Rails Along The Derwent

Heritage

Heritage is having a good story to tell! To find out about the heritage of Derwent Valley Light Railway, here is a superb book with a multitude of stories documenting the line’s history from its founding to the present day heritage line.

This amazing railway was the cohesive glue of the community it brought together. If the railway could speak, it would spell-bind you with its abundance of fascinating facts and stories. But, the railway can now tell all through Jonathan D. Stockwell (DVLR Society Archivist) and Ian Drummond.

The results of their diligent research are shared with us in their book. They have accumulated a wealth of comprehensive information about the line, its people, its successes, its challenges, its gossip, and even its dark secrets which can at last be unveiled. Be awe-stricken by over 290 beautifully presented photographs which they have collected to show you.

Who would benefit from this book?

Everyone! From the dedicated enthusiast to the person who has just ridden this charming heritage railway and is eager to find out more, the book caters for every level of interest.

There are fascinating facts and stories from a Railway which was proud to be different and to do things differently.

Of railways born out of the Light Railway Act, DVLR must have had, indeed had to have, the greatest survival instinct, surviving as it did, entirely independently as a commercial enterprise until 1981. Yet, as the book’s authors explain, two councils, Riccal and Escrick RDCs were responsible for originally promoting the DVLR. The railway did not depend on one particular type of traffic as did some “product dedicated” industrial railways. Instead, its ability to change with the times and grasp opportunities however they arose, was its strength. It was the DVLR’s ability, to manoeuvre through the twists and turns in its fortunes, which makes the DVLR’s story particularly interesting.

Just six examples of the abundance of interesting, even amazing, things revealed by the book:

Q. Why during a certain period, of the building of the railway, did the contractor’s crew hide their engine every night?

Q. Why were single wagons sometimes left on the railway, between stations? Only a rural branch line could have got away with it but why did they do it?

Q. How did the railway inadvertently become a “stealth railway” during World War II and how did it feature in the Government’s contingency plans? You may find the answers quite surprising.

Q. More Secrets. What was the dangerous apparently “clandestine” cargo photographed at Skipwith in the early 1950s? A picture of the top-secret cargo can be seen in the book.

Q. What massive object was conveyed to Osbaldwick in 1931? It was the greatest single load ever conveyed on Derwent Valley Light Railway. Q. What is the connection between DVLR and fine art?

Discover the answers to these questions in the book, and so very very much about the railway which never failed to amaze.