Yesterday, the Green Signals podcast with Richard Bowker featured a special on the Settle and Carlisle Railway.
This episode covered a wide range of aspects of its recent history, particularly the story of it being saved from closure and now thriving as a tourism hotspot due to the amazing views available from the line, as well as the survival of many beautiful historic stations on the route.
The most interesting element looking into the future for me was the interview with former Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line (FoSCL) Mark Rand, who had the helm from 2005 to 2010.
In the interview, he suggested that even naming the route ‘The Settle and Carlisle Line’ may itself limit the perception the route as an option for using it as just part of a longer distance through route; citing the example of people in Leeds driving towards Settle to travel over the route, despite the same train they’ll catch beginning its journey at Leeds station.
Similarly, when the Midland Railway built the line, it was intended as part of a whole London – Glasgow route, and was built to then mainline standards, another argument that Mark puts forward is also to allow increased speeds of trains over the route to make journey times more competitive.
My tuppence on the railway is also how it connects to other lines, particularly the northern end of the line, where the line currently converges into Carlisle alongside the Tyne Valley Line; but could a new curve to allow a direct route between Newcastle and Settle via Hexham and Ribblehead be a way forward?
A new Scotby Curve?
As can be seen from the image above, the West Coast Main Line (WCML), Settle and Carlisle Line (S&C), and Tyne Valley Line (TVL) all converge and run into Carlisle for the most part; a small curve does exist just south of Carlisle to give some WCML to TVL & S&C connection, but the use of it is presumably fairly limited.
However, no such link exists between the Settle and Carlisle Line and the Tyne Valley Line, but in my opinion, such a link being built could be a massive asset to both lines on a number of fronts.
A small curve near Scotby, approximately where the M6 crosses over both lines could offer a direct south-east link between the two lines, and mark a small, but significant improvement in connectivity.
Tourism on ordinary rail services
Arguably one of the greatest assets of both the Settle and Carlisle, and the Tyne Valley Lines is their tourism potential, the stunning scenery and drama of the S&C being an obvious one, whilst the Tyne Valley runs mostly parallel to Hadrians Wall, with less dramatic but still beautiful countryside along its length.
Connecting both routes together would be, in my view completely complimentary as an experience; from Newcastle Central (or perhaps from the Northumberland Line to take in Northumberland Park, and this allowing a more direct connection for cruises and North Sea ferries), the train would then head west along the Tyne Valley Line, through picturesque places like Wylam (the birthplace and childhood home of George Stephenson), Hexham and many more, before curving south at Scotby, and making its way south towards Settle.
The current journey time from Newcastle to Wetheral aboard a Northern train is around 1hr 25min at most, and 1hr 38min to reach Carlisle on the same train, so a new junction near Scotby, about halfway between Wetheral and Carlisle would be reached around 1hr 30min after Newcastle, and would join the S&C headed toward Cumwhinton and Armathwaite.
The leg from Carlisle to Settle on a Northern train again takes around 1hr 38min, so assuming a few minutes reduction would put the overall Newcastle Central to Settle via Hexham and Armathwaite journey at around three and a quarter hours at most assuming this new chord was to be built, with trains likely to be faster than this in many cases.
This relatively small change could make access to the S&C from the east coast far easier; people on holiday in Newcastle, up or down the east coast, or spread along the Tyne Valley could more easily take the train onto the S&C and visit places along the route, or vice versa people staying along the S&C could take a day trip to Hadrians Wall, or across to visit attractions in the North East such as Beamish, the Tanfield Railway, Alnwick Castle or Cragside, rather than needing to change train at Carlisle.
Freight
One key use for this potential route could be freight, as such a route would offer the ability to more easily use this line to operate freight trains from the North West to the North East, and would potentially fill a gap that Mark Rand and Richard Bowker identified for freight on the northern section of the S&C, and also adding a useful flow onto the Tyne Valley Line too.
A close example of such a flow is the planned (but as yet unused) path of the similar 6M80 North Blyth GBRf to Shap Summit Quarry GBRf aggregates trains that run over the Tyne Valley Line, and would presumably be running over the direct WCML to Tyne Valley Line curve south of Carlisle.
Images taken from Realtime Trains 6.5.26
Railtours
Another clear market for a direct link between the Tyne Valley Line and the Settle and Carlisle could be for railtour operators, offering a pair of quieter routes potentially well suited to steam or heritage diesel traction but largely avoiding busy mainline stations such as Carlisle for reversal (and the need to turn a locomotive, esp steam).
For example a steam railtour perhaps starting at Keighley on the heritage line could run direct towards Skipton and the S&C, take the new Scotby Curve, then run towards Newcastle Central, then use the Northumberland Line to Bedlington, the line across to Morpeth, taking a pause in the sidings for coal and water, before a dash down the ECML back to Newcastle, and back west to head back to Keighley, with no need to detach the loco to run round en-route.
Similarly, this combined S&C + Tyne Valley Line route could form part of much longer railtour routes to/from Scotland, for example a tour from the London or the Midlands to Scotland might run via Settle and Hexham to Newcastle, before taking the ECML to Edinburgh and beyond.
Just thoughts, but possible ones to be taken up if the infrastructure was put in place?
Diversions
Another important aspect of this potential route would be diversionary use in the event a route such the ECML north of York would be the potential to run diversions via the Tyne Valley Line and S&C.
The Tyne Valley line has long had diversions for Newcastle to Scotland services when the ECML is closed north of Newcastle, as shown below with LNER services via Dunston by GarethsTravelVideos on YouTube
Scotby Curve: a low cost, high value connection?
For the relatively modest cost of a new curve being built at Scotby, the value of such a connection could be massive; it would assist not only the Settle and Carlisle, but also the Tyne Valley Line, and indeed the wider rail network to be much more useful by widening the number of direct route options significantly between the North West, West Yorkshire, and North East via the S&C and Tyne Valley Line which is almost certain to bring new rail services, passenger ones to serve such a scenic and picturesque pair of routes, but also another potentially useful option to route railfreight over to avoid busier routes like the ECML north of York onto potentially underused lines like the S&C, easing problems on one line, and securing the future of another.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Ryan Hogg 