Been told the Scarborough Spa Express wont be calling at Leeds or Harrogate this year

[stuartmoss]

Instead going via Wakey up to York. Personally speaking am disappointed as I live near Horsforth. Anyone else heard owt?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Yep that's right. Not much else I can tell you. Its doing the Whitehall Curves instead.

 

[TheExmoorBeast]

According to UKsteaminfo, it will be running on the following route:

Outwards:York-Normanton-Wakefield-Castleford-York-Scarborough

Return: Scarborough-York-Normanton-Wakefield-Castleford-York

http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/sse/Scarborough_Details.html

 

[Solent&Wessex]

According to UKsteaminfo, it will be running on the following route:

Outwards:York-Normanton-Wakefield-Castleford-York-Scarborough

Return: Scarborough-York-Normanton-Wakefield-Castleford-York

http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/sse/Scarborough_Details.html

So that seems, to avoid running round anywhere, it is going to have to come down the Normanton lines from Church Fenton, through Castleford disused platform, Normanton, Wakefield Kirkgate (nice!), then the chord up to Westgate, main line to Leeds, then right at Whitehall, through Woodlesford round the Methley curve then to Castleford (again) then back up to York.

If so, it seems strange that it is going through Wakefield, mainline to Leeds then not picking up in Leeds where I would have thought there would have been a bigger potential market than the likes of Wakefield and Castleford.

Having said that, the chances of it being diverted are probably fairly high as there are cable thefts round Castleford on an almost daily basis and they are never very quick to fix them - especially between Castleford and Milford Jn which is freight and diversions only.

 

[43167]

Abit dissapointed because I was looking forward to getting some shots of the train, crossing the viaduct a Knaresborough was a choosen location.

However I suppose its just West Coast trying a different area. And nothing to say they wont go back to the harrogate loop section in the future, I did the train 3 or 4 times last year and it was well used in the harrogate area.

 

[33056]

Looking at the West Coast website, it looks as if they are marketing it as a chance to ride on the "Hogwarts Express" with 5972 "Olton Hall". I would guess using that particular loco might have some constraints on which routes it can use, bearing in mind there has already been problems in the past with gauging on the Harrogate loop.