Settle to Carlisle line

Today I went on the Settle to Carlisle line on a steam train. People boarded the steam train at various stations, but we got on and off at Preston. This photograph was taken in Carlisle station.

The journey through the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria is supposed to be England’s most scenic railway line. There was almost nothing but rolling hills and wall to wall green, plus a few sheep and cows, but the number of photographers and tripods dotted about the place, especially near the viaducts, made me smile. When the train approached houses, people came out to wave. At first, I thought they were waving to the engine and driver, but this was clearly not the case. There were a lot of carriages and people were still waving after the engine was long gone.

There were three different classes of people on the train: posh people (1st class), super posh people (those in the dining car) and the rest of us at the back. 

On the way home the train came to a stop and we were told that there was a mechanical failure. One of the steam jets wasn’t working – or something like that. A diesel engine was on its way. About 45 minutes later, and when the diesel hadn’t turned up, the driver said that he was going to take a risk and attempt to get the train home under its own steam. It was, for the most part, all downhill. He got the train to Preston but the people from Lancaster had to complete their journey on a normal service train.  

I didn’t take many photographs today as I managed to break the battery compartment cover on the Lumix and the battery kept falling out. I’ve fixed it with tape. My DSLR is in trouble too. Whilst on holiday, I managed to get some marks on the sensor and when I tried to clean it myself, yesterday, I made matters worse. ☹