Whistlestop Valley
Both 0-6-2ST Badger and 2-4-2 Katie at Shelley Woodhouse
LocaleWest Yorkshire, England
TerminusClayton West
Coordinates53°35′49″N 1°36′43″W / 53.597°N 1.612°W / 53.597; -1.612
Commercial operations
NameLancashire & Yorkshire Railway Clayton West branch
Built byLancashire & Yorkshire Railway
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Length3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km)
Preserved gauge15 in (381 mm)[1]
Commercial history
Opened1 September 1879
Closed24 January 1983[2]
Preservation history
19 October 1991opened[3]
26 December 1992extended to Skelmanthorpe
May 1997extended to Shelley Woodhouse
KLR Adult return ticket

Whistlestop Valley, formerly the Kirklees Light Railway, is a visitor attraction featuring a 3+1⁄2-mile (5.6 km) long 15 in (381 mm) gauge minimum gauge railway. The attraction's main site is in the village of Clayton West in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England which was first opened to the public on 19 October 1991, with a second, smaller site in a rural area near the village of Shelley.

The railway at Whistlestop Valley runs along the trackbed of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's former branch line, from Clayton West via Skelmanthorpe to Shelley Woodhouse (a few yards close to the former Clayton West Junction[4] 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km), near Shepley) on the Penistone line from Huddersfield to Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley.

From 1991 to 2021 the attraction was known as the Kirklees Light Railway. In June 2021, the attraction was rebranded under the name Whistlestop Valley[5] but retains the name Kirklees Light Railway for its 15 inch railway operation.[6]

History

The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway opened a branch line from Clayton West Junction to Clayton West on 1 September 1879.[7] The branch line was built with bridges, tunnels and earthworks suitable for a double line in case of a proposed extension to reach Darton on the Dewsbury to Barnsley Line, but only one line was ever laid and despite attempts to extend the railway, Clayton West was to remain as a terminus.[8]

The line survived the Beeching cuts in large part thanks to the mineral traffic generated by the collieries at the terminus (Park Mill) and at Skelmanthorpe (Emley Moor),[9] but was not adopted by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive unlike nearly all other passenger lines in West Yorkshire[10] and was closed to passengers on 24 January 1983. Coal was still transhipped from Emley Moor Colliery to Elland Power Station until 1984[11] and tracklifting of the branch was completed in 1986.[12]

Construction of the minimum gauge railway started in mid-summer 1990, following a joint application for a Light Railway Order between Kirklees Council and the Kirklees Light Railway Company on 22 February 1989. Construction was aided significantly by the amount of redundant materials available from a number of collieries in the area which were slowly beginning to end their mining operations. The Light Railway Order was finally granted on 27 September 1991.[13]

The line was originally 1 mile (1.6 km) in length running from Clayton West to a specially constructed halt called Cuckoos Nest. This name is historic to 15 inch gauge railways as a station on the Eaton Hall Railway, near Chester, built by Arthur Heywood bore the name. Trains to Cuckoo's Nest commenced running on Saturday 19 October 1991. The KLR was later extended to Skelmanthorpe in 1992 and again to Shelley Woodhouse in 1996/97 with a grant from ERDF for the regeneration of coal mining areas.

The journey gives fine views of the Grade II listed Emley Moor transmitting station, passes through the ancient woodland of Blacker Wood which is mentioned in the Domesday Book and includes a trip through the 511 yards (467 m) long Shelley Woodhouse Tunnel,[14] the longest tunnel on any 15 in (381 mm) gauge line in Britain.[15]

The original line as built was 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km),[16] but upon reopening as the Kirklees Light Railway, the line is short of the former Clayton West Junction on the Penistone Line and the length of the light railway is 3.04 miles (4.89 km).[17]

Operations

The attraction is usually closed during January for winter maintenance. The attraction is open to the public on most weekends, bank holidays and daily during local school holidays from February to November.[18] Winter opening is usually Christmas themed with options including Santa Special trains (involving train rides and an encounter with Santa Claus[19]).

Stations

Locomotives

Many of the locomotives used on the railway were built by the railway's founder Brian Taylor, with subsequent application of modern steam principles advocated by Livio Dante Porta. These modifications have improved the locomotives' performance, reliability and efficiency. The line has also acquired some older locomotives, constructed by Guest Engineering.

