a003 settle to horton in ribblesdale

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The Settle - Carlisle Railway
Settle to Horton - in - Ribblesdale
After crossing Marshfield and Church Street viaducts, the line leaves Settle on a long embankment and for the first time the limestone starts to appear. The line passes Settle Parish Church (Holy Ascension, built in 1838) on its right hand side. In the porch of the church is a plaque commemorating the workers who lost their lives in the building of the line. The inscription reads:- "To the memory of those who through accidents lost their lives in constructing the railway works between Settle and Dent Head. This tablet was erected at the joint expense of their fellow workers and the Midland Railway Company. 1868 to 1876."
	Settle Church and the embankment OS grid reference SD 819639 The embankment at Marshfield in Settle has been said to contain approximately one million cubic yards of spoil. The B6479 road is crossed next and from a cutting in the limestone, the line approaches the site of the Craven Lime Company's Langcliffe Quarry with its unique Hoffman Kiln .
	Skew bridge at Langcliffe O.S. grid reference SD 821653 The embankment here has been cleared of many years accumulation of tree and shrub growth. This process of clearance has taken place at many places along the line and represents a commitment towards clearing the backlog of maintenance arrears which accumulated during the deliberate attempt to run down and close the line in the 1970's and 80's.
	Near Langcliffe Quarry OS grid reference SD 823663 A 2 car sprinter Photographed from the public footpath which passes through Langcliffe Quarry. A footpath leaves the road at grid reference SD 817681 and passes through the fields to the quarry, descending past the Hoffman Kiln and through the council yard. It then follows the line for a short distance and joins the main road at the bridge at SD 823661.
	Near Langcliffe Quarry O.S. Grid reference SD 823660 This bridge gives access to the Craven Council Rubbish tip, which now occupies the abandoned quarry workings of the Craven Lime Company. There were once extensive sidings (Stainforth Sidings) and a controlling signal box serving this quarry. The Midland railway was moving freight from the quarry as early as 1873, three years before passenger services started. A Hoffman continuous firing kiln still remains and can be visited by means of a footpath which joins the road just on the left, through the bridge.
	Stainforth (Taitlands) Tunnel SD 821669 The line shortly afterwards passes under the grounds of the fine house that was to become Stainforth Youth Hostel by means of the 130 yard Taitlands Tunnel. It then follows the River Ribble into the gorge at Sheriff Brow, crossing the river twice in the space of a mile.
	A 2 car sprinter approaches the gorge at Sheriff Brow March 2000 O.S. grid reference SD 818678 There is an excellent vantage point just North of this point, before the line enters the gorge at Sherwood brow. Unfortunately, the farmer who owns the access to it seems to be unfriendly towards railfans and if the large notice and barbed wire across the top of the gate are anything to go by, access to it is denied.
	Sheriff Brow Viaduct - Lower New summer photo 2/07/00 OS Grid reference SD 682815 The lower viaduct over the River Ribble is a much more impressive structure than the upper one, but appears in photographs much less frequently. 174 feet long, 55 feet high, 3 spans.
	Sheriff Brow Viaduct - Upper OS grid reference SD 813685 The upper viaduct over the River Ribble. 165 feet long, 25 feet high, 3 spans.
At this point the line traverses older, highly tilted rocks which crop out in an inlier, produced by the Craven Fault system. At Helwith Bridge are the remains of extensive quarry workings which were all once fully rail-served. Just North of Helwith Bridge the signal box controlled a junction triangle connecting mineral lines from the quarries to the main line.
	Helwith Bridge OS grid reference SD 812695 A General Motors Class 66 locomotive seen heading South with an engineers train (1998). Photographed from the Settle to Wharfe road bridge over the River Ribble, adjacent to the Helwith Bridge Hotel.
	A 2 car sprinter heads north at Helwith Bridge August 2000 On Sundays the Dales Rail workings from Lancashire take ramblers into the dales. At selected stations, ramblers may join guided walks of varying degrees of difficulty or just have a good day out. Bus connections are also laid on to link to Hawes and places all along the line.
	An unidentified Class 60 on the embankment North of Helwith bridge March 1999 The regular working of flue gas desulphurisation gypsum originating from Drax Power Station to the British Gypsum works at Kirkby Thore approaches Helwith Bridge. This working is of the afternoon train returning with the empties after having unloaded at the works.
	The quarry workings North of Helwith Bridge This picture was taken from near the hamlet of Studfold and shows the railway line with the quarries in the background. *The quarry section at Arcow is a very famous one (if you are a geologist) and is used an an illustration of an unconformity.* The limestone can be clearly seen running horizontally along the hillside with the older folded rocks being quarried at a lower horizon.
	An industrial tank engine at Arcow Quarry in the 1960's Copyright Terry Meadowcroft There was a signal box at Helwith Bridge controlling the junction triangle for the Ribblesdale Line Co. sidings. The box opened in August 1896 and closed in September 1969. A couple of these delightful little saddle tank engines survived at the lower quarry right up until the sidings closed. This view was taken looking East towards the main line.
Local features of interest	Horton to Ribblehead
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