THE lives of the navvies who built the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and their families, have been celebrated in a CD of original songs by folk singer Karin Grandal-Park.

Lives on the Line, a collection of six songs, also features Rebecca Clare Douglas, the former head of strings at Giggleswick School, Allan Ideson and Mike Harding.

Karin explained: "Up until recently I’d lived for more than 20 years within a couple of miles of the Settle-Carlisle Railway and during that time I travelled its length many times, never giving a thought to who built it or the complexities of building a railway line across such difficult terrain. I was more concerned with just getting from A to B.

"When Mike Harding suggested a song for me to sing called Alice White, I became fascinated with the lives of the navvies who built the line - their many hardships, their dependents, and the conditions in which they lived.”

Karin's new CD, Lives on the Line, 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 Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“I spent many hours researching the Settle-Carlisle Railway and also what was happening in the 1870s: the politics, fashion, the working classes, the music they liked," said the singer, who started classical voice training at the age of nine.

"This provided me with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to write the six songs. In fact, there was such an abundance of information and stories that I decided to focus the collection of songs around the Ribblehead Viaduct, Blea Moor Tunnel and the Batty Green shanty town.”

Don Gamble, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust's scheme manager, said: “We’re delighted to support this superb collection of songs specially written to remember the lives of the hardy folk who lived, loved, worked and died at Ribblehead, building the extraordinary engineering feat that is the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

"I’m sure that in time the songs will become part of the area’s folklore tradition, and I look forward to hearing them played live in the near future.”

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

To order a copy, visit www.karingrandalpark.co.uk or www.foscl.org.uk