Legendary steam locomotives to travel through Cumbria this summer

April 13, 2024
Travel

Famous locomotives are due to visit the county throughout the summer as part of the Northern Belle tours along the world-famous Settle – Carlisle line.

Steam locomotive enthusiasts can travel in style in individually decorated 1930s Pullman-style carriages to relive the golden age of British rail transport.

The legendary Tangmere locomotive also hauls the Northern Belle tours (Image: Archive)The Northern Belle’s journey over the Settle-Carlisle line previously featured on Channel 5’s The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys programme.

Narrator Bill Nighy told viewers it was “the grand duchess of luxury travel” and added: “Our plush grand tour has been the experience of a lifetime.”

On that occasion the Northern Belle was pulled by crimson-painted locomotive Princess Elizabeth, which once held the speed record for the West Coast mainline.

The 72-mile Settle to Carlisle line cuts through the northern Pennines and Yorkshire Dales, and was a triumph of Victorian engineering and architecture when it opened in the 19th century.

The route, with its 22 viaducts, including the magnificent 24-arch Ribblehead viaduct, and 14 tunnels, is regularly voted one of the 10 greatest train journeys in the world.

A4 Sir Nigel Gresley passing through Brampton last week (Image: Paul Crabtree)The legendary Flying Scotsman, Princess Elizabeth, which hauled the late Queen’s Jubilee Royal Train and Tangmere are just three of the engines that have operated this famous route with the Northern Belle.

Last year, the Flying Scotsman made a string of visits to Cumbria as the legendary steam locomotive celebrated 100 years since it started operating and became the fastest train on the network.

The Flying Scotsman in Cumbria last year (Image: Paul Grindley)A survivor from the golden age of steam locomotives, 45627 Sierra Leone was also spotted last summer, carrying passengers from Chester over the Settle to Carlisle line.