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The Kirklees Light Railway is a 15" gauge line, built on the trackbed of the former L&YR Clayton West branch which closed to passengers in 1983. I'd been aware of its existence for a year or two, and intrigued by the locomotives detailed in the IRS handbook 12EL - mostly built by the line's owner Brian Taylor. The 0-4-4-0T sounded interesting....

....so when we left York that Sunday morning in December, with a leisurely journey home in mind via Holme Moss and Buxton, we decided to look in. The line operates every weekend throughout the year - in December these would all be Santa trains, so there would be no ride for us today, just an opportunity to see the line in action.

The Santa service was being operated "topped and tailed" by two locomotives - 0-6-4ST "Badger" and the aforementioned 0-4-4-0T "Hawk". Hawk is described on the railway's website as a "Kitson Meyer 0-4+4-0 articulated loco based on a design built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co for the 2' 5½" Anglo Greek Magnesite Company in 1903" . Without a doubt this is one of the most impressive 15" gauge locos I've ever seen, making a quite staggering contrast with the charming "Effie" I'd seen on the Rhyl Miniature Railway. Also present that morning was diesel "Jay", presumably on standby duty. The other locomotives were in the workshops, and not available for inspection.

We watched the arrival and departure of a Santa train - very well patronised - and the watering of the locomotives, before we took the road again, determined to return and take a ride on this super little line.

Links:

• Kirklees Light Railway
• Friends of the Kirklees Light Railway

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