0:00:02 > 0:00:03BBC Four Collections -
0:00:03 > 0:00:07Archive programmes chosen by experts.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09For this Collection, Gary Boyd-Hope
0:00:09 > 0:00:13has selected programmes celebrating Britain's steam railway legacy.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15More programmes on this theme
0:00:15 > 0:00:16and other BBC Four Collections
0:00:16 > 0:00:18are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23NOSTALGIC GUITAR AND VIOLIN MUSIC
0:01:20 > 0:01:23The scenery's absolutely idyllic.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27I mean, it's England, and it seems to me that the locomotive,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and the spirit of the men who worked the locomotive,
0:01:30 > 0:01:35is the best of England, and look! Here, look at it.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It's incredible, it really is - absolutely amazing!
0:01:38 > 0:01:42And the thought passes lightly through my head
0:01:42 > 0:01:45that some people want to close this!
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And they actually want to take this away from us - and this is England!
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And it's the best spirit of England, the spirit of determination
0:01:52 > 0:01:56to get this damn great big engine along the line at tremendous speeds.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01'Settle-Carlisle.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04'For those of you who think that this is something to do with
0:02:04 > 0:02:08'living in that town, you should be informed that Settle-Carlisle
0:02:08 > 0:02:10'is one of the most magnificent stretches of railway line
0:02:10 > 0:02:14'in England, if not the most magnificent.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17'It goes up and over the Pennines, has supreme viaducts,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22'is 72 miles long, reaches over 1,100 feet above sea level,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26'is England's highest main line, experiences terrible weather,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'was completed in 1875, and was the last main line
0:02:30 > 0:02:32'to be constructed in this country by pick and shovel,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34'wielded by a couple of thousand navvies
0:02:34 > 0:02:38'some 200 of whom died in the five-year task.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'But now they want to close this line
0:02:41 > 0:02:45'and shut down a piece of history - the Settle-Carlisle piece.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49'Of course, the men who worked here will regret its passing,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'even if their memories are quite clear of The Long Drag -
0:02:51 > 0:02:53'as they used to call this line -
0:02:53 > 0:02:56'of the days when steam was king,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'of lives dedicated to the Settle-Carlisle.'
0:03:04 > 0:03:08The steam engines - they were the daddy of all engineering
0:03:08 > 0:03:11in my opinion, for the massive things they could pull.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Right from Kirkby Stephen, you could hear the trains coming.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18You couldn't see them, but you could see the smoke drifting away up,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and eventually the old trains used to appear,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24and it used to take them quite some considerable time
0:03:24 > 0:03:25to get to Ais Gill box.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29And the sound was fantastic.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32DEREK SOAMES: I remember the times in steam days -
0:03:32 > 0:03:35you used to love to get an engine coming from the Leeds area,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37which was topped up with good, hard Yorkshire coal,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39and you'd say to the driver,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42"Drop us a bit of coal off," and he'd drop these big slabs of coal,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and you'd just crack them, and we had a big cast-iron stove in those days,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49and feed them in in layers, shut the door, you'd get the stovepipe
0:03:49 > 0:03:54about two foot red...you know, you were well away on those times!
0:03:56 > 0:03:58JOHN GARDNER: They needed a good fire,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00because, well, winter time, when they opened the box
0:04:00 > 0:04:01at six o'clock in the morning,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04it was really, really, really cold.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12GEORGE HORNER: We've had some good times here, yes. Plenty of activity.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Plenty to interest you, you know.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20Particularly afternoons, when you had the freights wanting
0:04:20 > 0:04:24to shunt in the sidings, and you had the through-freights wanting
0:04:24 > 0:04:27to come as well, but many of those were express freights,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30and mixed in with those, of course, were the passengers -
0:04:30 > 0:04:32the Thames-Clyde and those -
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and you'd have the line...the road, clear for those,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37so you had to just watch what you were doing
0:04:37 > 0:04:39as far as timing was concerned.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43At these country stations, you know,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45they were ideal paces
0:04:45 > 0:04:49for learning railway work, because you got a little bit of everything.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51You booked tickets, you booked parcels,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and it was a good education for later on in life.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58The whole system's a family, you know,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and they all worked together. This is...
