Settle station in the steam era

Historic pictures, like buses, seem to come along in twos or threes.

This splendid image, from the late 1940s or early 1950s was on display and staring us in the face in a frame at Settle station. Bill Mitchell (see earlier post) thinks he may have taken it.

Of interest are the water tower with its bridge railings still intact,
the water crane at the bottom of the up platform ramp, its water supplied from the tower and the corresponding water crane in the middle distance at the end of the down platform.   Note the brazier by the nearest water crane, lit in winter to prevent freezing.   Horribly inefficient by today's standards.

There is no foot bridge and the tracks and pointwork are as they were in former years. So too the telegraph poles and wires, the wooden shed alongside the station, signals, gas lighting and (visible on the original) a poster advertising Carlisle Races.

Part of the dating evidence is a short length of flat bottomed rail on the up line to the far right - installed at Settle as an experiment.   All the rest is the older bull-head rail.