London Midland Steam Skipton - Carlisle

London Midland Steam Skipton - Carlisle.

For those who enjoy bare moorland fells, wild and unspoiled, the section of the former Midland Railway's route to Scotland through the northern Pennines was perhaps the most scenic section of main line in Britain. From Carlisle southwards, the line largely followed the wooded valley of the river Eden as far as the last long climb to Ais Gill summit. There, the true moorland section began through Dent and Blea Moor, amid wide uplands populated only by black-faced sheep. Then, south of Ribblehead and its massive viaduct, another change began to the smaller, stone-walled fields around Settle and the scarred limestone hills from there to Skipton. This was the route of the

"Thames-Clyde Express' which still runs today, diesel-hauled and without any headboard; steam has given way to diesel but the scenery remains unchanged.