Stainmore Railway
The Stainmore Railway at Kirkby Stephen East is a heritage operation preserving the station and a short operational section of the former Stockton and Darlington Railway's Stainmore line — the most dramatic of all Victorian cross-Pennine railways, crossing the summit of Stainmore at 1,370 ft above sea level in conditions of winter severity that made it one of the most operationally challenging lines in England.
The Stainmore line ran from Barnard Castle in County Durham across the Pennine watershed at Stainmore Summit and down to Tebay in Westmorland, serving the Eden valley communities and carrying iron ore westward from the Durham iron industry to the Cumberland coast. Kirkby Stephen East was the principal intermediate station on the trans-Pennine section, and its beautifully restored overall roof and stone-built station buildings — recovered from near-dereliction by the Stainmore Railway Company — give the site an architectural quality that makes it one of the most evocative restored station buildings on any heritage railway.
The Eden Valley Railway at Warcop and the Stainmore Railway at Kirkby Stephen East together preserve elements of the same NER trans-Pennine network, and the two sites complement each other as neighbouring fragments of a route whose loss left the North Pennines without any direct east-west railway connection. The landscape of Stainmore itself — bleak moorland, wide skies, and the fell country of the upper Eden — remains largely unchanged from the era when steam locomotives fought through winter snowdrifts to keep the line open.
History
The Stainmore Railway Company was formed in 2000 with the aim of saving the Grade II listed Kirkby Stephen East station building, which had been derelict for decades. After extensive restoration, the building reopened to the public, with track relaid in the platforms and demonstration trains running. Locomotive Cumbria (Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST), formerly named "Wilbert" after the Reverend W. Awdry, has long been associated with the line.
Original line history
The Stainmore route was opened in 1861 by the Stockton & Darlington Railway (later NER) to carry coke from the Durham coalfield to the iron furnaces of Cumberland. It crossed the famous Belah Viaduct, a 1,040 ft iron lattice structure, and reached the highest standard-gauge summit in England. Passenger services ended in 1962, and the line, including Belah Viaduct, demolished shortly afterward, was lost in one of the most regretted closures of the BR era.
Stations and infrastructure
Kirkby Stephen East retains its impressive overall-roofed train shed, a feature unique among surviving country stations of the period. The signal box, water tower and goods shed are also preserved.
Route and stations
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Special events and operations
Open weekends with demonstration trains, photographic charters, model railway exhibitions and special steaming days form the bulk of the operating calendar.
Visitor information
Kirkby Stephen East is on the south side of the town, off the A685, and is distinct from Kirkby Stephen station on the National Network Settle–Carlisle line. Open weekends are advertised on the railway's website.
