Derwent Valley Light Railway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Derwent Valley Light Railway |
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| The Blackberry Line | |
Train shunting on the DVLR
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| Locale | England |
| Terminus | Murton |
| Coordinates | 53°57′46″N 1°00′35″W / 53.9629°N 1.0096°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Derwent Valley Light Railway |
| Built by | Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Operated by | Derwent Valley Light Railway Society |
| Stations | 1 |
| Length | 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1912–1913 |
| 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 converted to Sustrans cycle track between York and Osbaldwick |
| 1993 | Railway reopens |
| 2013 | DVLR marks 100 years of original full route opening |
The Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) is a special railway in North Yorkshire, England. It's also known as The Blackberry Line. This railway was unusual because it was always owned by private companies. It was never taken over by the government, unlike most other railways in Britain.
The DVLR ran between Layerthorpe (near York) and Cliffe Common (near Selby). It opened in two parts, in 1912 and 1913. The railway closed in different sections between 1965 and 1981. From 1977 to 1979, you could even ride steam trains on part of the line. In 1993, a small section of the railway was reopened. It is now part of the Yorkshire Museum of Farming at Murton.
The railway got its fun nickname, The Blackberry Line, because it used to carry lots of blackberries. These berries were transported to markets in Yorkshire and London.
Contents
History of the Derwent Valley Light Railway
The first part of the railway opened on 29 October 1912. This was the southern end, from Wheldrake to Cliffe Common. The rest of the line opened on 19 July 1913. The railway was mainly built to carry goods, like farm produce. But passenger trains also started running in 1913.
The Railway During Wartime
During the First World War, the railway was very useful. It was used as a backup route by the North Eastern Railway. This helped trains get around if their usual routes were blocked. Passenger services stopped in 1926. However, carrying goods became even more important during the Second World War.
Staying Independent
In 1923, many British railway companies joined together into four big groups. The nearby North Eastern Railway became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. But the Derwent Valley Light Railway stayed independent. It even remained private after the government took over most railways in 1948. This made it quite unique!
Changes and Closures
By 1961, the railway usually ran only one train journey each day. In 1964, another railway line, the Selby to Driffield Line, closed. This meant the connection at Cliffe Common was no longer needed. Because of this, the DVLR became cut off at its southern end.
The railway then ran only from the Layerthorpe end. But there wasn't much goods traffic from the southern part of the track. So, the railway decided to close the section between Wheldrake and Cliffe Common in 1965. The section from Wheldrake to Elvington closed in 1968. By 1973, only about 4 miles (6.4 km) of track remained. This was between Layerthorpe and Dunnington near York. The last passenger trains ran along the whole line in January 1965.
The Final Years of the Original Line
In 1976, the railway's owners decided to try something new. They started running steam trains between Layerthorpe and Dunnington. This was the only part of the line still open. A regular summer service began in 1977. A special steam locomotive, number 69023 Joem, pulled these trains.
However, by 1979, not enough people were riding the trains. So, the passenger service stopped. The railway continued to carry goods trains to Dunnington until 1981. This was when the grain driers at Dunnington closed. This meant the railway lost its main source of goods to carry.
The railway also needed a lot of repairs. Most of its tracks and buildings were still the originals from 1913. But the owners decided that there wasn't enough demand for freight. So, they chose to close the line completely. The very last train ran on 27 September 1981.
Preserving the Railway's History
Before 1990, a small group called the Great Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society worked to save parts of the railway. They moved to the Yorkshire Museum of Farming. There, they started to rebuild about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) of track. This included a section that goes under the York by-pass.
They even built a new station using the original buildings from Wheldrake station. The railway officially reopened in 1993. Today, the line runs different diesel locomotives. You can visit on Sundays and bank holidays.
Part of the old railway track, from Layerthorpe to Osbaldwick, is now a foot and cycle path. It's part of Sustrans route 66. There are ideas to extend the railway towards Osbaldwick in the future. However, there are no official plans for this yet.
What Was the Original Route Like?
The original railway line was about 16 miles (26 km) long. It served many different places, including:
- Layerthorpe
- Osbaldwick
- Murton Lane
- Dunnington Halt
- Dunnington (for Kexby)
- Elvington
- Wheldrake
- Cottingwith
- Thorganby
- Skipwith
- Cliffe Common, which connected to the Selby to Driffield Line
Trains and Locomotives (1913–1981)
At first, trains on the DVLR were pulled by locomotives owned by the North Eastern Railway. Later, these became part of the LNER and then British Railways.