Steam locomotives

The following are approximately half size narrow gauge locomotives:

Name Design    Type    Date Notes
Fox Hunslet 2-6-2T 1987 Fox recently finished a lengthy and large overhaul which took 5 years. Based on a 2-6-4T built by the Hunslet Engine Company for export to India.
Badger Kerr, Stuart & Company 0-6-4ST 1991 A freelance locomotive with leanings to Kerr Stuarts Tattoo Class contractors locomotives. Perhaps best described as what the NWNGR's locomotive Beddgelert might have looked like if Kerr Stuart had built it!
Hawk Kitson Meyer 0-4-0+0-4-0T 1998 In traffic for weekend services and special events. Based on a 2 ft 5 in (737 mm) gauge Kitson Meyer built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co for export to Chile.
Owl[20] Avonside Engine Company/Heisler locomotive 0-4-0+0-4-0TG 2000 In traffic for weekend services and special events.
Katie Guest Engineering 2-4-2 1954 Newest engine.
Sian Guest Engineering 2-4-2 1963 Sister engine to Katie.

Diesel locomotive

  • 0-4-0DH Jay built in 1992, and was constructed around a 1947 vintage Dorman 2DL engine that had previously been used in one of the famous Hudswell Clarke steam outline locomotives used on the Pleasure Beach Express at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. In 2002 the locomotive was rebuilt with a slightly different body outline, and the engine was replaced with a Ford 4D 4-cylinder diesel engine. In 2008 the locomotive received a further engine changed when it was fitted with a new Kubota 4-cylinder engine, its first new engine since it was built. Jay is probably the hardest-working engine on the line, as it is used a lot to shunt stock; it is also used occasionally on passenger trains.[20]

Petrol locomotive

  • No 7 The Tram built in 1991. This locomotive was originally constructed was a 2w-2PH platelayers' trolley. It was subsequently fitted with a steam outline body based on the J70 tram engines built by the Great Eastern Railway. It was originally fitted with an engine from an invalid car, though at the present, June 2009, a new small Kubota diesel engine is due to be fitted. It is predominantly used at special events (mainly Day Out with Thomas) giving rides to children.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Kirklees Light Railway 15 Inch". UK Miniature Railway world. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Clayton West Branch". lostrailwaysofwestyorkshire.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Kirklees Light Railway celebrates 21st anniversary with a ride for each year". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Boiler incident on the Kirklees Light Railway 3 July 2011" (PDF). Department of Transport. Rail Accident Investigation Branch. March 2012. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Kirklees has become Whistlestop Valley Heritage Railway issue 283 August 2021 page 38
  6. ↑ "What's on". Whistlestop Valley. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Marshall, John (1970). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Volume 2. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. p. 116. ISBN 0-7153-4906-6.
  8. ↑ Young, Alan (2015). Lost Stations of Yorkshire;The West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-85794-438-9.
  9. ↑ Shannon, Paul (2006). Railfreight since 1968: Coal. Kettering: Silver Link Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 1-85794-263-9.
  10. ↑ Speakman, Colin (1985). Ten Years of Achievement. West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. ISBN 0-9510201-0-2.
  11. ↑ Shannon, Paul (June 2009). "How King Coal lost his Throne". Railways Illustrated. Vol. 7, no. 6. p. 12. ISSN 1479-2230.
  12. ↑ Catford, Nick. "Skelmanthorpe". Disused Stations. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Young, Alan (2015). Lost Stations of Yorkshire;The West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-85794-438-9.
  14. ↑ "Railway Ramblers Kirklees". 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  15. ↑ Earnshaw, Alan (1993). The Kirklees Light Railway. Shepley: Transpennine Publications. p. 20. ISBN 0-9521070-0-7.
  16. ↑ Earnshaw, Alan (1992). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0711020582.
  17. ↑ Jacobs, Gerald (2006). Railway Track Diagrams - Eastern. Bradford-On-Avon: Trackmaps. p. 40. ISBN 9780954986629.
  18. ↑ "Visitor Information". Whistlestop Valley. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Santa Specials". www.kirkleeslightrailway.com. December 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 "Locomotives - Meet the Engines". Kirklees Light Railway. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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