The Runaway Turntable

A True Story from the Annals of the Settle-Carlisle Line

It was a wild afternoon high on the Settle-Carlisle line, the wind came howling down from Wild Boar Fell and across the exposed plateau at Garsdale (still known to older hands as Hawes Junction). It was the sort of day when the moors seemed determined to remind every living thing there who really owned the place.

A locomotive had just finished its run and was being turned on the table ready for the return working. The driver and fireman stood clear while the table was unlocked and the engine eased into position. Then the wind found its chance.

Careering out of Control

It caught the side of the boiler and the high cab like a sail, and with a sudden, violent lurch the whole table began to revolve. What started as a slow, deliberate turn became a rapid spin. The locomotive, several dozen tons of steel and iron, was now whirling round and round under its own momentum, driven by the gale. The crew tried to step forward, but the spinning engine and the blurring motion of the rails made it impossible to get near. One wrong move and a man could be struck or dragged under.

For long minutes the engine careered in circles, the wind whistling through the cab and the bearings of the turntable screeching. The two men could only stand back and watch, half in alarm and half in reluctant admiration at the sheer power of the weather.

An Idea

At last someone had an idea. Ashes from the firebox were shovelled into the pit beneath the turntable and the fine, gritty material packed into the mechanism, increasing the friction until the spinning gradually slowed, then stopped. The locomotive stood still once more, facing the opposite direction, as if nothing unusual had ever happened.

The incident was never forgotten. Not long afterwards a sturdy wooden stockade was built around the turntable, a practical windbreak that became a familiar landmark for generations of railwaymen. On blustery days it still stood as a quiet reminder of the afternoon when the wind itself decided to take charge of a steam locomotive high on the roof of England.

The Settle-Carlisle Line is a spectacular 73-mile railway through the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines, famous for its dramatic scenery, Ribblehead Viaduct, and as one of England’s most scenic main lines. It celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and I shall write a little bit more about its fascinating and rich history in the future.

Thank-you for reading. If you enjoyed this piece (and tolerated my dire attempt at poetry) and would like to support further articles on the wildlife and history of the Northwest, you can buy me a coffee here.

Alex Burton-Hargreaves

(August 2026)