The Settle to Carlisle Railway was the last great mainline railway to be built in this country. Completed for passenger travel in 1876 by the Midland Railway Company, it had taken six years to build. For the 19th century engineers, the landscape presented a tremendous challenge to their ingenuity, skills and abilities.

Consisting of 72 miles of track with 17 major viaducts spanning the ravines and 14 tunnels, the line was constructed by men who lived a harsh life in shanty towns, with little to supplement their manpower except dynamite. Advertised as the most picturesque route to Scotland, the Victorian and Edwardian travelling public took it to their hearts.

Occasionally private operators organise steam-hauled trains on the line.