A Wonderful Family Day Out

This glorious train steams out of York in the morning (see the timetable opposite), picking up passengers on its circular route at Knaresborough, Harrogate and Leeds before heading back again to York and then on to Scarborough. It runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

In July 1927 the London North Eastern Railway Company inaugurated the ‘Scarborough Flier’. This titled train ran from London King Cross to Scarborough Central and Whitby Town. It consisted of an express service from London to York, at which point the locomotive would be changed, before the train ran on to the coastal towns of Scarborough and Whitby. The service continued until September 1939 when, like many services, it was cancelled for the duration of the war. It wasn’t until June 1950 that the service was re-introduced as a ‘Summer Only’ express and it quickly became ‘The Scarborough Flyer’ (note the change of spelling!) with the very characteristic sunburst design on the headboard.

The train ran for 13 years until it finally ended in September 1963, by which time these special named expresses were becoming unfashionable. However, in 1981 the first ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ ran to celebrate the re-opening of the towns famous Spa building.

Now, in 2009, West Coast Railways would like to welcome you aboard a special steam train once again and let you re-live a little bit of history whilst experiencing a thoroughly enjoyable day out.