Shap Summit

Shap Summit refers to three different route summits in close proximity, of the A6 road, M6 motorway and the highest point of the West Coast Main Line railway in England, near to the Cumbria village of Shap in North West England, crossing the hills of the Lake District.

[4] The summit of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) (54°29′44″N 2°39′59″W / 54.4955°N 2.6665°W / 54.4955; -2.6665) is 916 feet (279 m) above sea level.

In the days of steam locomotives, the steep gradients of the climb meant that bank engines based at Tebay were often required to assist trains up the incline.

Modern diesel and electric traction has little difficulty in making the climb, although some heavy freight trains and railtours using vintage rolling stock occasionally require double heading.

[6] Another incident occurred in 2010 when a freight train climbing the northbound incline to the summit, came to a halt and then rolled backwards uncontrollably for 2.2 miles (3.5 km), reaching a speed of 51 miles per hour (82 km/h), until the driver was able to bring it to a stop before it caused any damage.