User Guide

MICROSOFT TRAIN SIMULATOR ENGINEER’S HANDBOOK
THE ROUTES | 82
SETTLE & CARLISLE LINE
Location: Northwestern England
Route length: 72 miles (116 km)
Railway, circa 1930: Midland Railway
Player-drivable locomotive: LNER No. 4472
Flying Scotsman steam locomotive
Locomotive owner, circa 1930: London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)
Locomotive owner, today: Flying Scotsman Railway
Computer-controlled trains on route:
The Royal Scot (Royal Scot Class), Pendennis Castle (Castle Class)
Built in the 1870s to provide a faster route for the growing Midland Railway Company’s traffic between
England and Scotland, the Settle & Carlisle Railway (“the S&C”) is considered the most dramatic train
line in England. The line travels through Yorkshire Dales National Park and into the Pennine Chain,
skirting Lake District National Park to the west.
Hundreds of railroad builders (“navvies”) lost their lives building the line, from a combination of
accidents, fights, and smallpox outbreaks. In particular, building the Ribbleshead (then Batty Moss)
viaduct, with its 24 massive stone arches 104 feet (32 meters) above the moor, caused such loss of
life that the railway paid for an expansion of the local graveyard.
The Midland Company wanted a fast line and specified gradients no greater than 1 in 100, which
meant they couldn’t always take the shortest path from point A to point B, giving rise to the nickname
“the Long Drag.” On a heavy train, a fireman could use up to five tons of coal, and the line was
occasionally used as a test track to compare the motive power of various locomotives under consid-
eration by the railroad. The S&C is a challenging line for the driver and fireman in any weather, but its
challenges are multiplied during spring and autumn windstorms and winter snows.
Train Simulator includes the entire line from Settle to Carlisle as it was in the late 1920s. You’ll pass
through beautiful countryside, where stone walls separate fields of barley, cow pastures, and country
lanes. You’ll need to skillfully control your use of steam as you climb up to the wild Blea Moor, and
then carefully make your way down the grade while keeping your passengers safe and comfortable.
Can you keep up with
Flying Scotsman ’s illustrious history of on-time arrival?