Kirklees Light Railway
Encyclopedia
Minimum gauge railway
Minimum gauge railways have a gauge of less than or , most commonly , , or . The notion of minimum gauge railways was originally developed by estate railways and by the French company of Decauville for industrial railways....
in Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
metropolitan borough
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
first opened in October 1991. It runs along the trackbed of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's branch line from the village of Clayton West
Clayton West
Clayton West is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 2,648 . and 2,704 in 2008. It is south east of Huddersfield and north west of Barnsley.It is in the parish of Clayton West and High Hoyland...
to Clayton West Junction near on the Penistone Line
Penistone Line
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Rail in the West Yorkshire Metro/ Travel South Yorkshire area of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities...
from Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
to Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
.
History
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway opened their branch line from Clayton West Junction to on 1 September 1879. The branch was built with bridges, tunnels and earthworks suitable for a double line, but only one line was laid. The line survived the Beeching cuts but was not adopted by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport ExecutiveWest Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
unlike nearly all other passenger lines in West Yorkshire and so closed on 24 January 1983.
Construction of the narrow gauge railway started in midsummer 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 the 27 September 1991. The line was originally 1 miles (1.6 km) in length running from Clayton West
Clayton West
Clayton West is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 2,648 . and 2,704 in 2008. It is south east of Huddersfield and north west of Barnsley.It is in the parish of Clayton West and High Hoyland...
station 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
Eaton Hall Railway
The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge narrow gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire.It was built for the Duke of Westminster by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, who had pioneered the fifteen inch gauge with his Duffield Bank Railway, and connected the hall to the GWR...
, near Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, built by Sir Arthur Heywood bore the name. Trains to Cuckoo's Nest commenced running on Saturday 19 October 1991. It was extended to Skelmanthorpe
Skelmanthorpe
Skelmanthorpe is a village in West Yorkshire, England with a population of 4,198 according to the 2001 census. It is part of the parish of Denby Dale in the Kirklees borough....
in 1992 and again to a station at Shelley
Shelley, West Yorkshire
Shelley is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, 3 miles north of Holmfirth and 6 miles south east of Huddersfield. It sometimes appears as Shelley Woodhouse and has a population of 3,059 . It is part of the Kirkburton ward of the local council. Road transport links are...
in 1997 with a grant from ERDF for the regeneration of coal mining areas.
The journey gives fine views of the Grade II listed Emley Moor Radio Mast
Emley Moor transmitting station
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on 'Emley Moor' to the west of the village of Emley, in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England . The station's most visible feature is its concrete tower, which is a Grade II listed building...
, passes through the ancient woodland of Blacker Wood which is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and includes a trip through the 511 yards (467.3 m) Shelley Woodhouse Tunnel, the longest tunnel on any gauge line in Britain.
Locomotives
All the locomotives used on the railway were built by the railways founder Brian Taylor. They have all benefited from the application of modern steam principles advocated by Livio Dante PortaLivio Dante Porta
Livio Dante Porta was an Argentine steam locomotive engineer. He is particularly remembered for his innovative modifications to existing locomotive systems in order to obtain higher performance, energy efficiency and reduced pollution. He developed the Kylpor and Lempor exhaust systems...
. These modifications have improved the locomotives performance, reliability and efficiency.
Steam locomotives
The following are approximately half size narrow gauge locomotives:| Name | Design | Type | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox | Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for... |
2-6-2T | 1987 | In traffic weekdays and for Driver Experience Courses.Based on a 2-6-4T built by the Hunslet Engine Company for export to India. |
| Badger | Kerr Stuart Kerr Stuart Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner... |
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 2'5" gauge Kitson Meyer built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. for export to Chile |
| Owl | Avonside Engine Company Avonside Engine Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:... /Heisler locomotive Heisler locomotive The Heisler locomotive was the last variant of the three major types of geared steam locomotive, Charles L. Heisler receiving a patent for the design in 1892 following the construction of a prototype in 1891. Somewhat similar to a Climax locomotive, Heisler's design featured two cylinders canted... |
0-4-0+0-4-0TG | 2000 | In traffic for weekend services and special events. |
Diesel locomotive
- 0-4-0DH Jay built in 1992, and was constructed around a 1947 vintage Dorman 2DL engine which had previously been used in one of the famous Hudswell ClarkeHudswell ClarkeHudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
steam outline locomotives used on the Pleasure Beach ExpressPleasure Beach ExpressBlackpool Pleasure Beach Express is a gauge railway, built in 1933 as a tourist attraction at Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Lancashire.-History:The main station was built in 1933, but was destroyed by fire in 1934...
, the well loved miniature railway 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. At present, June 2009, it is restricted to light duties while awaiting repairs to hydraulic cooling system.
Petrol locomotives
- 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 giving rides to children.