A visit to... the Derwent Valley Light Railway

Alongside the Yorkshire Museum of Farming (from the last post) is the preserved Derwent Valley Light Railway.  This was one of the reasons for visiting the place, as I (Ben) needed a few photos as research for a model-making project I'm working on later in the year.

Brief history, the Derwent Valley Light Railway originally opened and ran as an independent light railway from the eastern edge of York out towards another mainline connection at the far end, near Selby.  Opened primarily for agricultural traffic, it ended up carrying something of a variety of different types of goods over the years, from cement to oil to grain.  It was never nationalised and though progressively trimmed-back towards York, it remained a private railway with its own locomotives (in the late 1970's this even included regular timetabled steam-hauled services).

Revenue from the railway didn't justify rebuilding and maintenance in the 1980's, and the owning company became a property developers instead, and the railway and stock were sold.  The Fowler diesel shunter "Churchill" (which previously served the grain sidings at the Layerthorpe terminus), above, was unsold at the closing auction and so donated to the embryonic Yorkshire Museum of Farming, with the short bit of line through their land at Murton Park being kept for it to run on.

A couple of other preservation groups, having been evicted from their own sites by British Rail, came over with their own stock, and they have created a rather unique little line.  Very short, trains run from the marvellously restored former Wheldrake station (originally from further up the line), out alongside the museum grounds and Roman/Wild West fort, under the bypass, and to a very short run-round loop before coming back.  The place is pretty much a full-size model railway, with lots of character, and so in between visiting the Farming side of the museum, we took regular rides on the trains (unlimited rides being part of the entry ticket to the wider site, though the railway doesn't run every day). 

The rolling stock is pretty interesting- smaller locomotives, particularly ex-industrial shunting engines, and the passenger carriage in use on the day was a custom-made 4-wheeler with open verandah ends, allowing the discerning passenger to stand outside, observing the locomotives, leaning on the rail, and watching the world go by...

The run-round loop is a nice feature as, rather than just trundling out and back, you get to witness the process of uncoupling, running-round, and so on.  It also means the two locomotives in service each day are swapped over for each train.

The balcony-ends of the carriage do allow a rather unique viewpoint without recourse to trespass.

Another token low-angle shot from the end of the platform...

A Ruston and Hornsby shunter from a local confectionary establishment (of which York had several), and also some of the very friendly and welcoming locomotive crews/guards who were operating the trains that day.  With a bit of luck this pic is appearing in a railway mag next month, so watch this space...

Out near the Roman/Wild West fort there is a footpath crossing which offers some decent lineside angles...

Though at this point myself and the Youngest Child got caught up somewhat unintentionally in a recreation of a Wild West train robbery, the vols making the most of the Western-style carriage with the open ends...

As with the wider museum, the staff were very friendly and welcoming, the railway complemented the museum nicely, and though some of the locomotives and stock awaiting restoration looked a little tired, the dedicated vols who run the line are fund-raising like mad for a covered loco shed.  The station at Wheldrake is nicely restored (complete with decent second-hand bookshop), the trains eccentric and interesting, and the run out and back short enough for The Childs not to lose interest (quite the opposite in fact, which is how Youngest Child talked her way into sitting in the loco cab back at the station at the end of the day having spent the whole journey chatting with the train guard).

All in all a nice little railway.  They are having some sort of gala later in the summer so with luck we'll be going back, and it has indeed inspired a model making project for later in the year too, which should appear in the other blog...