Derwenthorpe 00 (4mm)

16.5mm gauge 1:76 scale DC/DCC

Private branch line in York area, c1980. 

Overall size 12ft x 2ft

Phil Mason and Ian Willis

Flickr album here:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/hillsandmills/9B32s0e7v9

The Derwent Valley Railway was an independent line running between York and Cliff Common on the Selby to Market Weighton line. Belived to have never made a loss, it operated from 1913 to its ultmate demise in 1981; surviving the depression, two world wars, grouping and nationalisation along the way.

The line handled an incredible variety of traffic, including coal, oil, cement, grain, MoD supplies and fertiliser.

The model envisages the line towards the end of operations around 1980. Modellers’ licence has been used to portray as many features as possible in minimum space. The compact site at Layerthorpe has been compressed further and the concrete plant (still extant) at Osbaldwick and a representation of the grain terminal at Dunnington have been included. 

Operation consists of BR trains tripped from Dringhouses yard using 08, 20, 25 or 37 power and deposited at the (renamed) Derwenthorpe station before onward distribution by the DVR’s own class 04 locomotives. 

The control system caters for either DC or DCC on either or both of the BR and DVR lines.