The Dearne Valley Railway (DVR) was a railway line which ran through the valley of the

River Dearne The River Dearne South Yorkshire, England flows roughly east for more than , from its source just inside West Yorkshire. It flows through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolton on Dearne, Adwick upon D ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

, England. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 6 August 1897, which authorised the building of a line between Brierley Junction, on the main line of the

Hull and Barnsley Railway Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in af ...

, to junctions with the Great Northern Railway and the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway south-east of Doncaster. Although the line was considered an independent company it was worked by the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

(LYR). It opened in sections over seven years from 1902.

History and description

Construction was complete by 1908-9 the work being carried out by contractors Naylor Bros., Gates and Hogg, Henry Lovatt, and Whittaker Bros. At first, only goods traffic was carried. Passenger trains came to the line on 3 June 1912 running between Wakefield Kirkgate and

Edlington Edlington is a town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, lying to the south west of Doncaster and Warmsworth. It has a population of 8,276. The original parish town of Edlington is now known as ''Old Edlington ...

with intermediate halts serving Ryhill,

Grimethorpe Grimethorpe is a large village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,672 at the 2011 census. Grimethorpe is located to the east of Barnsl ...

, Great Houghton, Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe, Harlington and

Denaby Denaby is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 326, increasing slightly to 329 at the 2011 Census. The only village in the parish, historically known as Denaby, is now know ...

. The LYR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922; the combined organisation (also known as the London and North Western Railway) absorbed the DVR on the same day. It duly passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on 1 January 1923. Passenger services ceased on 10 September 1951, the last trains having run on 9 September. Goods traffic continued but several changes were made to the track layout. The lines between (near)

Grimethorpe Colliery Grimethorpe is a large village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,672 at the 2011 census. Grimethorpe is located to the east of Barnsl ...

and Brierley Junction and from Grimethorpe Colliery and Edlington were closed on the opening of a new connection from the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

's main line near Houghton in 1966. The Dearne Valley connection to Yorkshire Main Colliery at Edlington was removed in May 1972, the colliery being served by a connection to St. Catherine's Junction on the

South Yorkshire Joint Railway The South Yorkshire Joint Railway was a committee formed in 1903, between the Great Central Railway, the Great Northern Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, the Midland Railway and the North Eastern Railway to oversee the constructio ...

, the junctions here being rebuilt in connection with the

Doncaster area re-signalling Doncaster PSB (Power Signal Box) is a signalling centre on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) railway in the United Kingdom, principally covering the line from London to Edinburgh but also encompassing other lines diverging and converging to the EC ...

in early May 1977.

Route diagrams

Notes

References

* * {{Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber Pre-grouping British railway companies Rail transport in South Yorkshire Rail transport in West Yorkshire London, Midland and Scottish Railway constituents 1897 establishments in England