A PIECE of railway history which has been restored to its former glory has triumphed at a national industry awards ceremony.

The Station Master's House at Ribblehead on the historic Settle to Carlisle railway line beat scores of entrants from across the UK and Ireland to win the National Railway Heritage Awards conservation category.

Built in 1875 by the Midland Railway, the house became derelict but in 2013 was sympathetically restored by the Settle Carlisle Railway Trust at a cost of £300,000.

The house now provides an income for the trust as self-catering holiday accommodation for up to six people and joins two other self-catering railway properties the trust owns at Kirkby Stephen.

It was officially opened in April 2013 by Sir William McAlpine, chairman of the Railway Heritage Trust.

Poignantly, the win this week has come in the same year the line celebrated 25 years since its reprieve from closure.

The award was presented by Sir Peter Hendy, the Commissioner of Transport for London, during an awards ceremony at the Merchant Taylor's Hall, in central London.

Jon Blythe, general manager of the trust, said: "We are delighted to win this award and receive the recognition from our peers in the railway heritage sector.

"It's particularly gratifying as we are a very small team and this award is a testament to the way that the trust and industry partners and supporters have worked together to transform what was an isolated, virtually derelict building, into a high quality holiday let.

"It's really encouraging to see so many smaller projects being recognised which demonstrates the inventiveness that is alive in the railway heritage sector across the country."

The National Railway Heritage Awards are in their 35th year and were formed to recognise projects of excellence, from pioneering achievements of national institutions to those crafted with limited resources and budget, or those championing sustainability.