Press Office

It'll be Yorkshire tea and cake all round when the mighty Sir Lamiel returns to God's own country on Yorkshire Day, 1 August 2006

This Tuesday, the newly-restored Sir Lamiel will haul the flagship Scarborough Spa Express from York to Scarborough. It will be the steam engine’s first trip in Yorkshire for many years.

To celebrate, the National Railway Museum has teamed up with Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, manufacturers of the county’s trademark Yorkshire Tea, to provide a free cuppa and slice of tea-loaf to every passenger during the hour-long excursion across the Yorkshire countryside.

Sir Lamiel, who passed his 80th birthday in the workshops of the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, returns to steam on Yorkshire Day to haul a service which was first launched 25 years ago to celebrate the re-opening Scarborough’s famous Spa building.

This Tuesday, the King Arthur Class locomotive will be seen off from York station at 11am by well-wishers and enthusiasts - including a giant orange Yorkshire teapot, courtesy of Bettys and Taylors.

Sophie Thornberry, a spokesperson for Bettys and Taylors, said:

“Whether you’re a Yorkshireman born and bred, or simply have fond memories of the county, August 1st is the day to toast what Yorkshire means to you - a walk on Ilkley Moor, tea in a Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, or a cricket match on the village green. And what better way to do it than with a cup of Yorkshire Tea. Here at Taylors of Harrogate we have over 100 years’ experience of blending tea in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, where tea drinking is a way of life.”

Sir Lamiel will continue to haul the Scarborough Spa Express until the end of August, alternating duties with the Museum’s other flagship locomotive, Green Arrow.

  • The Spa Express departs York Station at 11.00 and Scarborough Station 18.00. The journey each way lasts approximately an hour.
  • To book a seat on the Yorkshire Day special, call 01904 686263. Return tickets are £30 for adults, £20 for children - and for every adult, a child goes free!
  • Or buy a single on the platform on the day for £20.

Notes for Editors

Sir Lamiel and the Scarborough Spa Express

  • 4-6-0 No 777 Sir Lamiel was built in 1925 for the Southern Railway and is the only surviving King Arthur Class steam locomotive. It is has been restored to steam at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough by members of the 5305 Locomotive Association.
  • The first Spa Express ran in the summer of 1981 to celebrate the re-opening Scarborough’s famous Spa building. The service ran regularly for almost a decade. Some 38,000 passengers have enjoyed wind in their hair and sand between their toes, courtesy of the Scarborough Spa Express since its relaunch by the NRM in 2004.
  • Running every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 2006 Scarborough Spa Express service is hauled alternately by Sir Lamiel and Green Arrow, another of the NRM’s flagship steam locomotives.

Yorkshire Tea

  • Yorkshire Tea is produced by Taylors of Harrogate, part of the same family business as the Bettys Café Tea Rooms for which York and Harrogate are famous: http://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk
  • Taylors of Harrogate is one of the few remaining family tea and coffee merchants in the country. Founded in 1886 by an enterprising Yorkshire tea merchant, Charles Taylor, the business quickly gained a reputation for the quality of its teas and coffees.
  • Over 9 million cups of Yorkshire Tea are enjoyed every day.

Yorkshire Day

  • Yorkshire Day, 1 August, is a traditional celebration of Yorkshire as a place to live, work and visit.
  • The annual Yorkshire Day festival is convened by the Yorkshire Society: http://www.yorkshiresociety.org.uk

28 July 2006