All change at site with touch of class

But although England's social elite continued to enjoy the sort of VIP welcome they had been already given for nearly a century of the town's Spa heyday, barely 300 yards down the platform mass tourism was being born with the advent of day trips for the less privileged.

Now social history has come full circle with the building that provided the working class with a gateway to the seaside being given a new lease of life in a 550,000 scheme involving local artists, English Heritage, Network Rail, the Arts Council, and the Railway Heritage Trust.

The projects recalls an era when crowds of working class day trippers had also come to enjoy the seaside, on day trips laid on by their employers who chartered trains from the towns serving Yorkshire's "dark Satanic mills" and the breweries of the Midlands.

It marked the start of the modern tourist industry being built up by the likes of Thomas Cook, already making a name with his Scarborough excursions.

But Scarborough's large – for the period – railway station was simply not big enough for all the new passengers.

A new platform had been built on the very fringes of the station where the works parties could disembark and later wait in a bracing Easterly Wind for their return journey.

All that changed in the 1860s when the Excursion Centre was built.

Not only did it boast what English Heritage believe is the largest platform bench in the world at 230 yards long, but a third of the building was taken up by a Gentleman's WC: a blessed relief in a time when trains had no toilets.

Although other amenities for the visitors – guests of employers such as Burton's Brewery and Bradford mill owner Titus Salt – are best described as spartan, there was at least a corner of the building which sold potted whelks.

So it was that for decades visitors at the opposite ends of Britain's social scale alighted at Scarborough Railway Station, while not even coming close to rubbing shoulders.

It is not clear when the shamelessly elitist system ended but experts reckon it was probably when class barriers started to crumble after The Great War.

The separate day trippers' terminus reverted to being Platform One of Scarborough station, while the Excursion Station building became a parcel depot.

But then the roof started to sag, letting in water, and the whole section was closed for Health and Safety reasons.

However, five years ago Scarborough Studios Ltd Arts clapped eyes on the yellow brick Grade II structure and decided it would make an ideal studio for masterclasses in painting, sculpture, and other art forms.

Yesterday it was announced work could start in spring and be completed in six months.

Historic Buildings Architect Giles Proctor, of English Heritage, which is contributing 190,000 to the scheme, said: "Giving the building a viable new use is the best way to protect it in the future.

"Mass tourism was key to Scarborough's prosperity and the Excursion Station was built at the start of a social revolution."

An English Heritage spokesman added: "When it was built the Excursion Station was located some distance from the main railway station.

"This could have been to protect the sensibilities of the so-called better class of visitor. In the early 19th century Scarborough cultivated a refined image as a resort.

"The town was also something of a magnet for artists, so it is fitting the building should become studios."

At-risk listing highlights plight

Scarborough Council has put the station on its own Buildings at Risk register to help highlight its plight.

With its impressive cast iron and glass canopy still intact, English Heritage says the building will offer a unique arts space.

The building is also in the local conservation area and the project will significantly improve the look of that part of town.

A public consultation will be held in the New Year so residents can see how the building's new interior could look.

Externally, it will not alter much because the artists are keen to preserve its period character.

Scarborough Studios say it is a visual arts venue the East Coast has been crying out for.