0:05:01 > 0:05:04So in many parts of the country on the railways,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06it's the old family firm.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I find it particularly strong in areas like this.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I think more so, because you've got to work with your colleagues
0:05:13 > 0:05:17very closely when conditions are bad.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19You know, the success of the job depends on that.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28You can get professional expert railwaymen come on to this area,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30then they've got to learn about the Settle and Carlisle -
0:05:30 > 0:05:32it's totally different.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38OSMOND HUDSON: The isolation, the vastness of the country around it,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and the gradual flow of life.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Although it was out in the wilds, life wasn't slow. It wasn't dead.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50There was always something there,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52even without the running of the trains.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58There was the birds, the curlews, the livestock, the sheep. Everything.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04He's his own man, the Dalesman.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07He's got his own dialect, for a start,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and he's got his own way of thinking.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14I think if you get Dalesmen... yes, they are a different breed.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18They've got to be, for the sort of environment they live in.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Ribblehead Viaduct, of course,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26is placed right at the head of the dale.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29The wind roars in more or less from the sea,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and the first thing it comes to is Ribblehead Viaduct.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And when the wind's in that direction,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39you can walk across Ribblehead Viaduct
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and you can light your pipe without shielding the match.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43The wind'll roar underneath
0:06:43 > 0:06:46and it'll hit the parapet and fly over the top.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Now, once you walk off the end of the viaduct,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53unless you're prepared for it, it'll bowl you down the bank.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'The Ribblehead Viaduct is both the main attraction
0:06:56 > 0:06:59'and the main headache of the Settle-Carlisle.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04'Its 24 arches, some over 100 feet high, are in need of repair,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'perhaps an excuse for wanting to close the line.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16'But the curving viaduct is a listed structure and cannot be pulled down,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19'trains or no trains, and if it has to stand,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'what better purpose can it serve
0:07:22 > 0:07:26'than the one for which it was designed - for supporting trains.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30'And that goes for the rest of the line, for its other viaducts
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'and for all its excellence.'
0:07:39 > 0:07:41When you see structures like Ribblehead Viaduct
0:07:41 > 0:07:45and Arten Gill and Dent Head, and tunnels like Blea Moor
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and Rise Hill, they certainly were engineering feats.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I mean, to someone before the railway was built,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54to walk across these fells,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57he'd wonder how the hell he was going to put a railway
0:07:57 > 0:08:01through here at all, but nevertheless, they did!
0:08:01 > 0:08:04And certainly, it is a monument to those that built it.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Well, they're unbelievable.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09How did they manage to get the stone cut,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12transport it by horse and wheelbarrow?
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It's beyond comprehension, really.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Now a line is served by helicopter.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22That was done on horseback and foot.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25How come they got the tunnels to meet
0:08:25 > 0:08:27after walking so far?
0:08:27 > 0:08:31The traverse between Blea Moor and Dent Head -
0:08:31 > 0:08:35it'd be nothing short of miraculous in those days,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39because nine times out of ten, as the old saying says,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43if you can see the hills, it's going to rain, if you can't - it's raining!
0:08:44 > 0:08:48'We treasure Hadrian's Wall, York Minster
0:08:48 > 0:08:49'and all manner of monuments.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52'So is Settle-Carlisle one of those
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'or just an expensive stretch of track that will have to go?'
0:08:56 > 0:08:59One of the sad things, I feel, is for...
0:08:59 > 0:09:02not so much MY grandchildren, but grandchildren's grandchildren,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05there's going to be an awful gap in history if things like
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Ribblehead Viaduct have gone,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10because we've preserved medieval things,
0:09:10 > 0:09:11and these children are going to say,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14"Well, what did my great-grandparents do?" you know.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17We've spent so much - not that I've anything against it -
0:09:17 > 0:09:20on buying art collections and preserving them,
0:09:20 > 0:09:25and yet letting our own English history disappear.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28'But for every commuter who loathes the sight of trains,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32'there seem to be as many people who can't see enough of them,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34'particularly those with steam.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'British Rail has learned that steam excursions - as pulled
0:09:37 > 0:09:40'by the well-preserved Sir Nigel Gresley - do make money
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'but argues that such tourism is not its job.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:53WHISTLE BLOWS
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'On this particular excursion,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'to see something of what his ministry was closing down,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'was David Mitchell, Transport Minister.'
