value or fame, Flying Scotsman being the prime example, purchased from British Railways by businessman Alan Pegler who had reached agreement for running rights on the mainline; or Duchess of Sutherland and Royal Scot each bought by Billy Butlin for static display at his holiday camps. The survival of others however was far more random.

A lucky circumstance had occurred when a South Wales scrapman purchased hundreds of redundant locomotives and thousands of surplus wagons to feed the many smelters thereabouts. By great good fortune, wagons are easier to reduce to scrap than are locomotives, and so, as the workforce laboured to cut up the former, the latter lay gathering rust in his Barry Island scrapyard. These randomly procured engines, bought and sold simply on the basis of their scrap value, gradually increased in worth as they became a scarce commodity and, in the fullness of time, many were rescued, released into preservation one by one as the necessary funds were raised. Over a period of twenty-three years, no fewer than 217 of the 297 engines consigned to Woodhams’ scrapyard were saved, in effect forming the nucleus of the preserved steam fleet in operation today.

Turning now to the challenging terrain through which the railway was driven. The natural geology of the Yorkshire Dales is that of limestone overlaying shale with millstone grit forming the high tops. The last ice age shaped the landscape when glaciers scoured out the U-shaped valleys, leaving the higher points of Whernside Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent for the enjoyment of the present-day rambler.

Human activity has also played its part in shaping the Dales. The working landscape of the area has evolved slowly over the last 6,000 years or so, the relatively recent network of walled fields and field barns being perhaps the most prominent manmade feature of the Yorkshire Dales. The small enclosures seen near settlements in the valley bottoms date from the 17th century, but by the 19th century many of the fells were enclosed, often by long, straight lengths of dry stone wall, open grazing then limited to the loftiest ground. In

recognition of the beauty and unique character of this limestone landscape, both natural and manmade, the Yorkshire Dales was awarded national park status in 1954 to conserve and enhance the area’s natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. In 2016, the National Park grew by almost a quarter, extending west along the Lune Valley and northwards to include Mallerstang, Wild Boar Fell and the Howgills.

Finally, on a personal note, my interest in steam engines and railways in general started at an early age, and in my youth, I was one of the few amongst my trainspotting peers to be equipped with a camera. My interest in railways led to an apprenticeship with the Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineers Department, and I went on to spend the whole of my working life in the railway industry. But steam had gone, and I took little note of the diesel and electric locomotives which replaced them.

Much has changed since my trainspotting days when my camera was used to capture images of sheds full of working steam engines – of Kings, Castles and Halls restarting passenger trains out of Snow Hill, or an 8F trundling through Water Orton with a train loaded with coal for Birmingham. However, when I came to live in the Yorkshire Dales my interest in steam locomotives was rekindled, and I found myself roving the stations and fells in search of a favourable viewpoint when a steam special was due.

It’s not only railways which have changed since my youth; so too has my camera. In those former times, I was very happy when I was able to upgrade from the family Box Brownie to a second-hand 35mm camera of no particular pedigree, and to develop my black and white film in a tiny darkroom set up in the cupboard beneath the stairs. The images herein were captured using basic Canon DSLR cameras, the EOS350D and, latterly, an EOS2000D.

With the advent of digital photography, results can be manipulated in ways unimaginable in the days of emulsion paper, developer and fixer, and although I have resisted the temptation of presenting an idealised image, I have at times indulged the age-old tradition of ‘burning in’ smoke, steam and thundery skies to enhance the atmosphere. The results of my labours are here arranged for the most part in the order witnessed by a traveller heading north over this remarkable section of the Settle and Carlisle line as it rises and falls over the roof of England.

Steaming through the Yorkshire Dales

Almost a hundred years old at the date of this study, and arguably the most famous of all British locomotives, ex-LNER A3 Pacific No.60103 Flying Scotsman leans to the curve on the climb above Langcliffe with a Manchester Victoria–Carlisle rail tour. The train has latterly entered the Yorkshire Dales National Park as it passed beneath the Settle–Ribblehead road. At this point the line is leaving the valley floor behind as it strives to gain the 1,000-feet level, and ultimately the summit of Ais Gill some twenty-three miles to the north. The economy of Langcliffe was originally based on spinning and weaving, but the coming of the Settle & Carlisle railway introduced heavy industry to the village. During 1873, the Craven Lime Company constructed massive kilns to burn limestone using a continuous industrial process, coal for firing being brought in by rail whilst the finished product was taken away by the same means. Work at the kiln complex and its associated quarry ceased permanently in 1939, although the lime kilns remain extant, and are a designated scheduled monument open to the public. December 2021.

the

Steaming through the Yorkshire Dales

Belle’ bound for Liverpool and Manchester. The River

pictured, before passing under its 55-feet high neighbour some 300 yards to the south. In common with many rail tours which work over the Settle & Carlisle route, today’s ‘Northern Belle’ would be steam-hauled for only a portion of the trip. In this instance, Tornado replaced the diesel engine at Carnforth on the train’s outward journey, continuing north along the West Coast Main Line over Shap summit and on to Carlisle. The return service departed Carlisle at 14:20, the train stopping at Appleby before proceeding south, on to Hellifield where the steam engine was replaced by a diesel locomotive for the remainder of the journey. Once discharged from duty, Tornado was booked as a light engine movement to the National Railway Museum’s running shed at York. October 2021.

makes a loop here on its meandering course towards the sea, flowing first beneath the

A1 Pacific No.60163 Tornado crosses the northernmost of a pair of stone-built skew viaducts at Sheriff Brow with

‘Northern

Ribble

25-feet-high viaduct

Steaming through the Yorkshire Dales

Looking resplendent in British Railways’ lined Brunswick green, an ex-LMS 4-6-0 Jubilee Class locomotive makes a spirited approach to Helwith Bridge at the head of ‘The Dalesman’ en route to Carlisle. Identified by its smokebox numberplate as 45627 and confirmed by its nameplate, this is Sierra Leone. However, the number carried on its cab sides is 45562, which belonged to fellow Jubilee Class member Alberta. The reader may know that both these engines were cut up at Cashmores’ scrapyard in Great Bridge in February 1967 and May 1968 respectively, and in fact this is none other than No.45699 Galatea in disguise. The practice of changing engine identities has some historic precedence: for example, No.6152 The King’s Dragoon Guardsman became No.6100 Royal Scot before being shipped to America for display in 1933. However, this recent post-preservation practice of identity swapping is somewhat controversial, and this example of a locomotive bearing conflicting distinguishing marks brings the custom into further disrepute. August 2021.

Steaming through the Yorkshire Dales

Having passed Helwith Bridge, A1 Pacific No.60163 Tornado bounds up the 1:100 incline towards Horton-in-Ribblesdale with a Birmingham–Carlisle rail tour. The train is about to negotiate the trailing turnout from Arcow quarry. Made operational in March 2016, the rail connection was a condition of the National Park’s planning agreement which allowed an extension of the quarrying licence, and is claimed to keep the equivalent of 16,000 lorry journeys from local roads each year. The 750-yard-long quarry spur is connected to the down line only; trains which require access to the up road must first travel north to Blea Moor loop, where the engine runs around its train before proceeding southwards. The presence of quarrying within the National Park is often questioned; after all, most people will be aware that the primary purpose of the Authority is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and heritage of the area. A less-well-known objective is somewhat in conflict with the first: to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities. The Arcow and adjoining Dry Rigg quarries have provided work for people of the surrounding area for more than a century, and continue to do so. October 2021.