© Geoff’s Rail Diaries 2011 York - Leeds - Harrogate - York - the "York Circle", as it became known to enthusiasts, was a popular route for "Steam Specials" in the late 70s and early 80s, with regular scheduled trips during the summer months. Here is one such day, featuring "Black 5" no. 5305, one of the more popular performers at that time. Two trips were run on such occasions - morning / early afternoon, and late afternoon / evening. We started at Colton, soon to be the site of the junction for the new Selby deviation line, before moving on to Spacey Houses, on the climb up to Crimple Viaduct (a Harrogate - Leeds local was nearly in the wrong place here - it can just be seen disappearing in the photo), and finishing the first run near Kirk Hammerton. The second run is seen hurrying through Ulleskelf, then in the distance on Crimple Viaduct, and finally, as the light started to fade, at Hessay, not too far from York and the end of the day's activity