A VIDEO that celebrates the lives of the men and women who built the Settle-Carlisle Railway in the 1870s has been released by well-known folk singer, Karin Grandal-Park.

‘Lives on the Line’ features sound bites from the successful CD of the same name as well as live performances of several songs from the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct, near Ingleton.

The project is part of Stories in Stone, a scheme of conservation and community projects concentrated on the Ingleborough area.

The scheme was developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership, led by the Clapham based Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT), and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Karin said: “I lived for a number of years within a mile of the Settle -Carlisle Railway. I travelled on it many times, never really thinking about, or understanding the massive human effort involved in building it.

“This project gave me the opportunity to explore the history of this amazing engineering feat.”

She added: “More importantly for me, it gave me the chance to find out more about the Navvies: their lives, their families, how they lived and how they died. My songs are a reflection of my journey to know more.”

The video also features Mike Harding and Karin having a conversation about the lives of the navvies and the inspiration for the songs.

Navvies were the manual labourers working on civil engineering projects that propelled the Victorian industrial revolution. The term came from a shortening of ‘Navigator’, a job title for those that dug out the numerous canal systems of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Michaela Brennan, YDMT’s project officer, said: “The Settle Carlisle Railway has a fascinating history and has inspired many artists and musicians such as Karin.

“We are delighted we could build on the success of Karin’s Lives on the Line CD by funding a video featuring her songs and a fascinating discussion with Mike Harding about the lives of those who built it.

“It will be a legacy of the project for years to come.”

Karin wrote and performed the songs, supported by Rebecca Clare Douglas. a former Head of Strings at Giggleswick School, Allan Ideson and Mike Harding.

The CD also features Karin’s version of Alice White, written by Alan Bell.

The CD costs £5 (plus £2.50 postage and packaging) and part of the proceeds will be donated to the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line.

It is available from Karin’s website www.karingrandalpark.co.uk, the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line website www.foscl.org.uk and local outlets.

You can view the video here https://youtu.be/_ZM7digS5wg

To date the YDMT has helped to deliver inspiring projects worth around £28 million in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas.

These projects cover areas as diverse as countryside apprenticeships, supporting local communities, education and outreach, restoring woodlands and wildlife habitats, and improving access and understanding of this special place.

Work is currently taking place by Network Rail on ‘significant repairs’ to the viaduct. which is also known as Batty Moss.

Owners Network Rail came forward in April with a plan to re-point eroded mortar joints and replace broken stones on the 24-arch, 400-metre-long, 32-metre-high Grade two star listed structure.

It has taken months of painstaking work to refine the plans, including laboratory analysis of ten samples of mortar from the viaduct to ensure that the mix used in the repair will be as close to the original as possible.

Network Rail has said the works will cost £2.1 million and take place from now until the end of February.