Snowdrift at Bleath Gill

Snowdrift at Bleath Gill is a 1955 British Transport Film documentary directed by Kenneth Fairbairn. The 10-minute-long film presents a first-hand account of a team of British Railways workmen freeing a goods train stuck in a snowdrift on the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway at Bleath Gill in the Pennines on the border between County Durham, Yorkshire and Westmorland. A fine example of an industrial documentary, the British Film Institute call it "One of the most outstanding films of its kind".

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Barras railway station

Barras railway station was situated on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Barnard Castle and Kirkby Stephen East.

Barras, Cumbria

Barras is a hamlet close to the River Belah, about 4 miles (6 kilometres) south-east of Brough, Cumbria, England. Until the creation of the new county of Cumbria, Barras was situated at the eastern edge of the historic county of Westmorland. The hamlet is located at approximately 1,100 feet (340 metres) above sea level. From 1861 until 1962 it was served by Barras railway station on the Stainmore railway line between Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle.

Stainmore Summit

Stainmore Summit is the highest point on the trans-Pennine South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway, also known as the Stainmore Railway in Northern England. Located on Stainmore between Barras and Bowes stations, the railway over the summit was the highest in England at 1,370 ft (418 m) until its closure in 1962. The location was marked by a famous cast-iron sign which is now preserved. It was formerly held at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum but has since moved to the New Hall at the National Railway Museum in York, North Yorkshire. Whilst there wasn't a station at Stainmore, trains did halt here to let relatives of the railway workers on and off the trains to enable them to get transported off the summit. The railway had several cottages at the summit. This pass is commonly referred to by geographers as the Stainmore Gap.

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Battle of Stainmore

The Battle of Stainmore was a conflict between Eric Bloodaxe and opponents possibly led by Oswulf I of Bamburgh or a Maccus son of Olaf. Eric had previously been invited by the Northumbrians to rule as their king and had come into conflict with King Eadred of England, on whose behalf Maccus may have been acting. Eric's death at Stainmore led to the end of the independence of Scandinavian York, with Oswulf becoming earl of Northumbria and ruling on behalf of Eadred.