Scarborough North Bay Railway: The Yorkshire coast miniature railway attraction that brought in 100,000 passengers last year

Scarborough North Bay Railway was one of the earliest miniature railways built in 1931 and it runs Neptune, the world’s oldest diesel hydraulic locomotive, as well as three other locomotives Triton, Poseidon and Robin Hood.

The attraction has grown in popularity over the years, especially with families, and has built itself a reputation.

Over the last few years, it has consistently attracted 100,000 passengers a year.

Operations manager at Scarborough North Bay Railway, Steve Johnson, said: “It’s brought a lot of happiness to people over the years, me included.

“As it has been here for so long, it has cemented into the Scarborough day or week out or a British holiday.

“It reminds us of a time that’s not necessarily here anymore, the time when you used to holiday at home. It’s brought a lot of happiness to people over the years, me included.

“Since I started, the passenger numbers have been creeping up and up and up. We had a very good year in 2019 then obviously Covid hit but in general we recovered quite well from that.

“In the Covid year we still carried around 60,000 passengers when we were finally allowed to open.

“We got taken over by a separate administration in 2021 to bring a lot of new life into the place and I think people could see that.

“To me, the place is as good as it has been in my entire time here at the moment; last year we peaked back over 100,000 passengers.

“We’re hoping for another good season this year. A lot of it is weather dependent, we had a very good August last year.”

There are a few events coming up this year at the railway.

“We haven’t got anything finalised just yet. But we’re just launching our new season pass which includes our other railway down at Cleethorpes as well,” Mr Johnson said.

“We’ve got our Flying Sconesman Cream Tea offer, which is obviously a play on the Flying Scotsman, that’s a scone and a drink and return train ride for £10.

“We’re open to a few fish and chip trains this year called the Scarborough Frier as opposed to the Scarborough Flyer. I just came up with [the names], I just woke up one morning and they were in my head.

“We launched our Halloween event last year, which we hadn’t done since Covid and that was very popular. It was almost too popular. We anticipated having 50 people a day, one day we had nearly 200.

“Our Santa Specials at the end of the year had sold out the past two years, we can’t put enough trains on. We’re carrying around 2,500 people on the Santa trains now.”

Mr Johnson started out as a volunteer in 2007 and became their full-time employee apprentice the following year.

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He is in charge of the maintenance of the entire site as well as the safe operation of the railway, the health and safety applications and the training.

Mr Johnson has been selected among 10 finalists for the VisitEngland Tourism Superstar award for 2025.

“It’s just lovely to be appreciated,” he said.

“I had no idea the award even existed and then my boss came in and said ‘just to let you know, thank you for all your hard work you’ve done I’ve put you through for an award’, and the next thing I’m in the final 10.

“To be in the same category as the other nominees, is an honour. I think it’s all driven by passion.

“I think anybody with a passion for their field is eligible for this and I know I have, it takes over my life and I love it.

“You’ve got to really be 100 per cent behind what you’re doing and enjoy your work. It’s not just a job, it is a bit of a lifestyle here so you’ve got to be committed and passionate.”

Mr Johnson grew up visiting the railway with his father during his childhood.

I’ve always been involved in the railway since I was a young boy, my dad used to bring me here on a weekend and then when I was old enough to come here on my own, I did,” he said.

“We see generation after generation coming down; grandma comes with daughter, who comes with granddaughter. I think it’s really important to keep this tradition going.

“It becomes increasingly difficult in the modern world; health and safety changes, people’s trends change as well.

“So it’s not just the physical running of it, it’s how you market things, how you keep it fresh, how you keep people interested, it’s very important.”

The reason why people are drawn to Scarborough North Bay Railway, Mr Johnson said, is because of childhood memories.

“A lot of people come because they have always been brought here, they remember it as a child. But I think it’s the charm of the place,” he said.

“It’s from an era that doesn’t exist anymore; train travel was different and you’re not on it particularly long, though you get beautiful views across the North Bay of Scarborough.

“I’d argue that they are one of the best views of any miniature railway in the country.

“If you haven’t been to the railway, now is the time to come. I honestly think it’s looking the best it has been.

“If you just want to create some memories with your family and you’re out in Scarborough, just come and have a look, come and have a go.

“It’s not expensive, you’re with us for half an hour but we have a lot of other attractions as well, with our historic water chute which was built in 1932.

“We’ve got a lot of boats, we’ve got a sky trail attraction, like a Go Ape climbing frame. There’s something for everybody here now.

“You can sit and have a drink, have a beer sometimes, it’s just a good place to come for an afternoon.”