Historic Rail Excursions

The rail excursion whilst on holiday gives the opportunity to take a break from the car, and in some cases see parts of the countryside you’ve never noticed before. That’s because you were belting along the motorway and that’s no way to see the green and pleasant land. The early days of rail saw the lines go through some of the best of the countryside, and non more so than the very first steam trains in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The engineers probably never realised that their prowess would come to be admired all over the world. The British rail engineer was some one to behold and the systems in India, Malaysia and Australia owe much to the skills of those pioneers. As time went on Britain became a centre of excellence for all things to with railways, from track to locomotives.

The Settle - Carlisle Railway has train excursions every weekend and train enthusiasts flock to see the restored rolling stock and admire the steam driven engines. It’s a great family day out and one which passes through tunnels and over viaducts on the route across the Pennines. This historic and scenic line began service in 1876, and has survived several attempts to close it down. Helped by a dedicated group of volunteers the train company offers an outstanding journey across some of the finest countryside in England.

The statistics on the viaducts alone is staggering. There are 22 of them with the highest standing 120 foot above the valley, with 11 arches. They were all built between 1870 and 1875. The sheer logistics of building such structures, along with the 14 tunnels make many wonder how they ever achieved such feats at a time when things were built by hand. A rail excursion on the Settle - Carlisle Railway is something which will always be remembered by the kids, and a journey that will last long in their memories.