The Settle-Carlisle Railway, Salveson Paul

But the story of the line is even more enthralling. From its earliest history the line fostered controversy: it probably should never have been built, arising only from a political dispute between two of the largest and most powerful railway companies in the 1860s. Its construction, through some of the most wild and inhospitable terrain in England, was a herculean task. Tragic accidents affected those who built, worked and travelled the line. After surviving the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, the line faced almost certain closure in the 1980s, only to be saved by an unexpected last-minute reprieve.