Derwent Valley Light Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Derwent Valley Railway in Yorkshire, England. For other railways with this name, see Derwent Valley Railway.
| Derwent Valley Light Railway | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | England |
| Terminus | Murton |
| Commercial Operations | |
| Name | Derwent Valley Light Railway |
| Built by | Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) |
| Gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in (1435 mm) |
| Preserved Operations | |
| Operated by | Derwent Valley Light Railway Society |
| Stations | 1 |
| Length | 0.5 miles |
| Gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in (1435 mm) |
| Commercial History | |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Closed | 27 September 1981 |
| Preservation History | |
| 1985 | Light Railway Order transferred to Murton section of line |
| 1990 | Great Yorkshire Preservation Society moves to Murton |
| 1991 | Wheldrake station obtained |
| 1992 | Railway into York converted to Sustrans cycle track |
| 1993 | Railway reopens |
The Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) was a privately owned standard-gauge railway running from Layerthorpe near York to Cliffe Common near Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1913, and closed in sections between 1965 and 1981. Between 1977 and 1979, passenger steam trains operated between Layerthorpe and Dunnington — the entire length of track at that time. In 1993 a small section was re-opened as part of the Yorkshire Museum of Farming at Murton.
Contents |
[edit] History
The south end of the railway, from Wheldrake to Cliffe Common, was built and opened in 1912, with the remainder of the line opening the following year. Although it was constructed primarily as a freight line, passenger trains were introduced from 1913, and during World War I it was used as a diversionary route by the North Eastern Railway between York and Selby. Passenger services ended in 1926, though freight traffic prospered through World War II.
In 1923, most British railway companies were grouped into 4 large companies, with the nearby North Eastern Railway becoming part of the London and North Eastern Railway. However, the DVLR remained independent, and continued to do so even after nationalisation in 1948.
In 1964, British Railways closed the connecting line at Cliffe Common, leaving the DVLR isolated at that end. The line between Wheldrake and Cliffe Common closed in 1965, and by 1973 further cuts had left only approximately 4 miles of track between Layerthorpe and Dunnington on the outskirts of York.
[edit] Steam trains
In 1976, the owners of the railway decided to operate steam trains between Layerthorpe and Dunnington, which was the entire length of the line at that time. A regular summer service started in 1977, with J72 0-6-0T locomotive number 69023 Joem (now preserved at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway) operating the services. By 1979, there were not enough passengers to justify continuing and the service ceased. The railway continued to carry occasional freight trains to Dunnington until 1981, when the line finally closed and the track was lifted.
[edit] Route
The original railway was 16 miles long, and served the following places:
- Layerthorpe
- Osbaldwick
- Murton Lane
- Dunnington Halt
- Dunnington (for Kexby)
- Elvington
- Wheldrake
- Cottingwith
- Thorganby
- Skipwith
- Cliffe Common, which connected with the line from Selby to Market Weighton
[edit] The line today
Until 1990, a small preservation group, the Great Yorkshire Preservation Society, was based at Starbeck near Harrogate. When this closed, the society members relocated to the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, and started to rebuild approximately 0.75 miles of track towards York, including the section under the York by-pass. A new station was constructed using the original station buildings from Wheldrake, and the railway re-opened in 1993.
The line now runs a mixture of 6 diesel and 2 steam locomotives on Sundays and bank holidays.
The track-bed from Layerthorpe to Osbaldwick, along with the former Foss Islands branch in York, has been converted to a foot and cycle path.
