The railway route between Settle and Carlisle in the North West of England is one of the most scenic lines in Britain. Crossing moors and mountainside, through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, the line is famous for its spectacular views, its tunnels and its viaducts, not least the legendary Ribblehead Viaduct. This remarkable feat of Victorian engineering was under threat of closure by British Rail in the 1980s. Campaigners fought hard to keep it open and today growing numbers of passengers travel the line, closed stations have reopened and the line carries many steam-operated specials and charter trains as well as regular passenger and freight workings from Settle Junction on the Leeds–Morecambe Line to Carlisle near the England–Scotland border.

In this book photographer John Bentley captures the variety of workings to be seen on this line and its beautiful scenery over the last decade alongside a selection of images taken when the line’s future was in doubt in the 1980s.