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Well, I'm a pro-rail minister.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16I'm not ashamed of it,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and I think I've sanctioned more expenditure and investment
0:10:20 > 0:10:24in modernising British Rail than any other minister in a similar period.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29I very much see the railways as having been very much down
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and been the Aunt Sally of public comment,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38now picking themselves up with modernisation with a huge programme -
0:10:38 > 0:10:41electrification, new rolling stock, new signallings -
0:10:41 > 0:10:43to get themselves into the 21st century
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and really be competitive, be attractive,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50not get their business because there's no alternative
0:10:50 > 0:10:54but because people actually want to use their services.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55WHISTLE BLOWS
0:11:02 > 0:11:07'The whole line is now up for sale, including the ten stations
0:11:07 > 0:11:11'still operational, and those that are no more than decayed grandeur,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14'showing the pride that used to be, as at Hellifield.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16'Instead of being vandalised,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'the place could become station number one, en route to Settle
0:11:19 > 0:11:23'and Carlisle, and this remnant of the Midland Railway,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27'which was incorporated within the London, Midland and Scottish in 1923,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32'could once again flourish like the Midland Railway of old.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34'The line does still exist.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37'So does its equipment, signals and signal boxes,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40'and so does the tradition of the Midland Railway Line.'
0:11:41 > 0:11:44We like to think, if anybody said, "Which line do you work on?"
0:11:44 > 0:11:46it's still the Midland.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49After all these years, we still think of it as the Midland,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51even though the Midland finished in '22.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And we've taken a pride in keeping the signal box
0:11:54 > 0:11:57at Settle Junction as the Midland had it.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01It is maroon board with white letters.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I always get up in the morning around about ten past five,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09when I'm on early turn, to be here for six.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12The dog's downstairs, and it knows which turn I'm on,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15because on early turn, it comes with me, on late turn, it comes with me,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17on nights, it stops at home with the wife.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19When I'm ready, it's ready.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23And it comes with me and it'll sit in the box all day long,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25and as soon as it hears my mate's car - he can pick it up
0:12:25 > 0:12:27further back up the road - he'll know the sound
0:12:27 > 0:12:32of his own car, and it'll be stood up ready for going home then.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34BELL RINGS
0:12:41 > 0:12:44When you passed out as a young lad to be a signalman
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and you walked in for the first time, you began to think,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50"Well, it's my little kingdom is this.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53"Nobody else. It's private, it's mine,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56"and I'm the boss of this section of line now."
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I think that goes with you all the way through your signalling life.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03It is your little place.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08We still have two of the original Midland instruments
0:13:08 > 0:13:11which has brass centre and brass names on.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14We take a pride in keeping the last little bit
0:13:14 > 0:13:16of the old Midland shining.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20It's like anything else -
0:13:20 > 0:13:24once you're used to it, it seems fairly automatic.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25I get people sometimes,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28they'll call at the box and they'll look at all the levers
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and they'll say, "How do you know which to pull?"
0:13:30 > 0:13:33So I always tell them the same thing, "What'll come - pull it!"
0:13:33 > 0:13:36But it isn't a faff like that.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38It's all interlocked nowadays.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46TRAIN APPROACHES
0:13:49 > 0:13:51You get to know the drivers.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53The signalmen put their hand up to the driver, and the driver
0:13:53 > 0:13:56either gives you a toot or he puts his hand up and waves back.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58The majority of them we know.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Some we only know by sight, but it's a friendly wave,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and you just think, well, there's somebody there that recognises me.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12One of things which hasn't perhaps had the spotlight
0:14:12 > 0:14:15put on it as much as it warrants
0:14:15 > 0:14:19is the sheer dedication of British Rail staff -
0:14:19 > 0:14:22signal staff, perhaps, playing an unseen role,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25as well as drivers and others,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28all of whom make up the team that runs British Rail,
0:14:28 > 0:14:30and there is a long tradition there.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33One finds, many men I talk to on the railways,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35their father worked on the railways before,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and they've spent the whole of their lives working on the railways.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41There's not only a love of the railways
0:14:41 > 0:14:43but there is a dedication to ensuring that they operate properly.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It's ridiculous. It's only a machine,
0:15:00 > 0:15:02but it's got tremendous rhythm.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04It's got vitality
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and it's got a man shovelling away.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09I know what's going on at the front.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12There is a man working so hard up at the front there,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16shovelling away to get me along the track,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and the engine's putting out this wonderfully responsive sound.
0:15:19 > 0:15:25He's responding to the man who's working at his job, sweating,
0:15:25 > 0:15:30hot and not giving up - hammering away. It's wonderful!
