The Scarborough Spa Express: Travel from coast to coast across the spectacular Lancashire and Yorkshire landscape from Carnforth to York or Scarborough.
Join us for a scenic tour that combines a truly wonderful journey in traditional carriages along with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Dales. Enjoy the exhilarating smell and sound of steam transporting from York and the beautiful views of the East Coast of North Yorkshire. From the comfort of your seat in some of the oldest working trains running today, your adventure begins! Some of these carriages ran in the golden age of railroads and some were even featured in the Harry Potter movies and have all been lovingly restored.
For the first part of the journey, these conventional trains will be hauled by diesel from Carnforth, then from York, we take a steam locomotive to take us to Scarborough on a memorable journey.
Due to the high demand for seats last year, we are offering travelers the opportunity to travel from the UK West Coast to Historic York and then from North Yorkshire to the spa town of Scarborough on the East Coast. Vintage Mark I and II carriages exit Carnforth on two routes, collecting passengers at various pickup stations.
Arriving in York, we pick up one of the oldest steam locomotives in the world and continue on steam from North Yorkshire to Scarborough, where we have about three hours to enjoy and explore. Alternatively, travelers can choose to disembark in York and explore the many attractions of this historic, walled city. On the return trip, we depart Scarborough again by steam towards York, before continuing on the same route, calling at the same stations before returning to Carnforth.
Journey Map (Link)
THE HISTORY
The Scarborough Flier was inaugurated by the London North Eastern Railway Company in July 1927. This titled train ran from London King Cross to Scarborough Central and Whitby Town. This included an express service from London to York, at which point the locomotive would be replaced before trains could run to the coastal towns of Scarborough and Whitby.
The service continued until September 1939, when, like many services, it was canceled for the duration of the war. It was not until June 1950 that the service was re-introduced as the ‘Summer Only’ Express and it quickly became ‘The Scarborough Flyer’ with a very distinctive sunburst design on the headboard. This train lasted for 13 years and finally ended in September 1963, by which time these specially designated express were not coming into fashion.
However, in 1981 the first ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ ran to celebrate the reopening of the city’s famous spa building. For those who love to travel to Scarborough, the West Coast Railway would like to welcome you once again on this special steam train and let you relive history while experiencing an utterly enjoyable day.
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