The railway bought two special railcars in the 1920s for passenger services. Here are some of the trains the company owned back then:
| Description | Wheel Arrangement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rail Lorry | 0-4-0 | Tested in 1923, but didn't work well. |
| Railbus (2) | 0-4-0 | Built on Ford chassis. Used from 1924–1926. Sold because road buses were more popular. |
| Sentinel | 0-4-0T | Used on DVLR from 1925 – 1929. |
Between 1929 and 1969, the line again used locomotives from the main railway companies. In 1969, the DVLR decided to buy its own diesel shunting locomotives. These were from the British Rail Class 04. Here are some of the locomotives the DVLR owned:
| Number/Name | Wheel Arrangement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Lord Wenlock | 0-6-0DM | Former BR Class 04 D2298. Bought in 1969. |
| 2 | 0-6-0DM | Former BR Class 04 D2245. Bought in 1969. |
| Claude Thompson | 0-4-0DM | Bought in 1978. |
| 69023 Joem | 0-6-0T | A steam locomotive. Used for passenger trains from 1977–1979. |
Joem was bought specifically to run the short-lived steam passenger service.
Trains and Locomotives (1993-Present)
The preservation group now owns several diesel locomotives, carriages, and wagons. Here are some of the diesel locomotives:
| Number & Name | Builder/type | Wheel arrangement | Year built | Livery | Status | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03079 | British Rail Class 03 | 0-6-0DM | 1960 | BR Blue with Wasp Stripes | Operational |  |
| D2245 | British Rail Class 04 | 0-6-0DM | 1956 | BR Green with Late Crest and Wasp Stripes | Operational |  |
| 08528 | British Rail Class 08 | 0-6-0DE | 1959 | BR Green with Late Crest | Operational | .jpg) |
| 327964 "British Sugar York" | Ruston & Hornsby 165 | 0-4-0DM | 1953 | Green with Warning Chevrons | Operational |  |
| 466630 "Octavius Atkinson" | Ruston & Hornsby 88DS | 4wDM | 1962 | Green | Operational |  |
| 441934 "Rowntree No.3" | Ruston & Hornsby 88DS | 4wDM | 1960 | Lined Green with Rowntree's Lettering | Operational |  |
| 421419 | Ruston & Hornsby 88DS | 4wDM | 1958 | Green | Cosmetically restored | .jpg) |
| 417892 "Jim" | Ruston & Hornsby 48DS | 4wDM | 1959 | Green with Wasp Stripes | Undergoing restoration |  |
| 4100005 "Churchill" | John Fowler & Co. | 0-4-0DM | 1947 | Black | Operational |  |
| DC2164 | Drewry Car Co. | 0-4-0DM | 1941 | N/A | Undergoing restoration |
Carriages and Wagons
The railway also has several carriages and wagons:
- North Eastern Railway 4-wheel coach No. 1214/2462 (built 1890).
- B&W Engineering 4-wheel observation coach No. BW1000 "Sylvia" (built 2003).
- Southern Railway 4-wheel PMV Luggage Van No. S1367S (built 1939).
- British Railways Standard 20-ton Brake Van No. B951144 (built 1951).
- Metro-Cammell ZFV Dogfish Ballast Wagon No. DB993312 (built 1957).
- British Railways 12 ton Box Van No. 775810 (built 1957).
- British Railways 12 ton Box Van No. 762112 (built 1954).
- Chas Roberts Shell Mex and BP Tank Wagon No. 5081 (built 1938).
- NCB Coal Wagon K264. No. B291264.
- Great Western Railway Box Van No. W95166 (built 1915).
- London and North Eastern Railway 20 ton Plate Wagon No. 239666 (built 1940).
- LMS hopper wagon chassis.
The Railway in Art and Culture
The Derwent Valley Light Railway has even appeared in art! In 1952, a famous artist named L. S. Lowry painted three scenes of York. One of these paintings, called A View of York (from Tang Hall Bridge), shows fields next to the railway. You can see a cooling tower and York Minster in the background.
In 2013, a singer from York named Rebecca Newman made a special Christmas video. She used the railway, its trains, and staff from the DVLR. The video was for a charity and featured her version of the song Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming). It was very popular and got over 200,000 views online!
