Settle railway station

Settle is a railway station on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds. The station, situated 41 miles 37 chains (66.7 km) north of Leeds, serves the market town of Settle, Craven in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Settle
National Rail
General information
LocationSettle, Craven
England
Coordinates54°04′01″N 2°16′51″W / 54.0669551°N 2.2808342°W / 54.0669551; -2.2808342
Grid referenceSD817634
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeSET
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
1 May 1876Opened as Settle New
1 July 1879Renamed Settle
Passengers
2019/20Increase 0.149 million
2020/21Decrease 27,580
2021/22Increase 0.118 million
2022/23Increase 0.131 million
2023/24Increase 0.134 million
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureOriginal Midland Railway station building
Designated9 March 1984
Reference no.1132349[1]
Location
Settle is located in North Yorkshire
Settle
Settle
Location in North Yorkshire, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The market town is also served by the railway station at Giggleswick, situated about a mile to the south-west; it is on the Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe via Lancaster.

History

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Settle station looking south, showing the ex-North British Railway footbridge
 
Settle signal box

The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.[2] The station was opened with the line on 1 May 1876 and was originally named Settle New to distinguish it from the nearby station on a different route, which was renamed Settle Old at the same time. Settle New was renamed Settle on 1 July 1879, by which time Settle Old had become Giggleswick.[3] Goods facilities were withdrawn from the station in 1970.

The station was Grade II listed on 9 March 1984.[1]

The platforms are linked by an ex-North British Railway footbridge that was formerly located at Drem station in East Lothian, until electrification of the East Coast Main Line made it redundant. It was then dismantled and re-erected here in 1993 to allow the old barrow crossing at the north end of the station to be taken out of regular use; the crossing is still available for wheelchair users when the station is staffed.

The former station signal box, which had been out of railway use since 1984, was relocated further north to be adjacent to the Down platform in 1997;[4] it is open to the public on most Saturdays.[5]

The water tower situated near the station in the former goods yard was converted into residential accommodation in 2011.[6] It has subsequently been featured in several television documentaries.

Stationmasters

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  • J. Smith 1876 – 1879[7]
  • Richard Allcock 1879 – 1883[8]
  • Benjamin Ash 1883[8] – 1905[9]
  • Arthur Reedman Snow 1906[9] – ca. 1911
  • Abraham Fearn ca. 1914 – 1924 (formerly station master at Oxenhope, afterwards station master at Clay Cross)
  • Harold Tilforth 1924 – 1925 (resigned to avoid being dealt with for a cash irregularity)[10]
  • John Banks ca. 1939 – 1946
  • Thomas William Whetten from 1946[11] (formerly station master at Kirby Lonsdale)
  • Harry Robinson
  • James M. Taylor 1959 – 1965 (formerly station master at Horton in Ribblesdale)

Facilities

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The station is located very close to the town centre and is staffed on a part-time basis. There is a range of facilities available, including a waiting room, toilets and a souvenir shop in the main buildings on the southbound platform.[12]

There is a period stone-built waiting room located on the northbound platform and a new stone and glass shelter on the southbound side.

A ticket machine is available for use when the booking office is closed. Train running information is provided by timetable posters, a PA system and digital information screens.[13]

Accidents and incidents

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On 21 January 1960, an express passenger train derailed just to the north of the station (near the village of Langcliffe) and then collided with a northbound freight due to a defect on the BR Standard Class 7 locomotive hauling it. Five people were killed and nine were injured.[14]

Services

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Northern Trains
Route 7
Settle & Carlisle
& Bentham lines
 
Carlisle
 
Armathwaite
 
Lazonby & Kirkoswald
 
Langwathby
 
Appleby
 
Kirkby Stephen
 
Garsdale
 
Dent
 
Ribblehead
 
Horton-in-Ribblesdale
 
Settle
 
 
Heysham Port
 
 
Morecambe
 
 
Bare Lane
 
 
Lancaster
 
 
Carnforth
 
 
Wennington
 
 
Bentham
 
 
Clapham
 
 
Giggleswick
 
 
 
Long Preston
 
Hellifield
 
Gargrave
 
Skipton
 
Keighley
 
Bingley
 
Shipley
 
Leeds

Monday to Saturdays there is generally a two-hourly service southbound to Leeds (nine trains a day in total Mon-Sat[15]) and northbound to Carlisle (eight). The last train of the day from Leeds runs only as far as Ribblehead and the corresponding return to Leeds starts back from there. Trains terminated or started from either Appleby or Armathwaite from the spring of 2016 whilst Network Rail repaired a major landslip at Eden Brows (between Armathwaite & Carlisle). A replacement bus service was in operation over the affected section until the project to repair the line was completed in March 2017.[16] The project was completed on schedule and the line reopened to traffic on 31 March 2017.

On Sundays there are now six trains in each direction throughout the year (including one through train to & from Nottingham); the additional summer service between Preston and Carlisle via Blackburn and Clitheroe (northbound in the morning, returning south in the afternoon) operated by Northern Rail under the DalesRail brand didn't run in 2023. A replacement service on Saturdays from Rochdale via Manchester Victoria and Blackburn is due to start in June 2024, with two trips each way up to Ribblehead. These will be time to connect with Leeds to Carlisle trains to allow access to stations further north.[17]

The new Northern franchise awarded to Arriva Rail North in December 2015 and which started in April 2016, saw modest service improvements from the station implemented from the May 2018 timetable change, with one extra weekday service each way and two extra trains each way on Sundays.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Passenger Buildings and Platforms at Settle Station (1132349)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  4. ^ "SCRCA List Entry Extract for LEN 1412069 | SCRCA". scrca.foscl.org.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Settle Station Signal Box | FoSCL". www.foscl.org.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Settle Station Water Tower". Visit Settle. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  7. ^ "1871–1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 717. 1871. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 57. 1881. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "1899–1908 Coaching; Piece 1026". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 66. 1899. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Bedroom Theft". East Kent Times and Mail. England. 30 July 1930. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "New Stationmaster for Settle". Lancaster Guardian. England. 29 March 1946. Retrieved 14 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Stations – Settle www.settle-carlisle.co.uk Accessed 23 November 2016
  13. ^ Settle station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 28 June 2024
  14. ^ "Locomotive failure near Winchfield 23 November 2013" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  15. ^ Table 42 National Rail timetable, December 2019
  16. ^ "Landslip-hit Settle-to-Carlisle line section shut until 2017" BBC News; Retrieved 7 July 2016
  17. ^ Yorkshire Dales Explorer 2024 Ribble Valley Rail website news article; Retrieved 15 April 2024
  18. ^ "Northern Franchise Improvements – DfT". Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

Further reading

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  • Anderson, V. R. and Fox, G. K. Stations and Structures of the Settle & Carlisle Railway, Oxford Publishing Company, 1986. ISBN 0-86093-360-1.
  • "Settle 'box refurbished after 20 years neglect". RAIL. No. 342. EMAP Apex Publications. 21 October – 3 November 1998. p. 15. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Long Preston
towards Leeds
  Northern Trains
Settle and Carlisle Line
  Horton-in-Ribblesdale
towards Carlisle
  Historical railways  
Settle Junction   Midland Railway
Settle and Carlisle Line
  Horton-in-Ribblesdale