S.J. Reading

One of the commonest river names in England is "Derwent", so those searching for information on one 'Derwent Valley' must be prepared to find details of others. I grew up in the Derwent valley in Derbyshire, so I heard of the Derwent Valley Railway a long time ago - but was intrigued to find that it was another Derwent Valley, this time in Yorkshire. I finally visited the line once only, on the day I came back from college in Newcastle, and had what became a rare opportunity to ride on the line, as during the later 1970s they ran a weekend steam passenger service in supplement to their daily business of transporting agricultural products and other merchandise. That service (similar to the arrangements commonly found on the Continent) ceased a few years later, so my trip was of particular interest.

On that visit, I bought this history of the line, written by a former General Manager of the railway. It is in a similar format to the publisher's 'Locomotion Papers' or 'Oakwood Library of Railway History' series, but is not marked up as for either. Earlier editions are in the 'Locomotion Papers' series.… (más)