Branch Visit to Scarborough North Bay Railway

A group of RCTS Sheffield Branch members enjoyed another summer trip to the seaside on Saturday 27 June, this time we were hosted by the excellent 20 inch Scarborough North Bay Railway. Most of the group travelled from Sheffield to Scarborough with Northern, this service runs via Hull and we were either on a Class 170 or 158. Trains were busy, especially north of Bridlington but the arrival was fairly much on time into Scarborough. A leisurely 25 minute walk then took us to Peasholm Park, the southern terminus and headquarters of the railway which runs for around a mile north to Scalby Mills. We were given a ride aboard the line first with dark green liveried “Neptune” in action today. At the end of the line we had scones with jam and cream along with drinks and our host Mike told us about the history of the line as well as taking many questions on the current operations. This line first opened in 1931, initially operated by the Council, but it has been privately run since 2007. The railway has four “steam outline” diesel-hydraulic locomotives, some of which have been in operation since the start and they are the oldest diesel-hydraulics in operation anywhere! Marketing itself as “Britain’s biggest miniature railway” and built to roughly one-third scale there was certainly plenty of room in the coaches. Suitably refreshed we headed back to Peasholm Park and were then given a guided tour of the engine sheds before it was time for ice cream, and for some another ride on the line – or some “linesiding”. The railway runs every 40 minutes, or on busy days – usually in the school holidays – two trains are in operation with departures every 20 minutes. On busy days more than 1200 passengers can be carried in a day. This was a great visit to a fascinating little line with some stunning views, and many thanks are owed to the North Bay Railway for hosting our visit on a busy summer Saturday.