0:15:32 > 0:15:37I was a signalman on Western region. I was a Great Western man.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41And I was fascinated to discover a new railway,
0:15:41 > 0:15:47um...and to learn how other railwaymen ran their railways.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51And to discover the hardships that they had to put up with on this line.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55And how they loyally came to work, day in, day out, winter and summer.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00We're here on a lovely sunny day. Those men got up anywhere.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04The deep snow, freezing rain, and cycled here, walked here.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Don't forget, long before motorcars came,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10these men were coming here to work.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14One minute, it can be all right.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15The next minute, it can be all different.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19In a matter of quarter of an hour, 20 minutes, it can change,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22just like that. Oh, yeah.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23On the Friday, on the 1st of June,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I was going up for six o'clock, early start,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and we'd a clear, white frost.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35And I just said to my mate, I said, "It sounds crackers, but it looks
0:16:35 > 0:16:39"as though it'll snow." He said, "I know it's crackers, but it does."
0:16:39 > 0:16:42And it started to snow and it put about three inch down right sharp.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46It snowed like the deuce. Snowflakes like half crowns.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51And then it give over about half past eight, nine o'clock,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55it gave over. And...the sun came out.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57At half past ten, quarter to 11,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59it had all gone, and I came home in short sleeves.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09If you get a clear, sunny day at Blea Moor, you can see for miles.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14And...apart from the trains going by, it's very, very quiet.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23You get the feeling of tranquillity up there now.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Very, very quiet.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27You're out on the fells, you hear nothing -
0:17:27 > 0:17:30only maybe the odd sheep bleat
0:17:30 > 0:17:33or the fell birds, the curlews and things like that.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36And, yes, you're far remote from the madding crowd,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37certainly, up there.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41WHISTLE BLOWS
0:17:51 > 0:17:53They were tough men.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58They had to be tough men because of the geographical location
0:17:58 > 0:18:00of the drag, the climatic conditions.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03When I first discovered the place,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and I was absolutely amazed that such a railway existed,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08coming from Great Western territory.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12I'd never dreamt that railways could even look like this.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:25 > 0:18:27When you consider the Settle-Carlisle,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29you're talking about people.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32People under stress, people challenged, the wilderness.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36And, of course, the best bit of the Settle-Carlisle is that wilderness
0:18:36 > 0:18:41area from Ribblehead through to Garsdale, on to Ais Gill,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44where you can walk through peat bogs,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46you can have your legs whipped by heather,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and then you suddenly look up in this wilderness
0:18:49 > 0:18:54and you're aware of a top-class train travelling along with people
0:18:54 > 0:18:58lolling about and perhaps having meals or reading newspapers,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and you get this sudden little dash of civilisation
0:19:01 > 0:19:04in an area where everything is still so primeval.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11SILENCE
0:19:24 > 0:19:29There are countless miles hacked through solid rock,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33mile after mile, done in the most appalling weather.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The men who built this railway line weren't the same people as us.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39They couldn't have been, could they?
0:19:39 > 0:19:41They must have been so much stronger and tougher.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44WHISTLE BLOWS
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Lots of people use the railway line.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Um...and at the moment,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23the people who want to shut it are even saying that,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26"Oh, well, they're only tourists."
0:20:26 > 0:20:30But they pay their money and they come here.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33And they use the railway and they keep it going,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37so that we've got this wonderful reminder of what our forefathers did.
0:20:37 > 0:20:44Surely no-one who bats for Britain would want to get rid of this?
0:20:44 > 0:20:48And this locomotive and the whole thing that it stands for.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52This is a Victorian value, this railway is a Victorian value.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59DAVID MITCHELL: It's one of the most historic railways in the country.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01It's the last one built by pick and shovel.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05It runs through the most superb scenery.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08And over 60% of the people who ride on it
0:21:08 > 0:21:12ride for the sheer pleasure of seeing that scenery
0:21:12 > 0:21:14and enjoying the ride.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19We don't think that it's necessarily right, that that is an activity
0:21:19 > 0:21:22which should be subsidised any more than other pleasures
0:21:22 > 0:21:25which one goes to
0:21:25 > 0:21:28in the way of tourist attractions are subsidised either.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34I would like to feel that the line
0:21:34 > 0:21:36would continue as part of British Railways.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I think this is absolutely essential.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40The proposal at the moment, of course,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43is, in a measure, to privatise it. I think this would be very sad,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46because it would no longer be an honest railway,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49part of the system, doing a good job
0:21:49 > 0:21:53in carrying passengers as part of a network.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55British Rail mustn't misunderstand us.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59It isn't that we're against them. Quite the contrary.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Those people who've come forward from all over our country
0:22:02 > 0:22:04have been people who make use of British Rail.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06I'm a regular rail user.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10It isn't that I'm simply involved in a campaign against British Rail,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12quite the contrary.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16And now that there is the prospect of a private operator,
0:22:16 > 0:22:17those of us who are involved
0:22:17 > 0:22:21are cooperating to make that a success too.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Because whoever owns it, we want to see it in operation.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29For instance, we get parcels from all over the country, and if people,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33other firms, won't take them to the station, we get Red Star to collect.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35So, I mean, for Red Star and British Rail,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39it's parcels and money revenue coming in from all over the country,
0:22:39 > 0:22:44besides us sending them from here, so it's...very important to us.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Nobody wants to see it shut.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54This line is the most direct line from the Midlands
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and West Yorkshire to the North.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02People come from Scotland, Wales, London. They come on a round trip.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06So British Rail are bound to lose revenue from all over the country,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10because they're coming here to ride on this most spectacular line.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13'In their fight against the impending closure,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15'the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line Association
0:23:15 > 0:23:18'have been campaigning for more business,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20'collecting thousands of signatures
0:23:20 > 0:23:24'and encouraging visitors to come and see and use what might go for good.'
