A weeks holiday in the Scarborough area inevitably ended up at the North Bay Railway on the Friday morning, after a very pleasant hour or so exploring Peasholme Park for the first time. Being a 'changeover' day at many of the areas holiday parks Friday is the quietest day for the railway with a single train in service. On this occasion 1933 'Poseidon' was on duty in pseudo-British Railways express passenger blue, a far cry from the tatty LNER green I first saw her in at Cleethorpes many years ago.
The area around Peasholme station has benefitted from removal of many of the trees that have grown up over the last 90 years and had in some cases become dangerous. There is space to develop but it is awkwardly located within the locomotive turning loop. As the NBR cannot extend in length all expansion is sideward, adding attractions to increase visitor stay. The latest example of this is a 7 1/4" gauge coin-in-the-slot tram running alongside the main line for about 40m (you can just see the buffer stop at the far end).
At Scalby Mills a new station building is under construction under the canopy occupying space that is under-utilised with the second platform now closed. It is based around a portable building and you may wonder how this got there, I had visions of a giant crane swinging it in... the more mundane answer is that is was brought to site in sections by rail, being loaded from a lorry about halfway along the line to avoid the tunnel. Cladding work is ongoing and it provides a much better space for retail and catering than the previous kiosk by the turntable.
Turning the locomotive at Scalby Mills always draws a crowd but my favourite shot is to wait for the loco to leave the turntable and take a portrait as the driver leaves to reset it to the incoming line. The sky in this shot may look photoshopped but it is the real thing!
After a walk around the rocks under the Scalby Mills pub, we returned to Peasholme for lunch, admiring what may be one of the best views on any miniature or heritage railway...
