Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed in 1962, within months of British Railways closing the original branch, with the explicit aim of reopening the entire line. After six years of fund-raising, track repair, and station restoration, the railway reopened to passenger services on 29 June 1968. Unusually for a heritage railway, the KWVR achieved this in a single step: the entire 5-mile line from Keighley through to Oxenhope reopened together, rather than in successive extensions.

The 1970 EMI film The Railway Children (directed by Lionel Jeffries from Edith Nesbit's 1906 novel) was filmed entirely on the KWVR, with GWR 5775 (the "Old Gentleman's" engine) being painted up specifically for the production. The film made Oakworth station internationally famous and gave the railway a profile far beyond what its modest 5-mile length might otherwise have achieved.

The original Keighley & Worth Valley Railway was a 4½-mile branch line opened on 13 April 1867, running from a junction at Midland Railway Keighley up the Worth Valley to a terminus at Oxenhope. The line was promoted independently by local mill-owners (particularly the textile-mill operators of the upper Worth Valley) but was operated from opening by the Midland Railway, and absorbed by the MR in 1881.

The line served the textile mills of the Worth Valley, the village of Haworth (famous for the Brontë sisters and Brontë Parsonage Museum), and the upper-valley village of Oxenhope. Passenger services were typically modest, a few trains a day, but the line generated useful goods traffic for the textile mills. British Railways inherited the line in 1948 and progressively reduced services through the 1950s. The line was closed to passengers on 30 December 1961 and to goods on 18 June 1962.

Keighley (West Yorkshire), the northern terminus, sharing platforms with Network Rail Keighley station on the Airedale line. Direct interchange to Network Rail services from Leeds, Bradford, and Skipton. Ingrow West, home of the Museum of Rail Travel and the Bahamas Locomotive Society. Damems, said to be the smallest standard-gauge station in Britain. Oakworth, restored to Edwardian condition; internationally famous from The Railway Children. Haworth, the operational headquarters; locomotive sheds and works are based here. The village is famous as the home of the Brontë sisters. Oxenhope, the southern terminus; houses the exhibition shed.

Major regular events include the Spring Steam Gala (March), the Diesel Gala (June), the Autumn Steam Gala (October), and the annual 1940s Weekend. Santa Specials run throughout December. The railway hosts the Real Ale Train dining service throughout the year. Period Railway Children-themed events are run periodically, including 50th anniversary celebrations in 2020.

Open weekends year-round, daily during summer school holidays. Direct rail interchange at Keighley from Leeds and Bradford makes the railway one of the most accessible heritage operations in northern England. Day-rover tickets, family tickets, and combined Brontë Parsonage Museum / KWVR tickets are widely promoted. Free parking at Oxenhope, Haworth, and Oakworth.