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- Are you drawing up? - I'm drawing up.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Nobody on?
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Right, away when you're ready, then.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36We mounted the campaign because this railway line is so important
0:23:36 > 0:23:40for the people of the localities between Settle and Carlisle.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44It's an essential tourist route, in addition.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45And from that, of course,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48the communities derive an enormous financial benefit,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50as we can see from our guesthouse logbooks.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53We've had a gentleman staying with us that was on the committee
0:23:53 > 0:23:58of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and he said he did...
0:23:58 > 0:24:03a survey on it and he said that it is making money. It is.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07And if they put more trains on, which they've cut a lot down now,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11if they put more trains on, then they could be filled.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14ENGINE NOISE DROWNS CHAT
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Thank you.
0:24:19 > 0:24:20Did you make 'em?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23No, no, but they're made locally, though.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26They're very nice.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28We've got a beaker to give to the driver.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31- Pardon, who? - The driver.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33- Yes. - Are you the driver?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Yes. - There you are, look.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Thank you very much.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38Kind lad. Thank you.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'A stop for water - and tea and cakes - at Garsdale,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46'just before the summit at Ais Gill.'
0:24:46 > 0:24:48THEY CHATTER
0:24:50 > 0:24:53'It was surely occasion for lynching the minister
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'who had announced the closure. But his obvious enthusiasm
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'for this piece of England warmed even the enthusiasts.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04'Perhaps his keenness was the end of him, as he was soon to be reshuffled,
0:25:04 > 0:25:09'given a knighthood and permitted to resign for family reasons.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13'Ministers may come and go, but will the line survive, find a backer
0:25:13 > 0:25:17'and get the support it needs from those who believe that the majesty
0:25:17 > 0:25:19'of a steam train's departure on such a line
0:25:19 > 0:25:22'just cannot be allowed to die?'
0:25:27 > 0:25:29WHISTLE BLOWS
0:25:43 > 0:25:45SHEEP BLEAT
0:26:02 > 0:26:04SHEEP BLEAT
0:27:21 > 0:27:26When it comes to the future, I'm afraid...finance comes into it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29It is a beautiful railway.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But if there isn't money going through the ticket halls,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35it's a shame,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39and I can't see why stuff can't be diverted to the railways.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43It went once upon a time. Surely it'll go again.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I've been on 43 years now
0:28:02 > 0:28:07and, er...I would like to think that I could manage another seven.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10I hope that the Settle-Carlisle keeps going.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13It'd be nice to think I'd got 50 years in one firm.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23As far as I'm concerned, I've done quite a lot of years on the railway.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27I think we've come to a situation now where new ideas are coming in.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32Quite frankly, I think that people like myself tend to hang back
0:28:32 > 0:28:35to the old ideas, rightly or wrongly.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38And I think it's probably time we were going
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and let some of the younger lads have a go!
0:28:41 > 0:28:44I don't think our ideas would probably fit in very well
0:28:44 > 0:28:46with the new order, but...
0:28:46 > 0:28:49one's got to face progress, I suppose.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59We're friends of the line.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03And people like myself who live locally
0:29:03 > 0:29:08have been rail users and friends of the line for a lifetime.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Perhaps it IS too sentimental, but I'm not ashamed of that.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14It's a lovely line,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and perhaps we're having a love affair with it - why not?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It must stay open. It's got to stay open. It can't close.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25It's too important to people like ourselves.