
There are only 3 passengers today. It is not a route that makes money, and Dr Beeching will shut it in a matter of weeks. There is only one carriage now. Two of the passengers are only going to Kirkby Stephen, and the other, a boot salesman, will go all the way through to Darlington.

The driver of the passenger train has already started edging forward out of the tunnel as the Ivatt joins the main line. His loco is a Fairburn 2-6-4, and he has seen the frustration of the car drivers waiting for the gate to open. He doesn't want to hold them up. He'll stay just long enough at Tebay to relax, have a cup of tea and a fag, and then he'll be off again.

On the way out of Tebay now, the Ivatt gets its photo taken by a young trainspotter with his Brownie 127, who gets a wave from the driver.

After Grayrigg, the Ivatt drives past farmer Postlethwaites barn, just as Gyp, the collie, is rounding up the sheep. The little train should get a clear run through to Milnthorpe. They could pull over into a siding at Hincaster if the next southbound train was catching up, but its only the Carlisle to Lancaster local, and it always runs late.
