West Riding miniature delight
Yorkshire’s great little steam trains reside at ClaytonWest, on the 15in gauge Kirklees Light Railway. Originally constructed for the transport of coal as a standard gauge line, the railway now carries thousands of visitors fromaround the county and beyon
Yorkshire’s great little steam trains reside at ClaytonWest, on the 15in gauge Kirklees Light Railway. Oliver Edwards looks at what the railway offers, as well as discussing recent developments with general manager Erin Towey.
The Kirklees Light Railway ( KLR) is laid on the trackbed ofamuch earlier railway, constructed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway ( L& YR) as part of the second railway boom. West Yorkshire during the latter half of the 19th century was a significant industrial centre, with industries mining rawmaterials such as coal and manufactured goods like textiles, providing immense wealth for investors and necessitating the construction of a raft of communication channels. First came canals, and then railways.
The L& YRwas particularly prominent, competing with companies such as the London & North Western to exploit the rich trade pickings first. A large number of schemes had been explored to put ClaytonWest, themodern KLR’s main station, and local coal mines on the rail map, but had failed to gain traction. When the 3 ½ mile branch line to the village from themain line at Shepley finally achieved parliamentary approval in the late 1860s, the
L& YR had lost interest in the scheme and construction did not commence until late 1872. Amazingly for such a short railway, completion was not until the end of the decade, making it one of the last branch lines constructed in the region.
The railway settled into the familiar pattern of many secondary railways across the UK, namely reasonable success for the following 70 years until the early 1950s. Images of large classes such as the LMS Jubilees hauling heavy excursion trains on the line demonstrate that the railway was nomere idle byway, and instead was an intensely used artery for trade. Later, Class 40 diesels were also to be seen. At this point, the railway’s history diverged from other branch lines in the region such as the Keighley& Worth Valley. It remained open through the rail closures of the period thanks to the intervention of transport minister Barbara Castle, one of the few railways to avoid a seemingly inevitable fate. Coal traffic allowed the railway to cling to life right until the end of the 1970s, and passenger trains ran until total closure in 1983. With no preservation society to save the railway, and the track torn up, the residents around this Yorkshire byway must have expected never to see a train in Clayton West again.
Reopeningbeckons
When in the late 1980s Brian Taylor, owner ofaminiature line in nearby Halifax, was searching for a place to expand his railway portfolio, the abandoned route to Clayton West was not a settled choice. He looked across the UK, including at a site in a popular tourist hotspot in the South West of England, before settling on the route on his doorstep. Negotiations with the local authority were successful, and its backing helped in gaining a Light Railway Order in 1991.
The whole railway was not reopened at once. Instead, an initial section to Cuckoo’s Nest – a
mile from ClaytonWest – opened in 1991, with further additions to Skelmanthorpe – the halfway point – and Shelley – the current terminus – made by the end of the decade. The railway was sold in themid- 2000s to Stately Albion, a specialist in building holiday homes and lodges, which once used a corner of the ClaytonWest site to house a showroom.
Attention is now firmly on improving facilities for visitors. Early photographs of ClaytonWest show a large, open site with very little to entice visitors, aside from Brian’s beautiful little engines. Today, a large playground, café, shop, workshops, volunteer accommodation, birthday party carriage ( see standard gauge stock panel) and engine shed occupy the site, making this a versatile area in which to cater for a range of audiences.
A 7 ¼ in gauge miniature railway has been a staple attraction at ClaytonWest for some years, and was rebuilt to ground level with new locomotives and rolling stock last year.
In 2019, the railway broke through the 65,000 visitor per annum figure – a long- held ambition and a testament to the adage that a good product creates a loyal customer base.
Along the line
Both the terminus stations on the railway feature turntables, whichmeans locomotives rarely run bunker- first. When larger tender engines visit, the locomotive and its tender are turned separately because of their length. A small tearoomcan be found at Shelley, and trains spend just enough time here to grab a drink before returning.
The line itself is a very picturesque one, running through a large wood, along a steep embankment and through perhaps the railway’s most eerie feature, theWoodhouse tunnel. This impressive feat of engineering is only amplified by the size of themodern KLR trains which run through it, and is measured at a fantastic 476metres ( 1561ft) in length.