The Railway over the Stainmore Pass: Post War Boom & Bust on the North Trans-Pennine

Chris Rowley (Network Rail Capacity Planning Director) has a particular affection for the Trans Pennine Stainmore route (Bishop Auckland – Kirby Stephen – Penrith) closed in 1962. He has written an authoritative history of the route, England’s highest main line, which is published in November. The talk will cover the history of the line and its operation, the wider financial crisis that engulfed Britain’s Railways in the late 1950s and why Stainmore became the first strategic cross country route to close in 1962. The presentation will share previously unseen images of the route and technology permitting… a short section of rare Super 8 footage of RCTS operations over Stainmore summit in 1962.